U.S. National Team Feels Support From Near and Far

IRENE, South Africa -- A former president flew all the way to South Africa to support them from the Loftus Versfeld stands. The current president called them on Thursday and spent time congratulating several players individually.

Forward Jozy Altidore revels with fans after the U.S. advanced to the second round

Thousands of supporters have descended on the stadiums wearing red, white and blue. ESPN has reported record ratings. And a YouTube video depicting celebrations from around the U.S. at the moment Landon Donovan scored his historic goal against Algeria brought tears to the eyes of the player himself, thousands of miles away.

"We can't do it without you," Donovan tweeted. "Believe."

Signs of support for the team and the excitement over its stirring run to the World Cup's round of 16 are plentiful. They're obvious in and around the stadiums and even at the relative seclusion of the U.S. camp in Irene, where all the players have to do is get online to see the impact they're making.

"It's nice to be able to, because of the world we live in now, to be able to share in all that," Donovan said here.

More fans in the U.S. bought World Cup tickets than any other country outside South Africa, and many have made it here. It was always going to be tough to match England's famous traveling support in the opener, and the St. George cross certainly won out over the Stars and Stripes during the game in Rustenburg. But the thousands of American fans certainly were heard during the 1-1 tie, and they were dominant in the second game against Slovenia. Before the Algeria game in Pretoria, the U.S. contingent made themselves known to the players well before the whistle.

"As we were down the last bit before you come into the stadium, the street was lined with U.S. supporters, waiving flags, dressed up, chanting 'USA', knocking on the bus," coach Bob Bradley said after the game. "To have that happen in a World Cup, in South Africa, I think I could speak on behalf of all the players, that was a really special feeling tonight."

Captain Carlos Bocanegra said the players could "tell there were a lot of Americans" at the first two games, but that the scene outside Loftus Versfeld before the Algeria match was at another level.

"It was the real World Cup spirit. We got to feel that. It was pretty sweet, people slapping the bus, the flags waiving. We had a few guys running alongside the bus with USA gear and just keeping up the whole time. That was cool to see and it gets us a little bit more pumped up and it was pretty emotional."

Jozy Altidore said one fan "ran with the bus for maybe a mile. I thought it was great. He looked fit. He was just running the whole way. His face was painted, everything."

There was even more excitement afterward, both in Pretoria and back home. Former President Bill Clinton was at Loftus and hung out with the team in the locker room for more than half an hour after the game. There's a photo circulating on the internet of Clinton and a shirtless Bocanegra holding bottles of beer. U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati chatted with a few reporters afterward and shared two emails he'd already received.

One was from a friend who worked at the New York Stock Exchange, who wrote that "the entire trading floor was wildly celebrating when Donovan scored that goal. This is just amazing."


Share
The second was from an unidentified person at the White House, who wrote that, "You should really see how this has captured our imagination. People were at a meeting in one of our large auditoriums at the White House, and they heard the huge roar go up with the goal throughout the complex."

Bars throughout the U.S. are jammed, and ratings have reached new highs. ESPN said that the Algeria game was the highest rated and most watched soccer match in the history of the company, with 4.6 million households and 6.2 million viewers (and it was played on a weekday morning). It broke the record set for the Slovenia game five days earlier. The Algeria game drew an additional 1.1 million viewers online.

Through Wednesday, or through 40 games, World Cup TV ratings were up 40 percent from 2006.

But the support is not measured only in ticket sales and TV ratings. It now can be measured in texts, tweets and Facebook friends. Altidore said he received 134 texts following the win over Algeria.

"Growing up in Wisconsin, you don't normally have 100 emails a day from people [about soccer], but I do now. That's showing a lot," defender Jay DeMerit told FanHouse. "Believe me, coming from where I've come and having people who've probably never watched a soccer game in their lives...it's a huge step in the right direction.

I told him that a friend emailed from Manhattan and said there were people honking and celebrating in the streets.

Be sure to stay with FanHouse for complete coverage from South Africa, as columnist Kevin Blackistone and soccer editor Brian Straus will be on location for the duration of the tournament.

---

World Cup Coverage
"It's our job as the flag bearers, as the players of this national team, to continue to try to get people to enjoy the game, experience the game and help the sport grow," DeMerit responded. "There's still a long way to go, but we proved tonight that, at some point, we can stop traffic."

On Thursday, President Barack Obama phoned the team. According to the White House, Obama said he could hear the West Wing "erupt" when Donovan scored. Obama spoke with Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey, "and made sure they knew that the entire country was cheering them on."

Ever the conservative coach with his eye on the bigger picture, Bradley said that while "it's important for the players to have a taste, a feel for what's going on," it is important "to try to balance that out" and make sure the cohesion and togetherness of the group is maintained.

He said, "I'm old school. And they know that. For the most part, they hate that. The bottom line is that there is something special when a group of people have an opportunity to share an experience. To share, on the inside, work, communication, laughs, and to know, that at the end, those are experiences that no one can ever take away from you. You want them to be special."

Donovan said "it's nice now to share in some of [the excitement.] I remember in 2002 [in South Korea] we really had no idea what was going on back home." The growth of soccer and the explosion of social media has changed things, and when Donovan was asked if he thought it might be fun to be one of those cheering fans in a bar, he admitted that it's crossed his mind "often."

"It would be cool to be somewhere in some bar, hanging out and experiencing it too," he said with a smile. "But, I'm going to choose this over that."