There was no shortage of enthusiasm Friday night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, where USA soccer fans packed the establishment and celebrated wholeheartedly as the U.S. ran out to a 3-0 lead in the first half in Los Angeles, en route to a 4-1 victory over Paraguay in its first World Cup game as one of this year’s hosts.
Local soccer luminaries were in attendance, as were plenty of seemingly enraptured fans that saw emotions ebb and flow with each American attack on goal. They were treated to plenty of fireworks with the three first-half tallies: Damián Bobadilla had an own goal at 7′, and Folarin Balogun struck two in the half at 31′ and 45’+5′.
Giovanni Reyna added one at 90’+8′. Cal Poly Humboldt men’s soccer coach Fred Jungemann was on hand, and as the game was starting, he said, “There’s nothing bigger than the World Cup, and the first game of the World Cup for Team USA.
You know, you got to be here and show your spirit and support and go team USA.” Most of his players were out of town on summer break, but as a viewer, he was hoping for “competitive games, beautiful soccer, lots of things to cheer for, for the red, white, and blue hopefully.” For information on future Cal Poly get-togethers, Jungemann said, “you could always check our social media for the things that you know we get connected to, and we hear about. I’ll try to repost everything that we hear and see, because obviously we want to get as many people out to these watch parties as we can.
So, if people want to connect with me and give me some info, I’ll repost it through our social media, but I don’t know that there’s a particular place out there as far as a centralized space for that. The more the merrier, the bigger the crowd, the more enjoyment, the more the passion and excitement.
So, yeah, come on out, make it an amazing atmosphere to make it feel like we’re there without the $1,500 price.” Mark Wheetley, an Arcata resident and Special Olympics coach with deep soccer roots in the area, was similarly passionate, saying, “Soccer is what brought me to Humboldt County. I played at Humboldt State after that.
I coached youth camps, I coached Arcata High boys, I did Eureka High girls. Later, in between there, I did a women’s team down in the Bay Area, and for 10 years now, I’ve coached Special Olympics.
There’s a great soccer community here locally. I’ve watched it grow, and you know the World Cup brings everybody.
The thing about the World Cup is, you never know all the different people from different countries all over the world. I’ve met people from Ukraine, Costa Rica, Ecuador at these games, because their teams are playing and they want to be here and watch them and support them.
And, of course, the USA, they’re playing great tonight.” Ida and Yuma Oberturf have been the owners of the Arcata Theatre Lounge for three years, and they have their match schedule on their social media page and website. The sisters have been involved with the establishment for six years and their ownership venture came as a partnership with Jason Brandi of Humboldt Republic.
Ida Oberturf said Wheetley had reached out to them with the idea to host, “nudged us into the right direction, and we just wanted to have a place where the community is able to connect and watch the game together, seeing everyone get so excited, and the suspense of such a big group of people that we’re able to bring together, it just makes it a fun event.” The Oberturfs, growing up in Switzerland, watched the World Cup, but did not have specific soccer backgrounds. Ida Oberturf said the sisters wanted to create a community gathering place.
“We’re trying to play as many games as possible, due to some other scheduling conflicts with different shows and movies going we’re not able to play them all, but we’re definitely going to be playing the finals, the semi-finals, and hopefully as many games as possible leading up to that,” she said. All USA games will be played on the big screen at the Lounge.
Wheetley was very appreciative as a fan, saying, “Arcata entrepreneurs, they’re helping the community by keeping this theater open. So, yeah, we’re grateful.
The soccer community is grateful. The whole community is grateful to have a place to hold watch parties for the World Cup.
So, thank you, thank you, thank you. (It’s the) biggest screen in Humboldt County, best place to watch a game.
It’s awesome, and this crowd will only grow with every day. World Cup fever is just hitting the streets, and this is where you’re gonna find it.” Not the last World Cup, but the previous three or four had been screened at the Lounge.
Wheetley’s son Wyatt, a Juventus fan, was doing the DJ work pre- and post-game with a compilation playlist of past World Cup theme songs, and in addition to that, Wheetley was enthused because “this is a slow time, obviously, post Cal Poly grads are gone now, so this is kind of a slow lull locally for the economy, because all the students are gone, so to have an opportunity like this is an economic infusion, and is a win-win kind of game. The timing’s good on this, like I said, it’s way out down there (LA), with big gas prices and the price of tickets into this game.
None of us wants to go see a game that no one can afford. This is such a great place to watch it.” “Cup is such an awesome event, you’re looking at a chunk of the soccer community (which is) very ethnically diverse and very enthusiastic,” Wheetley said.
“I’ve been involved with them for like 50 years, and this World Cup, you know, it just brings out everyone from every corner of our locality that wants to watch or enjoy soccer.” Attendee Cody Wright said, “I’m a big, big football fan. It was the 2010 World Cup, I think, that really turned me on to watching the game, and ever since then I followed the Premier League, so I just, I love watching the game, and every World Cup I just get stoked, and with it being in the U.S., in North America, I was just really fired up to go out and try to find some sort of viewing party to be with people to watch it, that collective sports kind of that thing.
I don’t know, really, what it is, but sports are meant to be watched together.” He has a life-long relationship with the sport. “I grew up playing soccer as a kid,” he said, “and then kind of fell out of it, but then I always loved playing pickup.
I’ve lived in a lot of different places, and I’d always find the local pickup scene with friends in Seattle, Portland, Oregon, that was always a cool thing. I found the pickup scene here, so I’ve been playing at College Creek (Cal Poly Humboldt).”