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TAMPA, Fla. — Yellow shirts everywhere.
Colombia fans made up the majority of the announced 38,631 fans — a record for a United States men’s national team game in Tampa — at Raymond James Stadium to see the South American country beat the U.S. 4-2 Thursday night. The previous record of 31,547 was set in 2007 against Ecuador.
A quick scan of the stands revealed hand-made signs that read “Me Encanta Cartagena” and “Tuluá del Valle” or “I love Cartagena” and “Tuluá of the Valley,” both cities in Colombia. The yellow shirts waved them high in the air, sometimes while doing the wave that rippled through the stadium sections.
They chanted. They cheered. They smiled wide as the paint cracked on their tricolor faces. They sang the Colombian national anthem with pride — but they also sang the United States national anthem with pride. And there was no visible hostility toward U.S. players when they scored two goals to open the second half.
“They were wearing yellow jerseys, but they were supporting us as well. When we scored, they were supporting us,” U.S. defender Matt Miazga said after the match when asked if the mostly-Colombian crowd at all impacted the young U.S. team. “That’s the reality of our country, the demographics. There’s so many nationalities and it’s very diverse. It’s something we have to deal with. But it wasn’t like they were booing us, they were supporting us as well. And I think they were just supporting a good football match with two good football teams.”
A home game filled with supporters for the opposing side is nothing new for the USMNT. It’s been discussed by fans, media, coaches and players at length throughout the years as stadiums nationwide have filled with fans for the other side. It’s largely expected when the U.S. faces a South American team in Florida, where people who identify as Hispanic or Latino make up more than 25 percent of the population, according to the most recent U.S. census data available. Florida is also home to the largest Colombian immigrant and Colombian-American communities of any other state.
“Games like this are an important part of the process,” said Michael Bradley, veteran U.S. midfielder and Thursday’s team captain. “Playing on nights like this, against good teams in environments where, in reality, we’re not the home team, ya know, that part is important.
“You play against a team like Colombia, who has very good players. If you’re reading certain situations, if the way you deal with certain advantages they have isn’t quite good enough, then they can punish you.”
One of the players who did just that was striker Radamel Falcao, who scored the go-ahead goal that gave Colombia a 3-2 lead in the 74th minute. The crowd may have supported the United States’ goals with claps and cheers, but it erupted after Falcao’s.
“I didn’t know it was a record for this city,” Falcao said through a translator. “It was great to see all the people who were here. Every time we come out in any stadium, there are a lot of Colombian people supporting us. So, it was great to go out and see this beautiful crowd.”