The world’s soccer fans “have taken to” K.C., the smallest American host of these World Cup games, “succumbing to the charms of its Midwesterners, its artisan barbecue and its long, but largely overlooked, history with the ‘beautiful game,’” according to Joe Drape of the N.Y. TIMES. Local boosters said that not since the 1920s, when K.C. was the “Paris of the Plains,” has it “stood shoulder to shoulder” with N.Y. and L.A. K.C. Sports Commission and Visit KC President & CEO Kathy Nelson said, “Kansas City is now in the same conversation as some of these other cities when it comes to tourism and meetings and conventions. We may not be in the top 10 population-wise, but we have the right people and the right infrastructure here to make big events happen.” Drape noted so far, “344,135 spectators, or an average of nearly 69,000 per match, have filled the stadium here,” and K.C.’s FIFA Fan Festival has “welcomed 310,000 people from over 150 countries.” Through the first 92 matches, K.C. “led all U.S. markets in Fox’s World Cup ratings with a 18 share.” K.C. offered the national teams “not only a welcoming and devoted fan base, but also state-of-the-art practice facilities” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/11).
MAKE THIS PLACE YOUR HOME: In K.C., Sam McDowell wrote, “This is the end for Kansas City. What a run it’s been.” The run is “ongoing for the defending champions,” Argentina. But it “started here. Its origin will always be here.” The World Cup schedule placed Argentina in K.C. twice. But they “chose to make Kansas City their home. They’ll always be a team that chose Kansas City.” This place was “doubted upon selection,” and a half-decade prior when they began laying the groundwork to submit a bid. It has “been doubted during the tournament by some places capable of outshining the city in size.” Two of the four teams that chose K.C. -- England and Argentina -- will meet in the semifinals Wednesday, “guaranteeing some representation in the World Cup final” (K.C. STAR, 7/12).
