{"id":909471,"date":"2026-06-04T04:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/909471\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:48:58","slug":"diverse-complicated-united-this-is-what-it-is-to-be-a-usmnt-soccer-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/909471\/","title":{"rendered":"Diverse. Complicated. United. This is what it is to be a USMNT soccer fan"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of our Language of Soccer<\/a> World Cup series, The Athletic is speaking to supporters of all 48 nations competing at the 2026 edition to capture their unique football culture, distilled into a single phrase. You can read the articles in one place here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Diverse. Complicated. United.<\/p>\n

That, in three words, is U.S. soccer fandom. It\u2019s the faithful few who travel coast to coast. It\u2019s the millions attached to this infectious but fragmented sport, their interest divided among dozens of different leagues and teams. It\u2019s also the soccer agnostics, the rabid sports fans who obsess over basketball or American football but ignore the world\u2019s football for years at a time. Every fourth year, all those groups rally around the U.S. men\u2019s national team, united by a belief that their overlooked squad \u2014 and this overlooked sport \u2014 can rise and shock the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a relentless optimism,\u201d says Antonio Borjon, a U.S. fan in Southern California.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 2026 World Cup, it will stretch from SoFi Stadium to suburban Illinois; from bars in Manhattan to homes in Birmingham, Alabama; from Denver to the Dakotas, from New Hampshire to New Mexico, all across the 50 United States.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Antonio Borjon is a passionate USMNT supporter (Antonio Borjon)<\/p>\n

And it will overwhelm any cynicism, apathy or frustration that typically trails the USMNT \u2014 the now-popular moniker for the U.S. team.<\/p>\n

Its fanbase, like the vast country it represents, is varied and difficult to define. It\u2019s also relatively nascent. American soccer, just a few decades ago, existed in society\u2019s shadows. \u201cI loved soccer as a child,\u201d says Gerald Foston, whose fandom dates back to the 1970s. \u201cUnfortunately, growing up in the South Bronx, I didn\u2019t find many people who loved it like I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, throughout the 1990s and 21st century, soccer began attracting people from all walks of life, from all regions and backgrounds.<\/p>\n

Some, including Randy Hernandez, came to it naturally. The California-born son of Mexican immigrants, he latched onto his local team, the LA Galaxy, and later to the U.S. national teams.<\/p>\n

Others, such as Craig Hahn, adopted soccer when \u201cit was still a very niche thing.\u201d Growing up in Pittsburgh, he played the sport but rarely found it on TV. The EA Sports video game \u201cFIFA,\u201d and later the internet, became his \u201cgateway\u201d to the broader soccer world. But it was American soccer \u2014 and the idea of \u201cbuilding to something, hopefully some day to win a World Cup,\u201d Hahn says \u2014 that \u201cpiqued my interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

American soccer\u2019s gorgeous complication, though, has always been that millions of Americans latch onto teams other than the USMNT. When compared to other countries, and even to other American sports, this is one of several dynamics that makes U.S. fandom distinct.<\/p>\n

If, by contrast, you were born into a family of Newcastle United fans in England\u2019s north east, you probably support Newcastle and England\u2019s national team. If you were born in Montevideo, you likely support either Penarol or Nacional and almost certainly love the Uruguayan national team.<\/p>\n

If, however, you are born in Wisconsin to parents who love the NFL\u2019s Green Bay Packers; or in Washington, D.C., to parents who came from Colombia, you might feel no organic attachment to the USMNT. In a family of immigrants, you might support the motherland\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

And in Wisconsin, you\u2019d have to choose soccer \u2014 but you might choose FC Barcelona over a middling national team that never comes to your state, charges objectionable ticket prices, and only plays a handful of meaningful games per year.<\/p>\n

As a result, \u201cthe hardcore fanbase for the USMNT that travels around to different games is actually quite small,\u201d Hahn, a member of the Sammers supporters\u2019 group, says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The Sammers are one of the most prominent USMNT fan groups (Sammers SC)<\/p>\n

The generational fandom that follows the Packers or New York Yankees, or Liverpool or the Colombian national team, doesn\u2019t yet exist in American soccer.<\/p>\n

Others explain that the size of the country and the lack of a national stadium, which turn the USMNT into a \u201ctraveling circus,\u201d disrupt continuity and hinder the formation of any consistent, identifiable supporter culture.<\/p>\n

Many U.S. supporters have even grown accustomed to feeling like away fans on American soil<\/a>. Over the past few years, they\u2019ve been outnumbered by Morocco supporters in Cincinnati; by Colombia supporters in Maryland; by Turkey supporters in Connecticut; by Guatemala supporters in St. Louis; by South Korea supporters in New Jersey; and by Mexico supporters virtually anywhere.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a byproduct of the country\u2019s diversity. The games are opportunities for immigrant families to lean into identities and feel connections to home. But still, says Monty Rodrigues, a longtime U.S. fan who emigrated from India when he was young, it \u201cfeels so weird, and it\u2019s disappointing. And at times, it\u2019s heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The Sammers group will get the chance to support their team on home turf this summer (Sammers SC)<\/p>\n

