American fans had the “utmost faith” in the USMNT to secure a historic place in the quarterfinal stage, but following their defeat Monday against Belgium, the price tag to see the would-be quarterfinal affair has “since plummeted by 67%, now at roughly $1,100 per ticket (as of Tuesday) for the cheapest pair of seats on resale, located in the Category 2 section,” according to Sophia Vesely of SI. On StubHub, the “cheapest seat is $1,200.” The price tag opened “at $3,300 over the weekend on FIFA’s resale marketplace,” per TicketData. The sheer drop in price “suggests the phenomenon that has occurred over the past four weeks: the USMNT has won the hearts of its home crowd this summer and inspired a nation to (literally) buy into a sport that it is still largely coming to understand and appreciate, especially on the men’s side” (SI, 7/7).
BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED: In St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman wrote, “My fear is: The U.S. didn’t advance far enough for these fans to suddenly level-up their overall soccer fandom.” Hochman: “Can soccer (the world’s football) ever be like football in America? It would take generations for that to change. But I don’t think a big step was taken from a fan standpoint this summer. The needle might’ve moved, but it’ll surely be back to where it was” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/7).
INCOMPARABLE: On Long Island, Anthony Rieber wrote, “Soccer doesn’t need you, America. Oh, it wants your money -- FIFA surely does, just check those ticket prices -- but the sport will survive globally just fine even if the next match American audiences watch en masse is the U.S. team’s opening one in the 2030 World Cup.” It is “unlikely an American soccer league will ever be able to become as good or popular as the top global ones.” Rieber: “But since we already have football (the other one) and baseball and basketball and hockey, isn’t that enough?” (NEWSDAY, 7/7).
