Ranch & Coast Magazine

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN STEFANKO San Diego's Hometown Football Team T HE INDOOR FOOTBALL League's San Diego Strike Force is a team made especially for San Diego. From its name and its WWII bomb logo to its camouflage-colored uniforms and its Flying Aces dancers, the Strike Force is built to honor those who serve. Vivian Lin, the team's president and CEO, is both the first woman to lead the Strike Force as well as the first Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) to lead a professional football team. She joined the Strike Force as vice president of business development in 2019, bringing with her a background in sports broadcasting and athlete representation. She was already working on the team's new branding based on San Diego's military history and culture when the experience of the pandemic only sharpened that focus. "In 2020, when we and the rest of the sports world got shut down, it became important to ask what this community was going to need coming out of the pandemic," says Lin. "Our military didn't shut down. ey still had to work… just like our hospital workers and first responders," to whom the Strike Force has donated hundreds of tickets. Since the start of this year's season, the Strike Force has also given away thousands of tickets to military personnel and their families. "As we've seen, prices are going up, parking is going up — we knew there would be a financial backlash. It was critical for us as a business to think about giving back to the community," Lin says. "My father was a lieutenant in Chiang Kai-shek's army fighting for democracy. I'm here because my parents had to flee China," continues Lin, who was born in San Jose and grew up in the Palo Alto area. "I know my whole life would be very different if I was raised in China, and I am aware of the opportunities and freedoms I have because of our servicemen and women." Lin was appointed president and CEO of the Strike Force by the team's previous owner in May 2021. Aware of his plan to sell the team, which plays home games at the Pechanga Arena, Lin recognized the need to get veterans involved at an ownership level. e team owns the name Strike Force but given the history of the Chargers and the city's previous indoor football teams, the Shock Wave and the Riptide, Lin knows the Strike Force has "to earn the name San Diego." Lin gathered a group of veteran owners who are now part of her advisory group. "ey may not be involved in day- to-day operations, but they are always at the games and an integral part of the team and the community," Lin says. San Diego has been Lin's home since 1998, when she came to town to cover the U.S. National Surfing Championships for ESPN. "I was in Oceanside and fell in love with it," Focus military e Strike Force honors local military personnel BY BILL ABRAMS @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 50 JULY 2022 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE Brian T. Grana, Marine veteran; Bevin Melody, wife of Navy Captain Jeff Melody; Vivi Lin, San Diego Strike Force President & CEO; Gary Warren, Marine veteran; Trevor Warren, son of Marine parent and Strike Force owners Kathryn and Gary Warren; and Alyce Fernebok, Marine veteran

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