Jablonski: World Cup is best when shared with other fans
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 2—Dueling vuvuzelas, a leftover from the noisy World Cup in South Africa in 2010, provided the soundtrack during a World Cup watch party on Wednesday, July 1, at the Dayton Beer Company.
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The horns have a unique sound, one that's never going to fit in an orchestra but fits right in at soccer matches. In this case, they made hundreds of U.S. fans who gathered to watch the United States play Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 feel like they were a part of something memorable — even though the game was played thousands of miles away in California.
I was one of those fans. I know from experience that the World Cup is best experienced in a large group. Michael Muncy, the founder and president of the Dayton chapter of the American Outlaws, the U.S. men's national team's fan club, agrees with that viewpoint.
"Soccer is a sport to be watched with your friends and people you don't know," Muncy said. "You make all kinds of friends."
The Dayton Beer Company has provided the setting for that opportunity throughout this World Cup. It's the official home for the American Outlaws' watch parties.
"It's great, but it's mayhem," said owner and brewmaster Peter Hilgeman.
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For decades now, every time the World Cup rolls around, I've sought out these parties.
In 2002, I drove from Springfield to Columbus in the middle of the night to watch the United States beat Mexico 2-0. That game was played in South Korea. It started at 2:30 a.m. in the Eastern Time Zone.
I watched with thousands of fans at Crew Stadium. Anyone yawning got jolts of adrenaline when Brian McBride scored early in the first half and Landon Donovan sealed the victory with a header in the 65th minute.
Inspired by that night, I traveled to Germany four years later to experience the World Cup in person. I bought a last-minute ticket to see Switzerland play Ukraine in the Round of 16 in Cologne but enjoyed the watch parties far from the stadium with tens of thousands of German fans even more.
Over the years, I sought out more of those experiences. In 2014, I attended an American Outlaws watch party at the Fifth Street Brewpub in Dayton and wrote about it the next day.
The ubiquitous chant gained steam in the final minutes. The fans believed. That's why they kept repeating it. Doubt has no place in the World Cup — unless you're a long-suffering English fan.
I believe that we will win!"
"I believe that we will win!"
A packed house at Fifth Street Brewpub in Dayton kept the faith until the final whistle of the United States' round of 16 match against Belgium on Tuesday. At least one fan did storm out after the Americans fell behind 2-0 in extra time. For the most part, this group stayed true to the chant.
Twelve years later, the United States will get another chance against Belgium in a knockout game. The USA beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 on Wednesday in the Round of 32 for its first victory in a World Cup elimination game since that 2-0 defeat of Mexico 24 years ago.
Starting with a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Germany in 2002, the USA lost four straight knockout games: 2-1 to Ghana in 2010, 2-1 to Belgium in 2014 and 3-1 to the Netherlands in 2022.
The victory on Wednesday comes with an asterisk. It did end the U.S. losing streak in the knockout rounds, but this is an expanded World Cup — 48 teams instead of 32 — so the opponent was not as big of a threat as the teams the USA lost to in previous appearances.
Belgium, ranked ninth in the world by FIFA, will be the biggest test yet for the United States. The game will take place at 8 p.m. Monday, July 6, in Seattle. Belgium beat the United States 5-2 in a friendly in March. That was the eighth of 10 straight losses to European teams for the United States, which ended the skid Wednesday.
The fans at the Dayton Beer Company filled five different viewing areas. Muncy, arguably the biggest fan there, had confidence before the game but was wary because of how chaotic this World Cup has been. Earlier in the day, Belgium erased a 2-0 deficit in the final minutes to beat Senegal 3-2 in extra time.
Against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States had to control the middle and defend, Muncy said. He was not looking ahead — as many fans were after two impressive victories in the group stage — and thinking about the impossible dream of the Americans winning the World Cup.
"If you see who we would have to play if we keep going, it's pretty crazy," Muncy said.
That would be Spain in the quarterfinals, France in the semifinals and Argentina in the championship if the favorites advance.
The United States played well enough on Wednesday to make fans think it's possible. Fans erupted in the 31st minute when Flo Balogun scored what appeared to be the first goal of the game, but he was ruled offside. It took a minute for everyone at the Dayton Beer Company to quiet down and notice the flag.
Then, in the 45th minute, Balogun scored again. This time, it counted.
The second half tested the nerves of fans. Even the beer couldn't soothe them. They jeered when Balogun received a controversial red card but rejoiced when Malik Tillman's goal in the 82nd minute gave the United States a comfortable cushion for the final stretch.
"The red card changed the whole complexion of the game," Muncy said, "but we still attacked, which was nice. I did not expect that. I thought we were going to sit back."
I had to stay on my toes, too, throughout the game. I shot dozens of videos, trying to get the fans' reactions to each goal. At the same time, I was shooting still images with a different camera.
One image I captured stood out. I shot a photo of two fans — Kerby Desamour, of Miamisburg, and Colton Desroches, of Fairborn — hugging after the goal. Minutes later, I asked them their names and wondered if they knew each other.
Nope.
"A dude came up, and I was like, 'Why not,'" Desamour said.
The World Cup brings people together.