Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Thousands in U.S. turn out to watch World Cup match

Luke Meredith Associated Press

Jose Arriaga has run out of excuses for missing work to watch the U.S. men’s soccer team in the World Cup.

The births of his children, deaths of relatives and those pre-World Cup friendlies – all have eaten up his personal days. But after watching the Americans advance to the knockout round despite a 1-0 loss to Germany on Thursday, Arriaga is ready to bargain for a few more hours when the U.S. resumes play next week.

“If we would have lost and gotten knocked out, I would have second-guessed missing out on work,” said Arriaga, a 28-year-old who put off mortgage work for a watch party in Dallas. “But we advanced and I can’t miss that. I think I made the right decision.”

Tens of thousands of eager Americans like Arriaga set work aside to watch the game, with or without their bosses’ OK. Many more watched online as they could. ESPN tweeted that its online streaming set a record with 1.4 million users during the first half.

The match kicked off at noon Eastern time, right in the middle of the work day for many, but that didn’t stop crowds from filling bars and restaurants from Orlando, Florida, to Seattle and many points in between.

The nail-biting lasted a full two hours, and most fans stayed until the final whistle to make sure the Americans had advanced, thanks to the other early match of the day, a 2-1 Portugal victory over Ghana.

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann did his part, posting an online note for people to give to their bosses that asked managers to excuse staff to watch the game for the good of the nation.

“By the way, you should act like a good leader and take the day off as well. Go USA!” he wrote.