Watch parties, colorful jerseys and conga lines are filling Riverside during the World Cup. The question is whether that passion carries over when the city's first pro soccer team takes the field.
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Watch parties, colorful jerseys and conga lines are filling Riverside during the World Cup. The question is whether that passion carries over when the city's first pro soccer team takes the field.
A conga line breaks out, winding through the Farm House Collective in Riverside. Fans dance, throw their hands in the air, sing along to the music and, yes, enjoy a few drinks as the celebration weaves through a sea of green jerseys.
The viewing of Mexico's opening match against South Africa at the World Cup turned into more than just a soccer game. It turned into a carne asada, a barbecue with fans ready to kick off the tournament.
As the song underscoring the chain dance, "El Za Za Za," declares in its opening line: "Que comiense la fiesta!" Let the festivities begin. Soccer fever is moving through the United States as relentlessly as Lionel Messi charging at a back line, and Riverside is feeling it.
From jerseys representing countries across the tournament seen all around town to watch parties popping up around the city, the World Cup is physically making itself felt. This is the kind of vibe Riverside needs to continue once its professional team joins the United Soccer League.
Consider this your yellow card, Riverside. The moment the community doesn't show up, some other city will take its place. Pro teams love to move cities, just ask Oakland.
When the referee blows its whistle during the inaugural season of the unnamed team, Riverside will be a part of USL's new three-tiered men's professional soccer system, where "teams earn promotion to a higher division or face relegation to a lower division based on their performance during the season," according to USL.
The city's first professional team will be playing in the second tier, the Championship division.
The USL will be the first American league to implement a relegation system, used by leagues from around the world like the English Premier League in England and La Liga in Spain.
USL partnered with Riverside Pro Soccer to bring the first professional team to one of the largest cities in Southern California.
For the World Cup, Greg Scott, founder of Riverside Pro Soccer, is hosting community watch-parties at Route 30 Brewery, disguised as community outreach programs for his new team.
He recently told the Gazette his goal is to showcase the beautiful game of soccer and demonstrate what a pro team can look like.
Not a single "goal" has been roared by the crowd yet, but the team is already establishing its roots in Riverside.
If the community came together as one for an opening match of a tournament that happens every four years, imagine the amount of champagne bottles that will be popped in front of the Mission Inn when its first professional team earns promotion to the USL Premier...
Pandemonium.
I'm not going to lie, I'd probably get a Raincross tattoo, across the street from the Cheech, the moment they win their first Premier League championship.
With two universities that play in Division I of the NCAA, soccer has been a part of the culture in Riverside. The University of California, Riverside continuously draws big crowds during their home games, according to Tim Cupello, the head coach at UCR.
"Our home games are fantastic," Cupello said. "If you've ever been to our stadium, it's small, it's intimate, the bleachers and the fans are basically right on top of the field with very little separation from the field itself. When we're there under the lights at nighttime, the students are around, the communities out - it's a great environment."
That's the kind of energy that can motivate promotion. Mix in some of that "Za Za Za," and Riverside Pro Soccer can become a showstopping, must-visit, championship-star-filled emblem of the city.
"Our guys love playing in front of the energized fans that are there," Cupello said. "You can tell in a spring exhibition game where the fans aren't there, there's a little bit of a different vibe."
Regardless of the division the team plays, the city of innovations needs to stay invested in the game. Demotion can be demoralizing for any city, but Riverside needs to keep the same energy from the World Cup as soon as the first whistle is blown, and beyond.
"If you're willing to invest and earn some success, then you should be rewarded for that success," Cupello said.
In other words, keep the conga line going, Riverside. Soccer is here to stay.
Ken Crawford contributed to this article.
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