Monterey supports some sports quite well. it's practically the golf capital of the world. but golf sux. the Bronco World Series has been hosted in Monterey since 1993. Salinas has hosted the California State Rodeo for 100 years. and there were several minor league baseball teams in Salinas for years, but not anymore. i guess Monterey is great for upperclass sports like golf and tennis but there's not much team sports to speak of, so i think the Salinas area would be perfect for a soccer team if an owner came along who really had his sh*t together and did things right. and the Salinas Samba are gone as far as i can tell. not that anyone noticed.
I could supply a little Oaks history, as I played with them close to their founding. Getting to play with childhood idols like John Rowlands and Davie Kemp was a dream come true. Those were magical days when you could get a training session almost any night of the week over at Jollyman Park, since the Oaks had installed lights - whether it was the First Team (Peninsula League), the Second Team (South Bay league) or any other assorted sides. Having the Cupertino Brit as our home pub was so much fun. Pub-wise those were some incredible times, with not only the Brit, but the Lancashire Hot Pot, Duke of Wellington (Saratoga), Duke of Edinborough (Cupertino). Best two memories had to be traveling down to Tulare to play the second leg of a California Cup and winning on penalties, and a road trip to down to Redondo or Hermosa Beach to play the pub team from Bestie's Pub - Just as we pulled away from the Brit, John Rowlands came out with a keg of Guiness, Watneys, and Fuller's London Pride. Some of the best memories of my life...