SEATTLE — If there was any doubt that Seattle is a soccer city, today’s official World Cup kickoff put them to rest.
Egyptian fans were dancing in the street on Monday afternoon, celebrating a 1-1 draw with Belgium.
Seattle stadium was packed with 66,775 fans in attendance, leaving less than 200 empty seats.
“The Emerald City” is welcoming fans from around the world and Seattleites say they’re impressed by the soccer transformation, especially along the waterfront.
“People are going to get to see a lot of the beauty of Seattle when they walk up and down here,” says Molly.
“And, through Pioneer Square too,” the American fan continued. “It looks awesome.”
We ran into one Seattleite whose parents are visiting from Mexico.
“The whole city’s like a super different city. Super vibrant,” says Diana, who’s cheering for Team Mexico.
“Everyone’s having fun. Everyone’s out!”
Diana and her parents attended Monday’s match as did Julie, who’s also headed to the Team USA – Australia tilt (Friday).
And, she’s confident in her compatriots.
“They’re gonna win this game,” says the Seattle native. “There’s no question. There’s no question.”
She said she’s just as certain the Americans will hoist the world’s most coveted trophy on July 19th.
“We’re gonna win the whole thing. We’re gonna win the whole thing!”
If you don’t have tickets for Friday’s big game, there’s still plenty of fanfare around the Sound.
That includes the perfect way to wrap up Matchday 1, with a drone show next to the Space Needle, which was a unique and completely free display, showing the score in Seattle on gamedays.
“This is a city filled with joy right now. And, it just feels so incredibly great,” touts Tammy Canavan, President and CEO of Visit Seattle. “So, we’re excited for the rest of the month.”
Team USA’s next match against Australia is this Friday, kicking off at noon, followed by a Mariners’ home game against the Boston Red Sox just after 7pm.