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You’ve seen the videos by now. Fans packed into bars on Friday night, June 12, or in parks, or stadium watch parties, flinging their beers in the air and hugging strangers. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” or Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA" blaring, inspiring a collective sing-along.
The energy built first with a seventh-minute own goal, then with Folarin Balogun’s brace and coming to a crescendo when Gio Reyna tucked a shot into the far corner, punctuating a 4-1 win for the United States over Paraguay — the Americans’ largest victory at a World Cup since 1930.
The U.S. plays next in Seattle at noon Friday, June 19, against Australia.
Across the country, a nation seemed to fall in love with its team all at once. On Fox, an average of 15.986 million viewers watched the game, peaking at 18.86 million late in the second half. With an additional 8.9 million Spanish-language viewers on Telemundo, total viewership averaged 24.9 million — the most-watched U.S. men's national team game ever, and more than each game of the NBA Finals.
And on this occasion, Phoenix was no exception.
The night’s biggest watch party was at Tombstone Brewing Company in Arcadia, where the American Outlaws — the national team’s largest supporters club — hosted its event for the opener. Hours before kickoff, fans gathered in their U.S. jerseys and American flags, singing songs in anticipation.
For many, this was something of a consolation prize. When FIFA announced, back in 2018, that the U.S. would host this World Cup, many of the 350 members of American Outlaws Phoenix envisioned that they would travel around the country, going to games. And with the U.S. opener in Los Angeles, this game seemed like the perfect opportunity — that is, before ticket prices were revealed.
After backlash, FIFA made a small handful of tickets to each game available for $60, but for most fans, the cheapest ticket available for the opener was listed at an astronomical $1,120 — a price in line with tickets to the final of previous tournaments.
Jamara Saah, the president of American Outlaws Phoenix, had long been among those planning to attend the U.S. matches — as he did at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 edition in Qatar. But when he priced out a trip to Los Angeles for the opener, he discovered that it would cost nearly as much as his trip across the world to Qatar, where he watched seven games in 10 days.
“With the pricing, people couldn't afford to go,” Saah said. “And it's very, very frustrating, because for somebody that's been to a couple of World Cups, FIFA has never done this before. That's one of the things that's always been good.”
At the same time, FIFA made fewer tickets available to official supporters’ groups, while scattering those fans throughout the upper deck, rather than in their usual congregation behind each goal.
“Supporters are always right around the goal,” Saah said. “You put them there to create the atmosphere. But FIFA saw the shining dollar and they decided to chase the money.”
But at Tombstone Brewing on Friday night, the upshot of all of this was that the biggest die-hards were in attendance for the watch party, singing their support for the national team throughout.
“All the hoopla, once that whistle blows, we're focusing here,” Saah said. “We're gonna support the U.S. no matter what. The World Cup is here. Let's enjoy it.”
The American Outlaws’ watch party wasn’t the only joyous congregation across the Valley. In downtown, Crown Public House — a year-round soccer bar — had been pushing its World Cup watch parties for weeks, and the event delivered.
With all seats taken an hour before kickoff, fans stood shoulder to shoulder, belting out the national anthem and an impromptu set list of supporters’ songs. When the first goal went in, beers flew through the air. And after the dismantling of Paraguay was complete, fans stood on chairs, singing along to patriotic anthems like Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”
"Phoenix just provides such a special experience when it comes to watching sports," said Anahi Jaramillo, one fan at Crown. "... It's awesome to see this excitement."
No matter where the party was, the goal was the same: share in collective joy. And for the American Outlaws, there’s a tangible belief that this month can provide a long-term boost to the sport’s popularity in the U.S.
“We can have people show up and it'll be their first time,” Saah said. “And they're gonna get sucked in. They're gonna be like, 'I came to a bar, now what is it like to go to a stadium?' … That's getting more people to go to the stadium and follow U.S. soccer.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix watch parties erupt in World Cup celebrations
Continue reading...
The energy built first with a seventh-minute own goal, then with Folarin Balogun’s brace and coming to a crescendo when Gio Reyna tucked a shot into the far corner, punctuating a 4-1 win for the United States over Paraguay — the Americans’ largest victory at a World Cup since 1930.
The U.S. plays next in Seattle at noon Friday, June 19, against Australia.
Across the country, a nation seemed to fall in love with its team all at once. On Fox, an average of 15.986 million viewers watched the game, peaking at 18.86 million late in the second half. With an additional 8.9 million Spanish-language viewers on Telemundo, total viewership averaged 24.9 million — the most-watched U.S. men's national team game ever, and more than each game of the NBA Finals.
And on this occasion, Phoenix was no exception.
The night’s biggest watch party was at Tombstone Brewing Company in Arcadia, where the American Outlaws — the national team’s largest supporters club — hosted its event for the opener. Hours before kickoff, fans gathered in their U.S. jerseys and American flags, singing songs in anticipation.
For many, this was something of a consolation prize. When FIFA announced, back in 2018, that the U.S. would host this World Cup, many of the 350 members of American Outlaws Phoenix envisioned that they would travel around the country, going to games. And with the U.S. opener in Los Angeles, this game seemed like the perfect opportunity — that is, before ticket prices were revealed.
After backlash, FIFA made a small handful of tickets to each game available for $60, but for most fans, the cheapest ticket available for the opener was listed at an astronomical $1,120 — a price in line with tickets to the final of previous tournaments.
Jamara Saah, the president of American Outlaws Phoenix, had long been among those planning to attend the U.S. matches — as he did at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 edition in Qatar. But when he priced out a trip to Los Angeles for the opener, he discovered that it would cost nearly as much as his trip across the world to Qatar, where he watched seven games in 10 days.
“With the pricing, people couldn't afford to go,” Saah said. “And it's very, very frustrating, because for somebody that's been to a couple of World Cups, FIFA has never done this before. That's one of the things that's always been good.”
At the same time, FIFA made fewer tickets available to official supporters’ groups, while scattering those fans throughout the upper deck, rather than in their usual congregation behind each goal.
“Supporters are always right around the goal,” Saah said. “You put them there to create the atmosphere. But FIFA saw the shining dollar and they decided to chase the money.”
But at Tombstone Brewing on Friday night, the upshot of all of this was that the biggest die-hards were in attendance for the watch party, singing their support for the national team throughout.
“All the hoopla, once that whistle blows, we're focusing here,” Saah said. “We're gonna support the U.S. no matter what. The World Cup is here. Let's enjoy it.”
The American Outlaws’ watch party wasn’t the only joyous congregation across the Valley. In downtown, Crown Public House — a year-round soccer bar — had been pushing its World Cup watch parties for weeks, and the event delivered.
With all seats taken an hour before kickoff, fans stood shoulder to shoulder, belting out the national anthem and an impromptu set list of supporters’ songs. When the first goal went in, beers flew through the air. And after the dismantling of Paraguay was complete, fans stood on chairs, singing along to patriotic anthems like Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”
"Phoenix just provides such a special experience when it comes to watching sports," said Anahi Jaramillo, one fan at Crown. "... It's awesome to see this excitement."
No matter where the party was, the goal was the same: share in collective joy. And for the American Outlaws, there’s a tangible belief that this month can provide a long-term boost to the sport’s popularity in the U.S.
“We can have people show up and it'll be their first time,” Saah said. “And they're gonna get sucked in. They're gonna be like, 'I came to a bar, now what is it like to go to a stadium?' … That's getting more people to go to the stadium and follow U.S. soccer.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix watch parties erupt in World Cup celebrations
Continue reading...
