​Soccer may not be the most popular sport in the United States, but its fans know how to create an electric atmosphere. The USMNT were eliminated from the tournament in the Round of 16 after a 4-1 loss to Belgium. Belgium then faced Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday at SoFi Stadium—the home of the Los Angeles Chargers—where Cameron Dicker plays. Dicker, who attended the Spain versus Belgium match, spoke with Snapback Sports about the vibes inside the stadium. He revealed that the USMNT’s opening World Cup match, held at the Los Angeles venue, delivered the best atmosphere he has ever experienced there, even surpassing the energy of NFL games.
Dicker went on to say that soccer atmospheres, in his view, outperform those at any NFL game. “This has been good today. The opening game for the US that I went to here was the best atmosphere in this stadium I’ve been to, including our games—our games included—the best atmosphere,” he said. “I mean, I think soccer atmospheres are better than any NFL atmospheres.”
To put the contrast in perspective, the NFL’s marquee event each year is the Super Bowl, which draws a global audience of hundreds of millions. The most recent edition reportedly attracted around 125 million viewers in the United States alone, though the World Cup’s reach dwarfs that figure. The 2022 World Cup final, for instance, drew an estimated global audience of about 2 billion people. With such a vast, global audience, it’s perhaps unsurprising that soccer fans can cultivate atmosphere that feels more electric and universal than what many American sports typically deliver.
As these conversations continue, the comparison between soccer and American football atmospheres remains an ongoing topic among fans and players alike. Soccer’s international stage routinely showcases fervent, expansive crowds, while the NFL continues to rely on a more domestic, highly scrutinized brand of spectacle.