Close to 5,000 soccer fans sporting everything from face paint and American flags, to hats and extra layers of sunscreen, braved the heat July 1 to converge on Freedom Plaza for a free, public World Cup Viewing Party in the heart of Downtown.
Attendees began arriving to the plaza as early as noon for the 4 p.m. USA vs. Belgium game, kicking soccer balls and arranging blankets and chairs in front of the 17-foot screen for the event, which closed down Pennsylvania Avenue and surrounding streets to traffic.
[Check out our Facebook photo gallery here.]
“It’s hot out here, but there’s a lot of excitement,” Bruce Johnson of WUSA9 said in his live broadcast.
“No one is working in DC today,” attendee Deepa Patel tweeted from the plaza.
Tommy McFly and Kelly Collis of 94.7 Fresh FM emceed the festivities, which included special guests such as Mayor Vincent C. Gray and George (mascot of George Washington University), giveaways, national media, a slew of food trucks and more. Council member Mary Cheh and other city officials joined the crowd to take in the game.
“I believe that we will win!” and “U-S-A” chants, vuvuzelas and collective cries for close calls could be heard throughout the game as it streamed live on a huge screen positioned on the plaza for the event, made possible by the city in partnership with the DowntownDC BID, Events DC, D.C. United, DC Water, Akridge, Pepco and CBS 94.7. Throughout the event, the DowntownDC BID’s Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) kept the packed plaza clean and free of litter.
[See the Washington Post’s time-lapse video of the event here.]
“It’s the next best thing to being there, watching the game in a big crowd like this,” ABC7’s Sam Ford said in his live broadcast from the plaza.
As the game proceeded, excitement, clapping and chanting gave way to some anxious faces in the crowd in 96-degree weather as the United States found itself on the defensive and struggling.
Mayor Gray took to the Freedom Plaza platform to rouse the crowd at half-time, leading them in a chant supporting the U.S. team.
But in the end, the U.S. men’s team succumbed to Belgium in a 2-1 extra time finish.
“Fans on their knees or with tears in their eyes– emotions ran high at Freedom Plaza,” Washington Post local reporter Julie Zauzmer tweeted from the scene.
Despite the eventual loss, fans enjoyed coming together in a public space and feeling the energy of the crowd.
“It’s not that bad,” Silver Spring, Md. resident Edmund Burke told the Washington Post of the loss. “It’s better being here with people than alone on my computer.”