KC fans overjoyed to see U.S. snag victory in knockout round: ‘I’m a believer’
First, there was the suffering. Then, utter joy.
With plenty of nervous energy, hordes of United States fans packed into KC Live! in the Power and Light District on Wednesday night and ticked away the minutes as their team ground its way to a win in its first World Cup knockout game.
Up 1-0 on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second half and down a man, thanks to a goal and a red card from Folarin Balogun, U.S. fans looked on at the game, willing the clock to run a touch faster. A late goal from Malik Tillman sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The U.S. was through with a 2-0 win, having claimed its first win in a knockout game at a World Cup since 2002, and the party was on.
Confetti fell, flags waved, shirts came off. A group dressed up as the country’s founding fathers danced.
Just before kickoff, Hayden Weatherman, originally from Kansas City, recalled a low point in his U.S. men’s national team fandom, whe he shed tears over the team’s eliminiation from World Cup qualifying in 2017 with a loss to Trinidad and Tobago.
“I was very skeptical coming in, but I’m a believer now,” he said.
“We’ve been to the knockout rounds before,” he said. “We gotta get further in the knockout rounds, that’s the goal. The quarterfinal is the goal. Anything past that, I’m happy with.”
Weatherman hailed the diverse makeup of the team: “It’s a mix of everyone. We’ve got multiple people that are from England; we’ve got multiple people that are from all over. It’s the definition of the United States. They’re not all from America, but they’re all American.”
Kansas City’s Corey Sassaman and Robyn Pangi said they had been sucked into the World Cup frenzy because of Kansas City’s host city status.
“As people who haven’t historically watched soccer, we’ve gotten so involved and passionate about the U.S. team,” Pangi said. “We’re just hoping they go all the way.”
“I haven’t paid a lot of attention to soccer in forever, probably since the ‘90s,” Sassaman said. “This has generated a lot of excitement living here in Kansas City. We’ve been down to Fan Fest, we’ve watched as many games as possible.”
Sister and brother Sierra and Abe Pint, of Kansas City, lived and died with every call and call during Wednesday’s game, packed into the front row of fans at KC Live!
“The team just shows how much America has been growing in soccer over the past couple years,” Abe Pint said. “I love that we’re doing well.”
