Bay Area Joins the Celebration for the U.S. Women's Soccer Team's World Cup Win

From Oakland to San Francisco and all the way down to San Jose, Bay Area residents gathered early Sunday morning to support the U.S. women's soccer team in the FIFA World Cup final against the Netherlands. The U.S. defeated the Dutch team 2-0.

Despite the 8 a.m. start time and chilly weather, groups of friends and families landed at multiple public spots to share the nerves and the excitement of a game that remained scoreless well into the second half.

The Oakland Roots, a men's soccer team set to play in the inaugural season of the National Independent Soccer Association later this year, hosted a screening at Oakland's Grand Lake Theater, where hundreds showed their pride for the continued dominance of the U.S. women, who have now won five of the last eight World Cup and Olympic tournaments.

Grand Lake's crowd, just like about a thousand gathered at San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, had special appreciation for players with Northern California ties like Redding's Megan Rapinoe, who scored the game's first goal, and UC Berkeley alum Alex Morgan.

At Civic Center, the low temperatures kept the crowd tight and fairly quiet, preserving energy for the goal screams to come. The multinational, multigenerational crowd included expats waving U.S. flags for their adopted home and a strong Dutch contingent rooting for "The Oranje" to finally win a world soccer tournament.

Cradle of modern soccer, the Netherlands has a long tradition of beloved but underachieving teams. This one, still young and rising, should have another, arguably better chance in four years.

Wim-Kees Van Hout, a Dutch national who watched the game at Civic Center, said the fact that his country's team even made it to the final was impressive.

"The U.S. has 50 states. California has 58 counties. San Bernardino, where the earthquake was, is one county, and it's bigger than all of the Netherlands. That's how tiny the Netherlands is," he said. "This is only the second time that the Dutch women even participated in the World Cup. We're pretty proud they made it to the final."

Mary Lou Christie, a retired attorney from San Francisco, confessed she still finds soccer hard to watch, but that she will always support women's sports.

"I feel very strongly about the issue of the way they are paid, which is absurd and disgusting, and needs to be ended," she said.

Even foreign nationals, many of whom live the sport as a religious experience, found their way to the U.S. celebrations. Sirch Chanthyasack, from Laos, and his wife Mimi, from Ethiopia, brought their American-born children to watch at Civic Center.

"It is good to build community, and it is exciting for the kids to see the passion for the sport," Chanthyasack said.