RECIFE, Brazil (AP) – Some wanted to play soccer barefoot on the beach with Brazilians, experiencing for themselves those romanticized images they’d seen on TV. Others dreamed of attending meaningful games in the homeland of Pele, soaking up the passion for the game permeating not just the stadiums, but every corner of every neighborhood.
If they could do that, maybe tip back a few caipirinhas, munch on coxinhas, take a dip in the south Atlantic, and cheer on the U.S. national team, what a trip it would be.
Brazil turned out to be the perfect place for the traveling American fan base to come into its own at the World Cup – to gather festively before games on foreign soil and take over arenas during matches.
“Huge party! It was awesome,” Miami resident Katie McCrath said of a gathering hosted by the booster club American Outlaws before Monday’s tournament opener for the U.S., a 2-1 triumph over Ghana in Natal. “They filled the streets.”
They filled a large part of the stadium, too.