World Cup fans embrace American culture during tournament
Host Aisha Hasnie and Pak Gazette contributor Joe Concha explore the unique cultural experiences of foreign fans attending the FIFA World Cup in the U.S. They showcase viral social media posts from fans discovering American staples like Waffle House and Big Gulps. A touching video also shows Scottish fans celebrating their team by playing bagpipes in a New England neighborhood.
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The United States men’s national team defeated Paraguay in its first home World Cup match since 1994, drawing a reported crowd of 70,492 at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium). It was a clinic, a spectacle and perhaps the most encouraging performance many American soccer fans have ever seen in their lives. The numbers on the scoreboard were impressive and it turns out so were the viewing figures that Fox Sports just released.
Team USA fans came out in full force to watch the US men’s national team play World Cup soccer on American soil for the first time in 32 years. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP))
On Saturday, Fox Sports announced that the 4-1 victory over Paraguay was the “most-watched USMNT FIFA Men’s World Cup telecast in English-language history in the United States” with a staggering 15.986 million viewers. The team excelled and the Americans did the same.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
To put this into perspective, the USMNT’s 2022 group stage opener against Wales averaged around 11.7 million viewers in the US. That’s a whopping 106% increase in viewership. The peak audience during Friday’s loss was 18.86 million. We should have expected an increase in viewership with the excitement of playing at home and one of the best men’s teams built on paper, but this was historic.
The first game of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs reportedly averaged just over 16 million viewers. That means the USMNT didn’t fall behind the biggest sporting event in America right now – an impressive feat for a soccer game, even one played at home during a World Cup.
THE NEW EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING THE FOX ONE WORLD CUP
Folarin Balogun scored two goals in his first World Cup game for the United States. (Getty Images)
If the team puts together another impressive performance against Australia on Friday, expect many Americans who don’t normally follow soccer very closely to jump on the bandwagon and start to feel the patriotism flowing through their veins.
This is also an incredible opportunity to grow soccer in the United States, help Major League Soccer attract new fans, and turn some of these players into household names. The NHL capitalized on the momentum created by the 4 Nations Face-Off and international competition. MLS would do well to do the same.
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USMNT will play Australia at 3 pm ET on Friday, June 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
