From KCRW, I'm Bob Carlson, and this is unfiction.

And these are the supporters of L.A.'s own downtown soccer team, L.A.F.C. at Bank of California Stadium in Exposition Park.

It's probably the thing I missed the most during the worst days of the pandemic shutdowns.

Back in 2019, the team... the win almost every home game. Being able to jump up and down and yell like a lunatic

is a great stress reliever and a distraction from the real world. It's one of my

favorite things to do. But 2020 and 2021 were tough years for L.A.C.

And almost everybody else, of course. Games were cancelled, played without fans, then with small crowds, the team suffered with injuries

and didn't perform well.

So on this evening of March 2022, when LAFC played their first game of the season, it felt like a kind of reboot.

Lots of new players, new coach, full crowd back in the stadium.

And it was a fantastic day one win with a three goal hat trick from LAFC star player Carlos Vela.

And on the way out of the stadium there was another site I hadn't seen for a while.

A big group of 30 or 40 mobile vendors waiting outside the exits.

Most of the vendors were selling hot dogs on rolling grills,

cooking alongside bacon, peppers, and onions.

They smell delicious, and are delicious.

I wondered how things had been for these vendors

when there were no fans.

In 2018 mobile street vending was decriminalized in Los Angeles,

but there's still a lot of restrictions on vendors where they can go what kind of permits they need

Hey Bob how's it going? This is my son Matthew

Me too. How was the game? Oh great

...