KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At first glance, it’s as if every person in Kansas City who owns a soccer jersey has congregated at Strange Days Brewing.
It’s a kaleidoscope of color: A green Nigeria kit. The yellow of Jamaica. Icelandic blue filling up a whole table in the center. Paul Pogba’s red Manchester United jersey. A couple of American jerseys, too: A standard-issue national team shirt, and a Matt Besler Sporting Kansas City jersey.
This is the look of a Midwestern soccer bar in the absence of the U.S. men’s national team from the World Cup.
Soon enough though, it becomes clear that, at least on this day, Kansas City has jumped in line with a solid contingent of American soccer fans cheering for the underdog: That table in the middle of the bar bearing Iceland’s national flag is about to gain a room full of fans.
The tiny country of about 350,000 people made the World Cup for the first time this year. Its underdog status, especially against Lionel Messi-led Argentina in its first match, gained it plenty of fans, especially in Kansas City.
When Alfreð Finnbogason put home a rebound and tied the match with Argentina, the noise inside Strange Days was as if the local Royals had scored a run. (Admittedly, Iceland scoring in the World Cup might be a happy distraction from this year’s Royals for local sports fans). And when Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldórsson stopped Messi’s penalty kick in the second half, the roof nearly came off.
Kansas City is not new to the underdog status itself. It’s in flyover country. Outsiders are often confused about which state it belongs to. There are cities more exciting, more populous, more diverse. Until last month, Kansas City’s international airport had never been the launching point for a direct transatlantic flight.
Now? The airport sends planes across the Atlantic three times a week to – well, Iceland.
Justin Meyer, the deputy director of aviation marketing and air service development at the Kansas City airport, spent years trying to get that Kansas City-Iceland connection off the ground (literally). He traveled to Iceland, fell in love with the country and wanted others to experience it.
That’s what brought him here, to this warehouse-like bar with the rafters decorated in miniature flags of every World Cup team. With no U.S. squad in the World Cup, of course he’s cheering for Iceland.
“It’s a beautiful country, and it’s such a great story,” Meyer said. “What’s not to love about this team?”
Nearby, there’s Boyce Richardson, who collects national team kits during his world travels. His trip to Iceland a couple of years ago, though, made more of a mark than others.
“My wife and I were in Iceland when they qualified for Euro 2016, and the whole team came out at like 2 a.m. and celebrated in the streets with everyone,” Richardson said. “You can’t not cheer for that.”
Both Richardson and Meyer posed with about 10 others during halftime of the Iceland-Argentina match to take a photo with the Icelandic flag, which someone helpfully brought along. Most fans in this group have been to Iceland, many on the inaugural direct flight from Kansas City.
It’s a strange little connection between this Midwestern American city and the tiny country that quickly became World Cup darlings. With no U.S. team in the World Cup, it’s about finding whatever connection feels right.
Iceland, in the end, did not advance after losses to Nigeria and Croatia in the group stage, so SKC soccer fans will need to look further than their local airport for their next team to root for.