Bob, it would be fair to say, was well-lubricated by the time he took the stool next to mine at the Good Dog Bar in central Philadelphia.
It was about 9.30pm on a Monday evening and the Philadelphia Phillies were wrapping up a comfortable win over the Miami Marlins on the TVs at either end of the bar, while I was facing the other way watching Iran-New Zealand on a third TV.
“I’m not a soccer guy,” said Bob by way of an ice-breaker.
He was smiling when he said it, but before I had a chance to reply, he went on to say something not even the most laissez-faire of editors would let me repeat here.
The gist, however, was that he used to think soccer was played by the worst people he could imagine but now he had seen a few World Cup games on TV, he had changed his mind. A bit. He now thought soccer was played by people who were too scared to play hockey or “real” football.
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I sensed this was as far as Bob was willing to go on soccer.
As he started to sway and the bar filled up with Phillies fans, none of whom seemed interested in the fact that Elijah Just had scored a lovely goal to put New Zealand 2-1 up against Iran, my mind went back to Bob’s opening salvo.
Does he speak for many here? Is Philly not a soccer town? If so, what will it take to change that? Is it even possible?
I liked Bob, but I was not sure he was his city’s best spokesperson, so I went to canvass more opinions — at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies.
My not-very-scientific rationale for picking “The Bank”? I knew how to get there.
The Philadelphia Phillies were hosting the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 8-2 (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
Getting a ticket was, as FIFA president Gianni Infantino has tried to explain, very easy in the land of the free and the home of the unregulated resale market. I was looking for a decent seat behind first or third base, about halfway up, and eventually opted for a $64 seat.
Within two minutes of arriving at the ballpark, I had been given a free scarf and what us Brits would call an iced bun. It came in a see-through packet, which the sweet topping stuck to, but was quite nice. The point is, the Phillies were giving me things for nothing.
My seat was also something of a surprise. It was way more upmarket than I expected, or needed, in a section of the stadium called the Hall of Fame Club. The concourse was like the food court of an upscale shopping mall, with air conditioning, lots of tables, fancy restrooms, a merch boutique and a screen showing Phillies’ highlights from yesteryear.
Before this gets used as another example of a European being in awe of the magnificence of an American sports stadium, it’s OK. We have fancy seats and sections in our stadiums, too; they just usually cost more than $64.
But what I may or may not have paid for my seat is not the only way the Phillies planned to extract money from my bank account. A “bistro” was selling cheesesteaks for $19.99, sushi for $22.99 and crabcake sandwiches for $24.99. A local craft beer set me back $17 and I nearly bought a retro shirt for $65 before I remembered why I had come.
So, what did I discover? After about two hours’ worth of conversations, with maybe a 100 different people, there was a clear consensus: Bob does not speak for Philly.
Matt Slater spent his evening at Citizens Bank Park (Matt Slater/The Athletic)
“Nobody hates soccer,” said Joe, in the line for a cheesesteak. “We just don’t know it very well. I don’t know anything about cricket, either, and I don’t hate that.”
Fair enough, and nice of him to tacitly acknowledge that baseball is a version of our more sophisticated ball-and-stick game.
“It’s about culture,” said Chad, Joe’s pal. “We have our football, you have yours. Our football is a big part of our culture, in the same way yours is. But soccer is cool and this World Cup will definitely help it get bigger.”
I found Andre, Christine, Laura and Ray stuck behind dinner options in the Hall of Fame Club.
“What you’ll find is Philly is a football town,” said Ray. “We love the Eagles, it’s just ingrained. But who told you nobody likes soccer here?”
I didn’t want to throw Bob under the bus, so I lied and said I read it on X.
It was at that point that the group’s friend, Jane, joined and announced she and her husband had decided, as you do, to spend $5,000 on two second-row seats to see the USA beat Paraguay 4-1 at the SoFi when in Los Angeles for a wedding.
Deciding that Jane was clearly in league with FIFA and had been sent to the stadium to skew the results of my survey, I made my excuses and looked for more diners.