Some of those same fans of other countries, though, also develop attachments to the USMNT. Elliott Montalvan, a New Yorker whose father moved to the U.S. from Ecuador as a teen, remembers watching the Ecuadorian national team as a child, and \u201cthe culture of being raised in an Ecuadorian household\u201d being \u201cvery instilled into me.\u201d But his father didn\u2019t force any fandom onto him. As he grew, he also fell in love with his local team, the 2015 MLS expansion club NYCFC; and then with the USMNT.<\/p>\n

When the U.S. and Ecuadorian national teams would face off, he felt conflicted. \u201cI mean, I grew up wearing Ecuadorian jerseys all my life,\u201d he explains \u2014 and his father still wore them. Nonetheless, Elliott would throw on a U.S. jersey. He\u2019d watch with dad. \u201cWe\u2019d sing both national anthems, and we\u2019d celebrate every goal, no matter who it came from,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

His story, and countless similar stories across the States, are \u201cwhat makes us unique,\u201d Montalvan says.<\/p>\n

Whereas \u201cEcuadorian fans are Ecuadorian fans through and through,\u201d he explains for the sake of comparison, \u201chere in the United States, it\u2019s a melting pot, bro. It\u2019s cliche to say, but like, you have everybody, from all ethnicities\u2026 celebrating and supporting U.S. soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now, as the president of Barra 76, a U.S. national team supporters\u2019 group, Montalvan lets that diversity drive the culture that he and others are trying to pioneer and shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have everybody\u2019s culture,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s like creating the ideal superhuman. Like, what\u2019s one superpower you want? Well, USA has got all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and others know that outside perceptions of U.S. soccer fan culture range from \u201ccorny\u201d to \u201cshallow\u201d to \u201cnonexistent.\u201d With respect to matchday atmospheres and chants, Montalvan says: \u201cYou see the commentary or the criticism: It looks very Chucky Cheese, or it looks very cringe, or it looks very, \u2018They don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing.\u2019 It sounds very nursery rhyme-ish. Whatever elementary school adjective you want to give, that\u2019s what it sounds like.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he and his peers see opportunity. Opportunity to change the perception. Opportunity to bring people in. Opportunity to blend soccer cultures and flavors from around the world \u2014 from Latin America to Eastern Europe, from Africa to China \u2014 and create something fresh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to copy (other regions); we want to be authentic,\u201d Hernandez, another Barra 76 member, says. \u201cSure, we\u2019re a nation of immigrants, but at the end of the day, we\u2019re the United States; we mix together to make something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The Barra 76 fan group make themselves heard at a USMNT game (Randy Hernandez)<\/p>\n

And the 2026 World Cup, of course, is an unparalleled opportunity to do all of that.<\/p>\n

For consequential games \u2014 World Cup qualifiers and continental championships \u2014 the USMNT fanbase expands multifold. The people obsessed with Barcelona or Arsenal become aware. The NFL zealots who also follow their city\u2019s MLS team, perhaps originally fueled by local pride, might tune in.<\/p>\n

And then, when the World Cup rolls around, the base explodes. Patriotism swells. Bandwagons fill.<\/p>\n

Some see analogies to the Olympics. But the men\u2019s World Cup is different. \u201cIf you\u2019re talking about the U.S. basketball team, hockey, baseball, the U.S. is always one of the favorites, or expected to win,\u201d Hahn explains. \u201cIn men\u2019s soccer, it\u2019s the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s part of the allure. It\u2019s an opportunity for America, the juggernaut of all juggernauts, the richest and most powerful country on the planet, to identify with an underdog.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that I would care to go watch the USA baseball team play anywhere,\u201d says Christine Mule, a member of the American Outlaws supporters\u2019 group. \u201cThe USA basketball team plays in the Olympics and they\u2019re pretty much gonna crush anybody that they come up against.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The American Outlaws support their team against Belgium in March. (Kevin C. Cox \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Soccer, on the other hand, \u201cis still in a phase where it\u2019s growing,\u201d she continues. And people want to grow with it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s part of why the diehards travel to games, enduring awkward conversations with locals who don\u2019t even know it is happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the opposite of frontrunning,\u201d says Jon Strauss, a Boston-area fan since the 1990s. \u201cIt\u2019s that ethos: Get in on the ground floor and work your way up.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s part of why millions will jump aboard and join them this summer. It\u2019s to build, and rise, together.<\/p>\n

And when they all do, for hours or days at a time, the fragmented fanbase will feel like one. Complications will be forgotten. Differences will dissipate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this unifying force,\u201d Trevin Wurm, an American Outlaws member and staffer, says of USMNT games. No matter the locale, \u201cit\u2019s the same country, it\u2019s people cheering toward the same goal, and coming together to create community before the game, and celebrating the team in the stadium. It\u2019s kind of this amazing thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Language of Soccer series is sponsored by Google.<\/p>\n

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Sponsors have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As part of our Language of Soccer World Cup series, The Athletic is speaking to supporters of all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":909472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[1784,73628,7,16199,3372,3373,30045],"class_list":["post-909471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-culture","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-football","tag-international-football","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-us-mens-national-team"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116690037475228144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}