When it was first announced in January 2025 that Thurston County would be the host of one of nine fan zones for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, one question ran through my and many residents’ heads.
Where the hell are they going to put it?
Thurston County is no stranger to hosting major events, but the FIFA World Cup coming back to North America for the first time in 32 years seemed like a different beast. With Seattle chosen as a host city for the World Cup, neighboring municipalities were bound to see an influx of travelers coming to check out what the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
A year and a half ago, I dug to the bottom of my memory banks to think of every possible location in Thurston County that could comfortably fit something to the scale of the fan zone. I lived in the county for over 19 years of my life, so I had a good foundation of knowledge from which to pluck potential locations.
Rainier Vista Park in Lacey was my first thought, as it has hosted the ever-growing Fourth of July fireworks event every year. But Port Plaza in downtown Olympia was my second thought, and after attending the watch party there Thursday night for the United States vs. Türkiye match, that was certainly the obvious choice.
Few spots in Thurston County can match the scenic views that Port Plaza presents. The sights of the Budd Inlet and the state Capitol building are breathtaking this time of year, but Mother Nature decided to welcome soccer fans to Thurston County with some late-June rain showers.
I showed up to the fan zone around 5 p.m., expecting to be one of the first people there since the U.S. game didn’t start until 7 p.m. I was surprised to see a good contingent of people getting settled in and enjoying the end of the Japan-Sweden match despite the rain.
I enjoyed some giant tamales from La Esquinita and a strawberry banana smoothie from Oly Roots before the U.S. match started, and more and more people filed in before the match. There was something for everyone to enjoy, from food trucks to games for children, DJ entertainment and a meet-and-greet with former Seattle Sounder Kelyn Rowe.
Before the match started, I was really curious to see what the vibe among the attendees would be. As a frequenter of sporting events, I’ve noticed recently that they’ve become somewhat of a social media stunt, where people go to games just to take pictures but not really pay much attention to the game. I was especially curious to see how interested the real soccer fans would be, as the match was essentially meaningless for the U.S. since the Americans already won Group D to advance to the Round of 32.
Throughout the match, everyone was locked into the big screens in front of the tower. The crowd was especially energized by Auston Trusty’s goal two minutes into the match for the U.S. It was an action-packed first half, with Türkiye leading 2-1. I was walking around the area taking photos, and I went up to the top of the tower to get an aerial view of the crowd. It was quite breathtaking.
To give you an idea of how locked in the fans were, I, a 6-foot-3 man wielding a large camera, was essentially unseen by the crowd as I took videos and photos from the top of the tower just above the main TV screen. As a photographer, I try to stay hidden while doing my job, but I couldn’t have been more obvious up there. No one batted an eye.
For the second half, I really wanted to immerse myself into the crowd. I must admit: I’ve never been much of a soccer fan. I never knew anything about the sport until I started to cover prep soccer, and I’ve never had much interest in professional soccer outside of the World Cup.
I believe there’s two sporting events that can really unite people all over the world, regardless of what country they represent or their sports knowledge. That’s the Olympics and the World Cup. Every four years, I tune in to the U.S. games and pretend I’ve been a ride-or-die fan, and that was never more the case than Thursday night, particularly in the second half. I stuck myself into the middle of the group of fans that were the most decked out in apparel, the real fans who have been through it all with the U.S. national team.
With sports, I have a funny habit of putting myself in uncomfortable situations for the love of the game that I wouldn’t otherwise do in any other circumstance as an introvert. For example, I, an Oregon Ducks fan since middle school and graduate of the University of Oregon, have traveled to Seattle to watch the Ducks football team face the Washington Huskies and to State College, Pennsylvania, to see the Ducks take down Penn State. In both cases, I wore bright green in a place where it was illegal everywhere but the law to wear bright green. If you take the ball and the field away from that scenario, that’s a nightmare for me.
But there’s something about sports that makes me feel at home, and even surrounded by fans of a sport I’ve never closely followed or cared about, I felt at home. I felt the joy as Sebastian Berhalter netted the tying goal three minutes into the second half. I felt butterflies as the crowd cheered when Christian Pulisic entered the match for the first time in the second half. I felt agony and frustration at the numerous missed opportunities for the U.S. near the box in the final moments. And I felt the wave of heartbreak as Türkiye’s Kaan Ayhan improbably netted the walk-off winning goal in the 98th minute.
The Olympia-Lacey Fan Zone, and fan zones around the state and country, provided the opportunity for a community of people to come together and put the stresses of everyday life aside to watch the globe’s biggest sporting event. Hundreds, if not thousands, of folks braved the rain to enjoy one another’s company, some tasty local food and drinks, and some exciting soccer.
I had a bit of anxiety walking through the entrance. Even as someone who yearns for new sports experiences and atmospheres, this was certainly stretching my comfort zone as a non-soccer fan. But the friendly vibe, which was helped by seeing some old high school friends and community members I’ve seen through being a reporter in the area, and the thrilling match made for a fun evening in spite of the rain and the U.S. loss.
A big shout out goes to the Thurston County Chamber and all of the local jurisdictions for putting on such an awesome event. It’s been fun watching this blossom from its infancy into the real deal. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to do it all over again in another 32 years.
