Fans turned out in droves for the World Cup match between the United State and Australia in Seattle, which the U.S. won 2-0. Many of those who couldn’t get into the stadium packed into nearby Pioneer Square. It was so crowded that people climbed trees and sat around TVs on the sidewalk.
One group of guys was watching the game on a phone, which was balanced on an 18-pack of Budweiser with a small speaker nearby.
The main screen further up “ain’t big enough,” said Doug Livas, who lives in North Seattle. Despite the squinting and jockeying for room, he and his friends were in good cheer.
“I'm a huge soccer fan,” Livas said. “I'm a Sounders season ticket holder from season one of the MLS, and pretty much the coolest thing I can imagine to have the World Cup here. I rode my bike here from home, and I'll be telling my grandkids about this."
Eighteen-year-old Ava Jalali was thrilled with the win. She and her family had tickets to the game and had traveled from San Francisco to watch it.
“It was electric,” she said. “It's filled with USA fans. There's no similar experience like it when everybody is just chanting really loudly, everybody's cheering, everybody's singing.”
Australia's loss disappointed fans like Ishan Shrestha, who is from Sydney and moved to Seattle a few years ago.
“We were very excited coming out of the Turkey game, but heading into this, we felt confident," he said. "Two bad goals at the start of the first half, and then it was kind of downhill from there. But you know, it is what it is. We're going for the next round, hopefully.”
And it was still an experience to remember for Australia supporters like Jim Cumming.
“I’ve lived in Seattle for 35 years waiting for this day. Australia versus U.S.,” he said. “Couldn't believe it when Australia got drawn to play versus USA in Seattle.”
Other people were looking ahead. Berthenie Beaver, from Haiti, was watching the game to support her husband, a U.S. fan, “but this afternoon it's going to be my turn, because Haiti plays,” she said, though Haiti ended up losing 3-0 to Brazil.
The next match in Seattle is on Wednesday between Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The next game for team USA is against Turkey on Thursday in Los Angeles.
