Christian Pulisic criticized the fans after the USA’s win in Cincinnati

Christian Pulisic criticised the amount of support for the US squad at TQL Stadium after the game, saying he was disappointed in the number of fans who showed up. For a stadium with a capacity of 26,000, the announced attendance was 19,512.

Fans and the media scrutinized Pulisic’s words, the intended target, and the events that contributed to his assessment after they were broadcast on ESPN during his postgame interview.

While Pulisic’s remarks, in and of themselves, left a sour taste in the mouth at the end of what should have been a joyful and inspiring night for the fans, there is a lively discussion going on about US Soccer fandom and what it’s like to support the men’s team.

The discussion would not have happened if the US captain had not spoken up, but he did, and as a result, it has revealed many levels and deep feelings to a conversation that is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.

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Pulisic took a beat to ponder about his reaction before letting go when questioned by ESPN sideline reporter Jillian Sakovits about playing in front of American fans again.

“To be honest, I’m not thrilled with the number of Americans here for whatever reason, but if I’m being completely honest, it works out. But, thanks to those who did show up, their support is always tremendous. It’s great to be back in America and to be able to play again.”

The remarks, made on the field after a 3-0 win over a team that will compete in the 2022 World Cup, quickly shifted the focus away from the win and opponent, and instead focused on the fans and the USMNT fan experience.

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On June 1, 19,512 people were in attendance for the USA’s 3-0 victory over Morocco.

According to various pre-game comments from journalists who attended the game, the Moroccan crowd was greater than expected, and many away fans showed up to support the African nation.

TQL Stadium, uh, not exactly full for the USMNT’s first pre-World Cup friendly — and in the parts that are full, lot of Morocco fans pic.twitter.com/z0aJYjaDT3

— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) June 1, 2022

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This will be a hell of an atmosphere at TQL Stadium. Morocco support is considerable and loud.

— Pat Brennan (@PBrennanENQ) June 1, 2022

Finally, on the ESPN broadcast of the event, American fans could be heard singing and cheering on their team throughout the game. Nonetheless, Pulisic’s interpretation from his unique on-field vantage point made for an interesting debate topic.

Pulisic’s post-game comments drew a wide spectrum of responses.

Following the game, many people expressed their thoughts on social media about two key issues: availability to USMNT tickets and venue selection.

Pulisic’s comments drew instant attention to the position of the United States Soccer Federation in both areas. Some speculated that moving the match to a another location might have sparked more interest, given that Cincinnati had just held a match in November 2021 (against Mexico) and Ohio was hosting its third match in seven months. It led to accusations that US Soccer favors certain venues over others.

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Others criticised ticket costs in relation to the matchday environment, calling them exorbitant for a friendly against a lower-tier opponent on a weeknight.

“The USMNT…still has a connection problem, one brought on by a number of variables including the 2018 World Cup cycle, problematic stadium choices, and, probably most crucially, ticket pricing,” Goal.com writer Ryan Tolmich stated in his post-match evaluation of the game versus Morocco.

Pulisic’s use of the phrase “Americans” was interpreted by some as indicating a lack of support for the USMNT.

Those who were offended by his remarks suggested that the Moroccan supporters were most likely from the United States.

I’ll bet those were almost all Americans at the game tonight.

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) June 2, 2022

When Pulisic used the word “Americans,” it was widely assumed that he was referring to USMNT supporters, though it’s evident that he could have used a different phrase.

Do we really need to explain that by “Americans”, Pulisic meant “USMNT fans”? Come on now. And yeah, the atmosphere was terrible for a team playing at home going to the WC in 6 months. Lots of factors, everyone needs to do better (USSF, Media & fans). Enjoy the win.

— Michele Giannone (@MicheleG3) June 2, 2022

After Pulisic’s statements and the accompanying criticism against the city and its level of support, the Cincinnati supporter organisation was understandably disgruntled.

The official Cincinnati American Outlaws group released a message on Twitter claiming they were “disappointed in some of what was said about our city and our fans,” despite Pulisic making it plain that he was grateful to the fans that did attend the game.

It’s clear that the local supporters’ group, run by a small group of unpaid fans, doesn’t bear any responsibility for marketing and selling any single U.S. Soccer event, or delivering on expectations of stadium atmosphere from the national fanbase. And still, American Outlaws chapters across the country have contributed in a significant way to lead the support for the USMNT and USWNT.

The USMNT has played 51 games since Gregg Berhalter was hired in early 2019, including 37 at home.

While regional governing body CONCACAF oversees events such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the CONCACAF Nations League, including site selection, the United States Soccer Federation has the freedom to choose venues for friendlies and World Cup qualifiers.

During Berhalter’s tenure, the USMNT has played five times at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, one of which was hosted behind closed doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kansas City, Kansas (four times), Austin, Texas (three times), and Cincinnati, Ohio are the next most frequent places on the list (three times).

It’s interesting to note that U.S. Soccer has mainly played in smaller, soccer-specific venues in mid-sized cities. The USMNT has only played one game in a top five U.S. media market since the start of 2020. (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia or Dallas). At AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the United States defeated Jamaica 1-0 in the 2021 Gold Cup quarterfinals. CONCACAF, the regional regulatory body that oversees the Gold Cup, chose that location.

The United States has not recently played in San Francisco, Atlanta, or Boston under Berhalter, but has visited Houston once and Washington, D.C. twice in 2019.

Aside from the Gold Cup match outside of Dallas, the United States has only played two games scheduled by the federation since 2020 — both in Carson, Calif., at the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park outside of Los Angeles — in any of the top 10 Hispanic markets in the country (per the top 10 list published by U.S. News in 2019). Both of the games were international friendlies versus Costa Rica and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Under Gregg Berhalter, the United States has played Mexico five times on home soil, in Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Denver, East Rutherford (considered New York City for this reason), and Chicago.

Pulisic’s remarks ignited a larger debate over the availability of tickets for supporters to attend games and show support for the club. Several people voiced dissatisfaction with ticket costs in proportion to the event, the opponent, and the day of the week on social media.

The Sporting News has contacted US Soccer to inquire about particular ticket ranges and is expecting more information on the average ticket price for the match versus Morocco. Fans on social media, on the other hand, claimed rates of over $60, $75, and even $100 for an international friendly against a lower-profile opponent.

As a non-profit organisation, the vast majority of the money raised from ticket sales goes back towards growing the game – training players, financing coaching, referee programming, and providing grants to grassroots organisations, among other things.