Tuesday evening at LP Field in Nashville, the US Men's Soccer Team will engage in a friendly match with Paraguay. Nashville is a town that is a little more soccer-inclined than most, especially considering it does not have an MLS club. The Music City was among the final U.S. bid cities for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. My personal experience last summer in Tennessee's capital saw a raucous early-morning pub crowd for the Germany-England match and large gatherings of friends to catch the U.S. in action.
However, as much as Nashville may love soccer, Seattle fans can be safe in knowing they are still the most passionate and possibly the largest group (at least per capita) in the United States. Click the jump to find out why (and for a good massaging of your fan ego).
As of Sunday night, just over 20,000 tickets had been sold for the US-Paraguay friendly. For a city that was among those vying to host the game's biggest stage, and one that does not get matches of this caliber often, that seems pretty low. Thousands of Nashville fans will miss the chance to see stars like Landon Donovan and Tim Howard play in person.
Those in the Northwest will puff out their chests knowing they average over 36,000 fans for their MLS Sounders, and have packed Qwest Field (over 60,000) during friendlies against Barcelona and Chelsea. One has to believe that this particular friendly would easily top those Nashville ticket sale numbers if held in Seattle, especially considering it is less than a year removed from the USMNT's exciting run to the World Cup Round of 16.
More fuel for those who argue that Seattle has become the soccer capital of the United States.