World Cup final will be ‘electric,’ Wichita fans predict

Fireworks, freedom and American soccer fans.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan on Sunday will be “electric,” local soccer fans say.

But it wasn’t the game they were hoping for as Americans celebrate Independence Day this weekend.

“What a game that would have been to play England,” Daniel Green said – a rivalry that dates back three centuries. England lost to Japan in the semifinals.

Green is president of the Wichita chapter of American Outlaws, a national group of unified soccer fans who host watch parties to cheer on the American men, women, youth and paralympic teams.

The group will host a watch party starting at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Fox & Hound on the Waterfront, before the 6 p.m. game. Another group of Outlaws will be at the Monarch in Delano.

The Outlaws help come up with food and drink specials for the watch party, coordinate TV channels and provide the chants.

“We’re completely capable of winning this third cup,” Green said of the women’s team, which has won two World Cups, its last in 1999. “I think it’s going to be electric.”

The diehards bring the red, white and blue banners and scarves and plenty of chants, hoots and hollers to keep morale high. Green said he expects upward of 100 fans Sunday at Fox & Hound to cheer on the women.

“It’s good soccer,” he said. “It’s even more important because they’re wearing the U.S. jersey. … It’s really just about those players and making sure we have their back.”

In the last decade, Green said there has been a rise in popularity for the sport, especially for the women’s teams in terms of support from broadcasters and general interest from fans, who no longer have to hunt for games streamed online.

Tuesday’s U.S. semifinal victory over Germany was the most-watched men’s or women’s World Cup semifinal ever on American television. The game, a 2-0 U.S. victory, averaged 8.4 million viewers on Fox.

“That’s credit to the women’s team to be able to perform at the level they’ve been performing at and the skill they’ve been playing with,” he said. “… They can do anything.”

Green expects nothing but a win Sunday.

“It’s a quality product,” he said.

This story was originally published July 3, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "World Cup final will be ‘electric,’ Wichita fans predict."