Hundreds of soccer fans — some brandishing face paint, sporting Uncle Sam hats, and draping themselves with American flags — gathered at Dupont Circle Saturday afternoon to watch the United States’ opening game of the 2010 World Cup against England.
Chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” are not uncommon at sporting events pitting American teams against squads from foreign lands — and the soccer gathering at Dupont was no exception. Patriotism of all sorts was prevalent. Two young men sporting English colors were roundly booed as they tried to make their way toward the center of the park at the heart of the neighborhood. One person held a cardboard sign that read, “Spice Girls suck!!! Miley rules.”
Prior to the kickoff at around 2:30 p.m., the Black Eyed Peas blared on the sound system and football aficionados prepped their adult beverages for the match. Still, even another battle between the U.S. and England — this one waged on the soccer field or ‘football pitch’ — did not deter a few chess players from speed-playing amidst the rumpus.
But others were excited about the game. Fans could watch the action on jumbo screens, one at either end of the park which sits at the center of the Dupont traffic circle. Mark House of Herndon, Va., drove into Arlington, then took the Metro into D.C. to watch the game.
“I think it’s great,” he said of the gathering. “It tries to get the United States excited about soccer.”
Oscar Cortez, who had been at Dupont since 9 a.m. Saturday and was on hand to watch the earlier match between Argentina and Nigeria, said such a gathering was “beautiful” for entertaining the community.
“You see mixes in the countries here in the park,” said Cortez. “Not only American.”
Cortez, who was videotaping the proceedings, was one of many who were either snapping photos or digitally recording the party. The gathering was reminiscent of February’s snowball fight, which drew a mob — as well as law enforcement officials — to Dupont Circle.
As the kickoff neared, the crowd joined together in a spirited — albeit disjointed — rendition of the National Anthem, which then gave way to applause.
And another “U.S.A.” chant.
