Commerce City, Colo. - Just before Tuesday's exhibition match kicked off at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the starters for Colorado Rapids and Swansea City led the stadium in observing a moment of silence to honor the victims of last week's horrific shootings in nearby Aurora, Colo.
The match was the Colorado's first at home since a gunman killed 12 people and injured 58 others at the Century 16 theater in Aurora, some 10 miles from the stadium, in the early hours of July 21.
The players from both teams - all wearing black armbands - joined in the middle of the field to lay down a flower wreath and then walked to the edge of the center circle. Each team's player stood together with their arms on their teammates' shoulders, heads bowed, as the stadium went silent for 60 seconds.
Fans provided an added gesture by clapping without cheers for the entire 12th minute.
Jonathan Blunk (26), A.J. Boik (18), Jesse Childress (29), Gordon Cowden (51), Jessica Ghawi (24), John Larimer (27), Micayla Medek (23), Matt McQuinn (27), Veronica Moser-Sullivan (6), Alex Sullivan (27), Alex Teves (24), and Rebecca Wingo (32) were killed in the shooting.
