In a game where the results didn’t really matter, Team USA fans came out with a lot of spirit for the final match in the group stage. But at a watch party at San Francisco’s Pier 39, fans quickly realized they needed more than spirit to carry them through the game.
Meet the Ternes family from Virginia. They came early and grabbed front row seats at the USA-Türkiye World Cup watch party at Pier 39.
“This is the most excited the country has ever been about U.S. soccer,” Shannon Ternes said.
While the excitement hit a fever pitch, the temperatures did not.
“Some author said the coldest he has ever been was a summer in San Francisco,” Ternes said. “Yeah, we’re feeling that now.”
The Ternes family came out in short sleeves and shorts and had to come up with creative ways to add more layers.
“I started with shorts, then I stole this,” Christina Ternes said. “Then I had to go buy this because she stole my sweatshirt.”
But the chilliness quickly wore off, as this crowd celebrated the USA’s first goal just minutes into the match.
The Ternes family, especially Shannon, loves soccer. They took a huge gamble buying tickets for next week’s game at Levi’s Stadium.
“That’s why I got the cheap tickets because I bought tickets to a game, I didn’t know who was playing in,” Ternes said. “Location-wise, go here, Dallas, where are we going to pick. So, we decided to knock on wood that they were going to win the group stage and play in San Francisco. Otherwise, we could be watching Türkiye. We didn’t know but we are really happy we’re watching USA.”
They are betting on the USA at least reaching the quarterfinals, but this family has high hopes for this team to reach the World Cup finals.
“Captain America will carry us all the way,” Mason Ternes said. “Chris Pulisic will carry us to the promised land.”
“You know it’s great seeing that,” Christina Ternes said. “Watching this team get so far. They seem really successful to me, so I think they could go all the way. So, I’m going to stick with that.”
Andrea Nakano
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