The new soccer country

I've been to FedEx Stadium yesterday, home to the Washington Redskins, to watch USA vs Brazil. In this country that doesn't care about the 'Briton sport', I thought it would be a minor event, watched only by members of the Brazilian community in the US or Latinos. 
It was a surprise for me to discover that soccer is the new American obsession. They crowded the stadium and supported their team almost like The Faithful do at Corinthians games. Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it was really impressive.
The FedEx structure is amazing. The stadium is the third largest in American football league, with room for 79,000. It's  in Maryland, a 25 min drive from Washington.

At least 85% was occupied. Considering the colors, half the people were Americans and half Brazilian fans. This group that included Brazilians e all non-Americans, mainly from Central America, who admire the 'Little Canary Selection'.


This picture shows Neymar warming up for the game, minutes before the beginning.

When the players entered the field, American fans made a huge noise and suffocated the cheers of the Brazilian fans. All the American patriotism, trained hard in so many civic occasions, was manifested. 
Their reaction was so intense that they believed it was possible to win over Brazil.

I was in the third row, right behind the American benches. The point of view was the same as the people on the field. In the picture below, it's possible to see how close the players were.

Neymar was the name of the game. Not only because he scored one and had two assists, but also because he was the only player everybody knew in the American audience. Many of them asked me about him - where he plays, how old is he. He was the target for American defensive players, but they did not play that well in the first half. They did better in the second half, but without real chances against the Brazilian players. But this didn't prevent the American fans from hitting drums and yelling "U.S.A." from the beginning to the end of the game, never giving up support for their team. The most fanatic was in one of the corners, below one of the screens.

FedEx Field is excellent and allows you to eat and drink without the mess that is in Brazilian stadiums. The audience was impressive, much larger than the average in Brazilian Championship games.  

The final score was 4 X 1 to Brazil, but the Americans were not bored and joined the winners' celebration. Outside, the 20,000 vehicle traffic jam convinced people to relax and wait until the roads cleared. A perfect excuse for a mini-Carnival in the parking lot. Americans won in "costume" category.

But Brazilians won in categories "drums", "samba lyrics" and "motor coordination of legs and feet".

The party was nice, the game was fantastic, and the stadium was great. One guy didn't like the results: Chris Scalise, wearing his new American Soccer Team shirt. I explained it was an honor to be beaten with only 4 goals from Brazil, but his face indicated to me he was not convinced.