Overseeing Santa Fe’s indoor soccer team comes with a lot of responsibility, which Santa Fe Gloom’s owner David Fresquez proudly handles.
Fresquez started the team in December 2023 because he wanted children and families to have fun in Santa Fe even when the weather was too cold or too hot for outdoor sports. Initially, Fresquez tried to base the team out of the Genoveva Chavez Community Center’s ice rink, but city officials did not approve the plan. Fresquez, however, was not discouraged.
“It's not easily accessible to get to City Hall. For example, a lot of the people who wanted this team to happen were immigrants, were the Hispanic community on the Southside, and at that time, it was really hard to mobilize that community to speak out to their councilors,” Fresquez said. “So I knew that there was a huge support for this concept and for this team.”
Currently, the team often has their games in the Santa Fe High School gym.
For Fresquez and the Gloom, sports — particularly indoor soccer — are primarily about community.
“We go to a sports game to be around people, to have fun, to enjoy, to laugh, to cheer on a team, to feel a part of a community,” Fresquez said. “You're cheering for the sport and the team, but you're also around other community members, and that's what's so special.”
Even the name of the Santa Fe Gloom has deep ties to the Santa Fe community. The name is derived from the traditional Zozobora festival in Santa Fe, where people come together to banish “Old Man Gloom,” Fresquez said.
“I was thinking of inspiration from the Oakland Roots, which is a team that New Mexico United plays. The Oakland Roots are all about being local, of having a lens of Oakland first and being rooted into your community. So I wanted a name that had that type of vibe,” Fresquez said. “The Santa Fe Gloom can now fit into the community as one: Zozobora. And two: the fútbol team.”
It has been clear since the creation of the team that it has been focused on the community and growing a fanbase, and the branding for the Gloom has contributed to that.
“A big takeaway this year is the branding has been on point; people are wearing merchandise; we are becoming a team,” Fresquez said.
The Gloom currently consists of 20 players. For Fresquez, the players have been a high point this year.
“They are really good people,” Fresquez said, “After the games, the kids come running down to the court to get their autographs. They are very interactive with the community, and I think that's what I am most proud of.”
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Fresquez has a passion for this team and the community that surrounds it. It’s this passion that carries Fresquez’s vision for the future: the Gloom’s very own venue.
“We’re gonna have our own venue space where we sit thousands of spectators,” Fresquez said. “You can go to a Gloom game in the afternoon, and go see a concert at night. It will be an event space and that is the future for the Gloom.”
This venue is part of the Gloom’s five-year plan.
The Gloom will play their second to last regular season game on Saturday, March 1 which will be their black-out game against Colorado Futsal Academy. The Gloom already lost to Colorado Futsal Academy earlier this year and are hungry for revenge.
“We expect a lot of fans there, it's gonna be revenge city for sure,” Fresquez said.
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
