The World Cup began this week, and I'm a typical American soccer fan in that I don't pay attention to soccer at all, except during the World Cup. Well, the World Cup is here and at least we don't have to deal with the vuvuzelas for the foreseeable future. I'd rather attend a middle school recital than hear that sound again for a month. No one seems to give the American team a chance, and we've obviously got an uphill battle considering the World Cup is being played in Brazil, and they are the heavy favorite to take home the cup. Still, here's some interesting facts about the U.S. Men's National Team and their fans.
The image above is one of the logos associated with the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team, and honestly it's pretty damn cool. The logo is clearly a throwback to the Revolutionary War era with a rattlesnake interlocked with the soccer ball. If you look in the stands, you'll see a variety of American flags ranging from Don't Tread On Me to Don't Give Up The Ship (personal favorite), but more importantly you'll see the American Outlaws.
The American Outlaws are the super fans of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team. It is pretty apparent that soccer takes a back seat to other sports in the United States, and for years even when we had geographic home field advantage, the opposing team's fans often outnumbered American fans. So in 2007, to combat this problem and drum up support for American soccer, the American Outlaws were born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Since that time, the soccer super fans have spread to over 125 official chapters throughout the country.
Chances are there's an American Outlaws chapter near your home town. The image above is the one for my hometown in Wilmington, NC with the Battleship USS North Carolina, guns drawn protecting the Port City. If you want to find out if your town has a chapter here is the link.
http://www.theamericanoutlaws.com/chapters
Soccer Chants are one of the many things that make soccer a much more enjoyable sport than most people think. I couldn't have cared less about soccer until I went to England during the 2006 World Cup. Being there, I completely got inundated with soccer for weeks, and it won me over. Imagine if the Superbowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, and NBA Finals were all merged together as one sport. That's what the World Cup is to the rest of the world. The American Outlaws have come up with some great chants, my favorite of which is "We Love Ya." Here is that chant along with the link to some others you can memorize before the game tonight.
http://old.theamericanoutlaws.com/events/chants
WE LOVE YA
We love ya, we love ya, we love ya,
Where you go we'll follow
We'll follow, we'll follow
'Cuz we support the US
The US, the US,
That's the way we like it,
We like it, we like it,
Woooooooaaahhhhhhhhh!
I'll spare the heartbreak of going into the fact that Landon Donovan wasn't picked for this U.S. World Cup team. Let's hope one of the guys picked to replace him comes through, but the guy is a legend. Clint Dempsey is the most recognizable name on this U.S. Team, though, goalkeeper Tim Howard and 26 year old midfielder Michael Bradley are also poised to be major factors for the Americans in this World Cup. Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. Coach, doesn't think the U.S. National Team can win it all, and he's likely right, but you don't say that. Especially, when you're getting paid millions of dollars to make sure the U.S. does win it all. It's going to be a tough road to hoe, but I'm of the mindset "Let's go to Brazil and ruin some dreams!"
The American team has been given a tough draw and have been placed in the aptly named "Group of Death" with Germany, Portugal, and Ghana. The first match is tonight, 6/16/14 against Ghana. Check your local American Outlaws website for the best place to see the game. #BeatGhana
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