{"id":6148,"date":"2026-07-01T23:05:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6148"},"modified":"2026-07-01T23:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:05:50","slug":"us-soccers-diverse-fan-base-finds-its-perfect-stage-in-the-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6148","title":{"rendered":"US soccer\u2019s diverse fan base finds its perfect stage in the Bay Area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2014 As the United States finished a memorable run through the World Cup\u2019s group stage, fans waving flags, carrying scarves and sporting a colorful mosaic of soccer jerseys filled San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose and nearby watering holes, including Jack\u2019s in Japantown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A crowd featuring Latino fans, Black fans, Asian fans, soccer super-fans, newcomers and those supporting the U.S. along with family teams from other nations cheered on the Stars & Stripes, a blend that resembles the evolving makeup of the team.<\/span><\/p>\n

The diversity of the fan base might not be noticeable in some parts of the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

But in the multicultural Bay Area, it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such will probably be the case again Wednesday night when the United States plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 at Levi\u2019s Stadium, in front of a crowd of nearly 70,000 fans, the vast majority of whom are united across their differences by supporting the American team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, a stereotype of U.S. national team fans was that they were largely suburban and white, a byproduct of the sport\u2019s pay-for-play system at youth levels and the composition of the team.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the World Cup was last held in the United States, 32 years ago, the team\u2019s 22-man roster had five Latino and two Black players. This year\u2019s roster of 26 has 13 Black and three Latino members.<\/span><\/p>\n

The question now is whether that changing roster, paired with a World Cup on home soil, is helping the U.S. team reach fans who once saw American soccer as something narrower.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dave Romero, a Mexican-American from San Jose and longtime member of the U.S. national team\u2019s fan group, the American Outlaws, sees a cultural change happening in real time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen people of every color, every religion, everything,\u201d Romero said last week while watching a U.S. match at Jack\u2019s, a meeting spot for the American Outlaws\u2019 San Jose chapter. \u201cIt\u2019s truly a melting pot of just unity. I mean, I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s any other better way to describe it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent data indicates that younger United States soccer fans are more racially diverse than their older counterparts. A <\/span>study from Isos Capital<\/span> highlighted that most U.S. sports fans who identified as soccer supporters were under the age of 45, with Major League Soccer having the youngest base of any men\u2019s pro league in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forty percent of U.S. soccer fans are people of color, a study from Morning Consult\u00a0reported, and about 30% are Hispanic or Latino, according to MLS.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Non-white American audiences also planned to watch the World Cup at higher rates, according to <\/span>a Gallup poll survey<\/span> taken before the start of the competition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come here for non-World Cup games, it\u2019s the usual suspects,\u201d patron Jared Slaybaugh said about the crowd at Jack\u2019s. \u201cI recognize a lot of the faces. So this is definitely more people than normally come here, because the games aren\u2019t normally as big.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNormally, it\u2019s a semi-diverse crowd. But there are a lot of people here for this game. In general, it\u2019s a global sport. Everybody loves soccer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the 1994 World Cup, soccer culture has expanded in the United States beyond its affluent niche. But many stakeholders hope it takes hold this time around as a phenomenon that transcends demographic barriers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At Jack\u2019s, the setup featured two tables of regulars who were members of the American Outlaws and enough red, white and blue onlookers to fill the main bar area and back patio.<\/span><\/p>\n

The gathering included newcomers, too. Robert Florez, Romero\u2019s nephew, stopped by to get more acquainted with the family tradition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would say I\u2019ve been a fan of soccer for about 10 years now,\u201d Florez said. \u201cBut actually getting into it more and understanding the rules and the way it works, I would say within the last few years. I\u2019m a Liverpool fan, but USA, Mexico, Brazil and Germany are all the squads I\u2019m rooting for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Florez represents the type of fan the U.S. hopes to attract. A self-described soccer skeptic who is growing into the game, his family background includes Black, German and Mexican heritage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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He had been to San Pedro Square for earlier matches and was impressed with what he saw \u2014 Mexican fans supporting the U.S. and Colombian, Japanese and South Korean fans taking in the scene.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a joy seeing all the cultures mesh together and making it a fun, enjoyable, memorable time,\u201d Florez said. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy. Regardless of what\u2019s going on right now in the country, we\u2019ve seen everyone mesh together and just have a good time and partying, and that\u2019s what it\u2019s supposed to be. That\u2019s what the fun is all about with all this. So I\u2019m glad the World Cup is here in the States.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With the backdrop of a divisive political climate, the specter of ICE raids and the possibility of a combative law enforcement presence at matches featuring teams from the Middle East, there were worries of small crowds and a muted fan presence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That has not been the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levi\u2019s Stadium, with a capacity of 68,827, has been filled or a few hundred shy of full every game by a passionate array of supporters from around the globe.<\/span><\/p>\n

In downtown San Jose, San Pedro Square has become World Cup central, welcoming in tens of thousands of fans for watch parties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matches featuring the U.S. and Mexico have been especially popular downtown, reaching into the 20,000-30,000 range.<\/span><\/p>\n

And smaller watch parties have brought in fans as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the U.S. match against Turkey on Thursday, star-spangled revelers of all stripes packed Jack\u2019s despite the Americans\u2019 game having no effect on their placement in the knockout round of 32.<\/span><\/p>\n

Romero said showing support for the USMNT is important to him regardless of the consequence of a given match.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard because there are no stakes,\u201d Romero said. \u201cBut they deserve the same level of passion from the fans.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019d have a hard time convincing those who showed up to watch that the game was meaningless.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would assert most of us are rooting for the USA, so that\u2019s always cool,\u201d said Kristianne Solchaga, a Mexican- and Filipina-American who was at Jack\u2019s for last week\u2019s U.S. match.<\/span><\/p>\n

On <\/span>U.S. Soccer\u2019s<\/span> website Tuesday, <\/span>one video<\/span> particularly stood out. Recorded during Black History month in February, it was titled, \u201cOne Nation: Imani Williams Breaking Barriers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams, a Black woman from Texas, is a capo for the American Outlaws\u2019 Austin chapter. In the video, she spoke to the changes unfolding within the U.S. fan base but also noted a disconnect between the Black people who play soccer and the Black people who support it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople worry about the ability to have their own cultural expressions,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThere\u2019s a handful of us at the forefront of the U.S. soccer movement who are Black and it\u2019s important for us to be seen. It\u2019s important for us to be part of the conversation because it\u2019s all American culture.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With marquee Black stars such as Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Alex Freeman playing significant roles, the current version of the USMNT presents something \u2014 and someone \u2014 for just about anyone to root for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Latino players Gio Reyna and Ricardo Pepi have also had their moments, making the absence of Bay Area native Diego Luna sting less for those who were disappointed by his exclusion from the World Cup roster after a strong performance in the Gold Cup last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The groundswell of support is building. Whether it continues after Wednesday night\u2019s match and this summer\u2019s World Cup remains to be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Look up the latest grades for Florida\u2019s public schools<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Multicultural Bay Area fans coming out in droves to support United States\u2019 World Cup run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nUS soccer\u2019s diverse fan base finds its perfect stage in the Bay Area - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6148\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US soccer\u2019s diverse fan base finds its perfect stage in the Bay Area - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Multicultural Bay Area fans coming out in droves to support United States\u2019 World Cup run.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6148\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-01T23:05:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"US soccer\u2019s diverse fan base finds its perfect stage in the Bay Area\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-01T23:05:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148\"},\"wordCount\":1369,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/873d158d511376c8f2a41740b5ede1a5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Soccer\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6148\",\"name\":\"US soccer\u2019s diverse fan base finds its perfect stage in the Bay Area - 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