Kansas City is Oranje

On Thursday, it rained a lot in Kansas City. Nothing us Midwesterners couldn’t handle, but it had the potential to put a damper on the third FIFA World Cup game that Kansas City was hosting. In the end, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The fans and the Netherland’s national team showed up in full force. The Dutch dispatched Tunisia 3-1, to secure the top spot in Group F and a tough round of 32 match against Morocco.

But the Oranje Army invasion of Kansas City started long before Thursday. The Netherlands are making base camp at the Kansas City Current’s facilities in Riverside, MO.

When the training facility was opened up to fans, the Oranje creeped in further with an amazing turnout.

Then came the games. And while the first two were played away from Kansas City, there was still a presence. My wife and For the Glory KC co-host, wanted to get out and experience the action. We’re in the Northland and we heard the Alley Bar at the Parkville American Legion, in downtown Parkville, MO, was converted into a sea of orange.

We arrived separately for the game between the Netherlands and Japan, as it was the weekend and we’re running every which way to accomplish the things families need to get done in a weekend. We planned to arrive early, not knowing how rowdy it would get. I was probably the 15th person through the door and everyone who entered was cheered on by a rowdy group of fans, including Frank, who was featured in this story on KMBC.

Slowly, the American Legion filled up, and poor Frank was living and dying on every moment of the match. As a neutral, I just kept saying, “I hope both teams have fun.” Ultimately, it was a 1-1 draw, but eventually both the Netherlands and Japan would advance to the Round of 32.

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The watch parties continued in Parkville, but the Oranje kept spreading out further into the city aslast night’s game inched closer. The night before the Netherlands would play in Kansas City, the Dutch fans took over the FIFA Fan Fest. It was a preview of what was to come on match day.

And the Oranje Army came out in full force. Waves and waves of peaceful fans marched through the streets of Kansas City. I’ll let the photos and the videos do the talking.

It’s orange as far as the eye can see.

Then as it got closer to the game, Power and Light turned orange too.

The Fox broadcast cut into four watch parties, and it wasn’t even close as to where the best one was. Kansas City somehow has the best watch parties and the best ratings on television.

All that turnout in P&L, not to mention what was happening across town at the FIFA Fan Fest. Despite inclement weather, fans didn’t stop dancing.

And in spite of the weather and ticket prices, it was a near sellout of mostly fans dressed in orange.

The KC Soccer Journal set out around the stadium to talk to fans. And while there were plenty of people who had come all the way from the Netherlands, there were plenty more from all over the United States. We met South Carolinians, Iowans, Nebraskans, Kansans, Missourians, a New Yorker and then a lot of people from right here in Kansas City. All dressed up in orange. Whether it was official apparel, orange ponchos or I even saw one orange “Smith family vacation” shirt (no relation).

In the end, the Netherlands got the job done on the field and their fans did so off the field. And there is no other way to honor that, than lighting up a historic Kansas City landmark, Union Station, in the Dutch orange.

Three World Cup games in Kansas City down, and three to go!