Columbus Earns Soccer Reputation During World Cup

The U.S. Men’s Soccer team is advancing to the Round of 16 which means World Cup mania continues for another week. Columbus is helping lead the way in fan support. Hundreds of people gathered at the downtown Columbus Commons to cheer on the U.S. team as it took on Germany on Thursday. These World Cup viewing parties have been popping up all over Columbus, which ranked second in total viewership in the U.S. during Sunday’s match against Portugal. The avid soccer fans credit the major league Columbus Crew soccer team and a series of U.S. matches for building the local fan base. “I’m not surprised to see this many people here and I think there’ll be more people in Columbus that love soccer. A lot of that comes from the Mexico games that we’ve had here all the qualifiers and Columbus is a great town for soccer it’s a modern town and it’s a modern game," said one fan. Although they fell to Germany, a Ghana loss means the U.S. still gets to move out of the group rounds, and more chances to watch the team.