Different cultures, one shade of Oranje: Meet a few fans from KC’s Dutch fan walk
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- Hundreds of fans gathered in Kansas City Thursday morning for World Cup festivities.
- Fans came from Holland and across the U.S. to join the Oranje fanwalk parade.
- The parade began in Power and Light and ended at Grand and Pershing Road.
Kalyn Ahrens drove downtown from Waldo Thursday morning to join Dutch fans’ famous pre-game Orange Walk through the streets of Kansas City.
His spin on the tradition? He brought a white soccer ball with the orange lion emblem to have signed by as many people as possible.
“I had the whole world sign it today, which was most special,” he said.
Ahrens managed to toss the ball up to Mayor Quinton Lucas, who was celebrating at the top of one of the Oranje buses. Not only did Lucas sign the ball, but Yves Berendese, one of the Dutch DJs from the Wednesday pre-party, and Daniel “Oranje suit man” Oordt, a well-known Dutch fan, also signed the ball. He had the ball to meet people “from all walks of life.”
“I wanted to be a part of the experience with everyone and make new friends and new connections,” he said. “The Oranje culture is one of a kind. Grateful to be a part of it for a day.”
Ahrens grew up playing soccer, and now regularly attends Sporting KC and KC Current matches. He is also a FIFA volunteer in the pre-match ceremonies role, helping carry the country flags during the introduction of each match.
“For KC to host the World Cup is a dream for me,” he said.
The parade started in the Power and Light District, where fans began trickling in as early as 9 a.m. The celebration started with music and a lot of dancing, and it didn’t take long for the party to make it to the street.
A few “hup holland hups” later, and the buses set off.
Kansas City local Mark Nolen doesn’t really care about soccer. He hasn’t paid much attention to the World Cup. But he absolutely loves the color orange. That’s why he parked his 1982 light orange Corvette at the Wind Star gas station at the corner of 17th street and Grand.
“My car’s been orange since 1989,” he said. “I’m in my element.”
He bought it seven years after it came out, and repainted the dark orange to a lighter shade called sunset pearl.
“I don’t know nothing about soccer, but it looks fun,” Nolen said. “I’m here for the spirit. I am here to support.”
The buses were moving at a slow pace, but the energy stayed high. Some fans watched from the sides, cheering on and filming the squeezed crowd as they walked down Grand. Dozens of people stopped at gas stations, coffee shops and other businesses as they were making their way down to grab water, beer and any other essentials needed to finish the trot.
A woman adorned with a cheese crown in a red, white and blue dress traveled with her husband, who wore an orange vest and a long feathered hat, from America, Netherlands. The woman, who calls herself Queen of Cheese 007, and Guido Janssen regularly attend these events across the world to celebrate their country. This was their second Orange Walk after Houston.
“Best city so far, Kansas (City). It’s coming together. It’s beautiful. It’s not as large as other places. We like this,” Janssen told The Star.
But it takes a lot of effort to travel the world in so much spirited attire. The Queen of Cheese 007 hopped on the plane with her outfit, while Janssen barely managed to fit his costume in his suitcase.
On the other hand, Justin De Jong and Stejn Berg didn’t need to cross the Atlantic with their costumes, as they knabbed their oversized orange cowboy hats in Houston. The friends traveled from Amsterdam to Dallas and Houston before landing in Kansas City for their third fan walk. Ready to cheer on the match against Tunisia, De Jong and Stejn have enjoyed their last few days getting to know the city.
“It was quite quiet the last few days, but now, it’s very packed with orange,” De Jong said.
They enjoyed watching the parade get bigger and bigger as the packed crowd ventured down Grand Boulevard, and are hopeful to follow the team to Monterrey, Mexico, where they will end up if the Netherlands beats Tunisia.
Dozens of people traveled with their families. Richard Van Dougen traveled from the Netherlands to Kansas City with his four sons for their first game of the World Cup, though they hope to see the team continue in three more games.
“A lot of Americans are walking with us as well, with the Oranje, so I love to see that, that they enjoy and join the Oranje army,” Siebrand Van Dougen said.
The buses finally stopped at the intersection of Grand and Pershing Road, and fans split off to their next stops before the game at 6 p.m.