Big Sky Futbol Club, The Waypoint hosts World Cup watch party
By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
The last time the U.S. hosted the FIFA World Cup was in 1994. In the crowd of a Washington D.C. game was a 10-year-old Doug Hare with his dad. They traveled from Richmond, Virginia, to see the global soccer competition.
“I still have fond memories of kind of understanding how soccer was such an international game. And the World Cup is just a great introduction to soccer, especially when it’s in your home country,” Hare said.
Thirty-two years later, the World Cup has finally returned to home soil in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Hare, who’s now the director of Big Sky Futbol Club, wanted to get the Big Sky soccer community together to watch games and support the U.S. national team. The result is watch parties at The Waypoint with the game played on a large projector screen and all of the televisions. In a crowd of 80 scattered throughout the bar, Hare sat in one of the front row seats to watch the game.
“It happens once every four years, and it’s the highest level of the game, and people are just super passionate about the World Cup,” Hare said. “This is the most patriotic I’ve felt, you know, in a while.”
Kim Dickerson, the Lone Peak High School girls soccer coach, also experienced the 1986 World Cup happening around her when she was 10 years old in Mexico City. But one of her favorite memories was watching the U.S. Women’s National Team win the 1999 World Cup.
“That was an exciting time because that totally changed the trajectory of women in sports, especially in soccer,” Dickerson said. “That’s when teams started popping up, professional teams, and U.S. women’s soccer players could go and play beyond college.”
Dickerson noted that more kids are getting into playing soccer, apparent in watch parties like this.
“It’s just exciting because in the state of Montana, soccer is growing,” Dickerson said. Locally, the Lone Peak High School soccer teams have been able to compete in the Class A division, and youth programs like the Big Sky Futbol Club, which instructs well over 100 players in soccer skills and training.
One player, donning a U.S. jersey is Riley Bowman, who Hare described as a “fearless center defender.” She appreciates how the World Cup allows people, even opposing fans, to unite through their love of soccer.
”Even if you’re on different teams, if you go to the games, you can meet, and you can cheer for other teams,” Bowman said. Her coach has reminded her team to form triangles on the field to complete passes, which is something her and her teammates watch for in World Cup games.
Another Big Sky Futbol Club player, Kadel Clark, shared a similar sentiment. Outside of enjoying the games with friends and family, he and his teammates can talk about what they can learn from world-class players. Otherwise, spaces like The Waypoint watch parties allow him to connect with others.
“It’s pretty fun,” Clark said. “I just like watching it with my friends and family.”
Big Sky resident Andy Smith, isn’t a major soccer fan, but he also appreciates the opportunity to spend time with the Big Sky community.
“ I don’t really know most of the rules of the game, but, if it’s an excuse to bring community together, I’m happy to support it,” Smith said. As an athlete more familiar with skiing and mountain biking, Smith will text his friends who play soccer to learn about the game along the way. The U.S. hosting World Cup games is a plus, too.
“I’m excited about that and proud of it,” Smith said.
Big Sky Futbol Club players supported the U.S. at the watch party. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY 
Improvising during a brief moment when the broadcast cut, a fan raises a live broadcast of the June 19 World Cup game on his phone to cheers and laughs from attendees. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY 
Big Sky locals went to the U.S. vs. Australia World Cup game. From left to right: Jason Luchini, Lola Morris, Zoe Luchini, Mike Stout, Ava Stout and Garin Stout. PHOTO COURTESY OF KIM DICKERSON 
Overlooking the Lumen Field in Seattle. PHOTO COURTESY OF KIM DICKERSON
One highlight of the game happened in the 42nd minute of the game when U.S. player Alex Freeman headed the ball in the back of Australia’s net. It was a favorite moment for Bowman, and brought the score to 2-0, where it stayed for the remainder of the match.
Members of the Lone Peak soccer programs saw the game in person, too. Ava Stout, Lola Morris and Zoe Luchini saw the Seattle-based game with their parents, and the Lone Peak boys soccer coaching duo, Tony Coppola and Jeremy Harder, repped stars and stripes at the Lumen Field.
With the win today, the U.S. team is moving onto the knockout stage of the World Cup.
Susan Tso, Big Sky resident and mom to three soccer players, acknowledged that the U.S. team will need to overcome tough challenges to win the World Cup. However, that doesn’t stop her from hoping.
“That would be a dream for sure,” Tso said.