Anish, Dwayne, Jim and Rob were finishing their crab fries when I asked them how much they would pay to watch a World Cup game at Lincoln Financial Field, or ‘The Linc’ as everyone in Philly calls it.
“I’d pay $2,000 to see the U.S. play here,” said Rob.
“He doesn’t really have a budget,” retorted one of his friends.
But where does soccer fit in the pecking order? Do any of these fans watch the city’s MLS team, Philadelphia Union?
“Hmmm, it’s the Eagles here, out on their own, and then whichever of the other three (76ers, Flyers or Phillies) that is doing best, and then Union. Sorry,” said Jim.
“They’ve had their moments… they were good last year, I believe, but they lost in the play-offs and their stadium isn’t in the best part of town.”
Variations of this comment came up a number of times. Philadelphia Union’s home is on the banks of the Delaware River in Chester, 20 miles from central Philly. Opened in 2010, it has a capacity of 18,500 and it sells out most games, so somebody is going; they were just not among those I spoke to at the Phillies game.
“Soccer’s problem is there’s so much choice,” continued Jim.
“Look around you. Baseball isn’t as big as it was when I was a kid but there’s what, 40,000 here? And they play 162 games a year. The Sixers and Flyers play 80 games each. So there’s a huge time-investment issue.
“It’s hard for soccer… but it is changing. It has already changed a lot and now we’ve got the World Cup.”
By the way, Jim’s Philly sports pecking order of Eagles first, then a three-way tie, and then the Union, was almost unanimous, but almost everyone made the same point that soccer was coming on strong.
“I’m not a soccer guy but I will always root for my country in anything,” said Chad, who was enjoying a beer while critiquing the Marlins’ bullpen.
“I love seeing all the fans from other countries here, too. That’s great. I’m not one of those guys who thinks we’re the best at everything and our way is the only way. But I do think it’s totally fine to be proud of what we do and I think we’re doing a great job with FIFA.”
That was another thing that came up several times: people calling the tournament FIFA.
Brazil fans gather at the Philadelphia Museum of Art before their World Cup match against Haiti (Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)
Chilling under the giant, mechanical Liberty Bell that lights up and swings whenever the Phillies hit a home run, was Marsellus. “I’m not against (soccer),” he said. “I’ve been watching and I’m starting to get it. It’s like hockey, right?
“I love the fans. Are you Scottish? Man, they’re crazy. I love them. And who are the guys in orange who go side to side? I love all that tomfoolery.
“We have that in college football but I like how you guys just do it all the time and wherever you are. I don’t think we drink as much, though.”
No, you will never take that away from us.
“I’m a big fan,” said Roger. “I’ve got family from Trinidad, so I’ve always known the game. I’d love to go but the prices… I’ve been looking at the resale sites and will go for it if the prices drop to maybe $300. I’ve been looking at that Ivory Coast-Curacao game.”
Roger was far from alone in expressing this frustration. And his budget was far more typical than the wealthier denizens of the Hall of Fame Club.
I have doggedly continued my research in bars across South Philly, downtown restaurants and Ubers, and Bob is the exception, not the rule.
Philly is a traditional U.S. sports town that loves its NFL team. Understandably so, right? They are pretty good.
But it has thrown itself into the role of being a good World Cup host. The city’s official fan fest is in a beautiful park and 55,000 people crammed in there on Friday to watch the USA beat Australia. No other host city’s fan fest has beaten 35,000, yet and Philly’s has done it three times.
That is just the most obvious indication of the city’s growing interest in the other football. There have been huge crowds at the unofficial fan fest, too, as first Ecuador and then Brazil took over the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, better known as Rocky’s Steps, thanks to their starring role in the film about Philly’s favourite sporting son.
This is famously a city with a big heart and it seems there is more than enough love to go around for two types of football — and baseball, basketball and hockey; and eating and drinking and just hanging out.
Come on, Bob, you know you want to.
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