Whether it’s the World Cup, Gold Cup or the Olympics, a devoted group of fans has been crowding a bar in Chicopee, Massachusetts, for years – all to cheer on the United States national soccer teams.
WAMC paid them a visit during last night’s match – a Round of 32 showdown between the USMNT and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
By Wednesday evening, most commuters were off the road and the sun was setting on Chicopee Center. But, well-before kickoff, a patch of Springfield Street was swelling up – all for a watch party at a neighborhood bar.
For years, the Rumbleseat Bar & Grille has been the stomping grounds for the American Outlaws Western Massachusetts chapter – one of about 200 Outlaw groups across the country.
Their mission – root for the home team: the U.S. men’s and women’s sides as they play across the world. This year, of course, the World Cup is partially stateside, and the chapter’s been making the most of it.
“I've been following the team since… I mean, I have the ‘94 kit on right now, so I've been following the team since I was a kid and then growing up,” said chapter President Jason Williams. “Now, I'm heavily-involved.”
As seemingly endless supplies of pre-game beer and chicken wings were dished out, Williams and company were handing out swag as every part of the multi-room bar filled up.
Williams said his chapter goes back at least a decade, when he and fellow U.S. national team supporter Billy Stetson, Rumbleseat’s owner, realized they could bring a supporter group to western Mass.
It would end up becoming the Outlaws’ 98th chapter and it’s grown steadily ever since, with at least 100 members.
That includes Jeff Deren, a devoted supporter with much of his family in tow.
“We've been coming here every World Cup that [the men and women teams] qualify for, and it happens every single time: they get off to a good start, momentum starts to build, the crowd starts getting bigger, the excitement starts getting bigger, so everybody starts to gather around," he said. "Everybody wants something in common to cheer for: it's the 250th anniversary of this country, we've got a World Cup going on, the U.S. national team is playing fantastic, they've captivated our hearts, and we are excited to see how far they can take this."
Standing beside him was 9-year-old Jacob Deren – both of them clad in U.S. uniforms. He says Christian Pulisic has been his favorite player throughout the tournament (Jeff tells WAMC the Hudson Valley’s Tyler Adams has been his own favorite to watch).
Pulisic and the rest of the U.S. starters have been in decent form, as of late. Aside from a 3-2 loss to Turkey in the group stage, Team USA has had few struggles. Going into Wednesday though, they would have to confront of their biggest challenges – European teams. As reported by the New York Times, they’ve lost 10 straight against such sides.
But, if there was any pre-game anxiety in Chicopee, it was drowned out by a rendition of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” the team’s unofficial anthem this tournament.
Then, came the 8 p.m. kickoff.
In a sea of red and white were Mimi LaPierre and Jacob Robb, who couldn't grab a table, but were making do with almost two dozen TV screens around them.
“We’ve watched all of the games!” Robb told WAMC as the final warm-ups ended. “I think we're going all of the way! I think the United States is going all of the way!”
“Yeah, I think they’re winning for sure,” LaPierre yelled as the room’s volume only increased.
Pretty soon, the match was in full-swing. Any chance of interviews would have to wait for half-time or the now-infamous “hydration breaks” between halves. 30 minutes in? Pure jubilation as Folarin Balogun put away a shot inside the box… only for spirits to come back down to earth, once it was ruled offside.
Of course, ten minutes later, the American player did what he did best – score again.
It was a hell of a way to go into half-time – more beer, more chicken and a fan clad in Uncle Sam gear while on stilts made the rounds, as well. Taking it all in was Angelo Maymi, who conceded he mistimed getting in.
“This is... I missed the goal, first of all: that was bad,” he said. “I got here right after it, but Bosnia is probably the best first round that we could have had…”
It was true – Bosnia & Herzegovina was one of, if not the lowest-ranked European sides in the Round of 32.
But, it made them no less of a threat, especially when controversy emerged in the second half: a red card for Balogun after a video review caught him seemingly unintentionally stepping on an opposing player’s ankle – something generally frowned upon in professional soccer.
With the U.S. reduced to 10 men, the opposition seemed to take control. Nerves were frayed in the bar as buckets of beer bottles continued to be served up. Eyes were on all screens, except for one inexplicably playing the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.
Then: relief – a near-perfect free kick goal from Malik Tillman in the 82nd minute.
With that, the opposition seemed to peter out. More relief set in, and almost two hours after kickoff, the home team was through, destined to face Belgium on Monday night in Seattle.
For Linda Jopson, accompanied by her daughter, Katelyn Zak, it was another classic, albeit with extra stress.
“I feel relieved. It was very nerve-wracking, I hate nail-biters, and that was one, I'm glad they pulled it off,” she said after the match. “They deserved to win.”
Both she and Zak, as well as much of the bar, took issue with Balogun’s red card. Zak says while “Video Assistant Referee” or “VAR” technology has its role, the video tech slowing down the incident made the ankle-step look worse than it was.
Barring that ugliness, she says, the team’s been playing wonderfully – and that ought to attract even more supporters in the years to come.
“It really is the beautiful game, and I think the United States is starting to see that more as we play it more beautifully than we have in the past,” she said. “It's the beautiful game, and… it's beautiful!”
Wednesday night was also a family affair – Jeff Deren is Jopson’s son, and Jacob’s her grandson. She says her family’s support for the national team goes way back.
“Well, forever. Our family is a soccer family. The kids played - the grandkids play… I have four kids, the three boys and Katelyn, and all four of them played soccer: it was their favorite sport,” she recounted. “Jeff actually played for UMass: he's in the UMass Hall of Fame. He had the most goals and assists…”
Soccer roots or not, Deren says an environment like Wednesday night’s is like few others.
“Everybody wants something common to cheer together for, and we see it with the Olympics. We see it with the World Cup especially,” he explained. “People get together, they put their arms around each other, they sing ‘Sweet Caroline.’ We're singing John Denver, we're singing the national anthem. As soon as it kicks off, people that you might not even know what their first name is... you put your arm around them, you're cheering for the team together! The camaraderie is actually something very special, and it's events like these that I love, when it brings communities together that you normally wouldn't see.”
