SEATTLE \u2014<\/strong> Surrounded by his U.S. men\u2019s national team players, Mauricio Pochettino went right down the middle.<\/p>\n On the eve of America\u2019s 250th birthday, the Argentine-born coach celebrated America\u2019s pastime by throwing out the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners game. The sold-out crowd, many wearing red-and-white striped USA soccer jerseys, cheered for both their coach and their team.<\/p>\n “That sort of stuff can only happen in America,” a smiling Folarin Balogun said earlier on Friday.<\/p>\n The U.S. squad has become a source of national pride as Americans gather to celebrate the Fourth of July. Its run so far at this World Cup on home soil \u2014 with Belgium waiting in the round of 16 here on Monday \u2014 has given supporters across the country something to rally around, a welcome contrast to the often-divisive news cycle.<\/p>\n From fans all over the world learning about Waffle House and ranch dressing, to Scotland\u2019s Tartan Army taking over Boston, to Pochettino joining his players in singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” this tournament has delivered plenty of memorable moments.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a place that is exactly as advertised in a lot of ways \u2014 it\u2019s free, it\u2019s beautiful, the people are nice and kind,” U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner told a small group of reporters after the victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Of course, everywhere you go in the world, there are scary stories. But to actually have seen some people having the time of their lives in our country, it\u2019s been amazing.<\/p>\n “People are always saying, \u2018What do you want from this World Cup?\u2019 And I just say I want us to be gracious hosts and good stewards to people who come to the United States and really feel our culture, and I want us to welcome these people with open arms. I think we\u2019ve done a great job. Lifelong memories for a lot of people.”<\/p>\n There were questions entering this tournament about how Americans would receive the World Cup and whether soccer would capture everyone\u2019s attention. The long-term impact won’t be known for years \u2014 advancing to the quarterfinals or further will help. But the short-term one is undeniable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hotel guests in Seattle gathered in a lobby to watch Egypt outlast Australia in a penalty shootout. Dallas police officers greeted Norway by performing the “Viking Row” on the airport tarmac. Social media erupted as Cape Verde pushed defending champion Argentina to the brink of penalties.<\/p>\n Seattle Sounders and USA midfielder Cristian Roldan walks onto T-Mobile Park on Friday night. (Olivia Vanni\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n The U.S. players have felt that energy throughout the tournament and want to channel it on the field.<\/p>\n “The fact that it\u2019s here on our shores, the fan passion is coming to light, we\u2019re creating our own new sort of things with \u2018Country Roads\u2019 after the game \u2014 it\u2019s like the college football scene mixing with the U.S. [Soccer] scene,” Turner said.<\/p>\n “And what I’ve loved about it is that it’s not like we’re trying to be that European culture. We’re not saying we need to chant like the English chant, or chant like the Germans chant. We’re taking on our own traditions and cultures, and I think that’s the way it should be. We really needed this tournament in order to find our identity alongside our fans.”<\/p>\n Even Pochettino \u2014 who played with Diego Maradona and coached at Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea \u2014 is having a ball. He\u2019s become a fan of country music, specifically Ella Langley, as well as Teddy Swims. He\u2019s leading crowds in “U-S-A” cheers and learning new words, too.<\/p>\n “Sometimes someone will say something to him in a meeting, and it sounds super American slang, and he\u2019s like, \u2018Huh?\u2019” Christian Pulisic joked earlier in the tournament. “And I just find it so funny. But it feels like he\u2019s really in tune with it. Like, I\u2019m in his office yesterday, and he\u2019s listening to country music, and it\u2019s just funny to see. But then he also brings his Argentinian culture and the staff and shows us things from there. It’s a unique bond with the group for sure.”<\/p>\n The USA men’s national soccer team poses with Seattle Mariners players as head coach Mauricio Pochettino addresses the crowd. (Jamie Squire\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY SEATTLE \u2014 Surrounded by his U.S. men\u2019s national team players, Mauricio Pochettino went right down the middle. On the eve of America\u2019s 250th birthday, the Argentine-born coach celebrated America\u2019s pastime by throwing out the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners game. The sold-out crowd, many wearing red-and-white striped USA soccer jerseys, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}