Page 144 - OVATION Magazine (Issue 1)

L.A. STORY
Some of LAFC’s most famous—and
most committed—owners include Nomar Garciaparra, Mia Hamm, Will Ferrell, and Magic Johnson. The Vietnamese busi- nessman Henry Nguyen (opposite bot- tom, middle right) was one of the team’s first investors.
“One of our mottos from the beginning was ‘There are no passengers; we want participants.’ ”
to having a group of 31 A-list—and A-type—personalities running a team.It’s less a case of too many cooks in the kitch- en than it is too many celebrity chefs in the Michelin three- star restaurant.What if one owner wanted three luxury suites for himself? Or another wanted the team to come scrimmage against his son’s club soccer team in Malibu?
—TOM PENN
The reality has been quite the opposite, as things have gone as well upstairs as they have on the field.“It’s a partner- ship,” Penn says. “One of our mottos from the beginning was ‘There are no passengers; we want participants.’ So this was less about financial capital from them and more about their experiential capital, their reputational capital. And, yes, we
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