GOOOOOOOOOALLLLL!!!
The cry of the announcer as a player from Mexico tapped a rebound into the back of the South Korea net brought loud cheers from a full house at The Don’$ Sports Bar was almost drowned out as fans celebrated.
Scenes like this are becoming more commonplace as the FIFA World Cup enters its third and final round of pool play this week. The top two teams in each of the 12 four-team pods, along with eight wild cards, will advance to the Round of 32 that begins play over the Fourth of July weekend.
With this quadrennial tournament being held in North America for the first time since 1994, local soccer fans are finding their favorite teams and filling local sports bars and restaurants, wearing their favorite nation’s colors and dressing up to support them as they battle for the world championship.
Don’s owner Lupe Gonzalez said that it’s a lot of fun watching local residents show interest in the 48-team soccer tournament that is held every four years.
“It’s a great feeling to get the whole community together and not worry about anything else but watching some good soccer from all over the world,” he said. “These are the best athletes coming together every four years and it’s always a treat to see that.”
Both Mexico and the United States appear to be the most popular teams among local residents. Every chair in Don’$ Sports Bar was full for Thursday night’s matchup between Mexico and South Korea, with most fans wearing replica green-and-red uniforms for the Mexico squad, which pulled out an exciting 1-0 win over South Korea.
The full house kept Gonzalez and his staff busy from well before opening kickoff to the final whistle, with food orders and non-stop drinks of all flavors — alcoholic and otherwise — going from the bar to the tables at a frantic pace.
“That kind of comes hand in hand with an event like that going on, so there’s a lot of work to be done,” Gonzalez said. “Just being a part of it and hearing people having a good time is a big relief.”
While soccer is considered the world’s most popular sport, the sport has been a late bloomer here in the United States.
Longtime fans remember the days of the North American Soccer League from the 1970’s and early 80’s, and some remember the days of the indoor version that plays like a hockey match on astroturf. Both versions of the sport were popular, but interest faded in all but the most soccer-friendly areas in the country.
When the United States was awarded the host bid for the World Cup in 1994, it sparked a new era of the sport, bringing about not only Major League Soccer (which has grown from 10 to 30 teams in the last three decades), but a number of minor leagues and even a top-notch women’s professional league.
Gonzalez coached soccer for more than 20 years in the area, including leading South Sioux City High School’s boys team to a state title in 2019. He has seen the sport grow tremendously since the last time the United States played host to a World Cup.
“Back then, the USA wasn’t the best, but they’ve made tremendous improvement over the years,” he said. “The diversity of a nation like ours has really helped a lot, having people from all the different countries that come here looking for a better life and plant roots here, and we get some pretty good athletes out of that. I think that’s been great and the county itself has invested a lot of time and money in their youth programs over the years.”
As far as who he’s rooting for in this year’s tournament?
“We’ve got a little office pool going here and I got Germany, so that’s who I’m rooting for,” he said with a laugh. “It would be an absolute dream to see either Mexico or the U.S. win the World Cup, and if they keep working hard and keep going in the right direction, I think its a possibility.”
