Growth in immigrant communities seen fostering love for soccer in US

By Paul Sanchez
Catholic News Service

PORT CHESTER, N.Y. (CNS) -- Before and during the 2010 World Cup games being played in South Africa until July 11, there have been numerous articles and editorials in the American press about what has traditionally been a lack of interest in the World Cup in the United States.

These sentiments were boldly expressed in a May 6 article in The New York Times headlined "Most Popular Soccer Team in the U.S.: Mexico?" It detailed the successes of the Mexican national team and the pride Mexicans in the United States have for that team.

But what seems missing in a lot of the coverage is how the growth of this country's immigrant population may be responsible for a growing U.S. interest in the sport, because immigrants are bringing with them their passion for their national sport.

Not to mention that many of these immigrants also are bringing their Catholic faith to their new home. Many come from predominantly Catholic countries, such as Latin American nations, and account for much of the recent growth of the U.S. Catholic Church.

(And not a few stories in the Catholic press have highlighted the strong Catholic faith of many of the current players.)

Latin America was well represented among the 32 teams that qualified for the 2010 World Cup. And among the eight teams heading into the Cup's quarterfinals were Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

One U.S. community noted for its diverse Latin American population is Port Chester in Westchester County. Virtually all Latin American nations seem to be represented there.

One popular locale for the area's massive Brazilian community to watch the games has been Churrascaria Copacabana, a steakhouse with many television screens in the outside bar area.

Anderson Moretti, a native of Sao Paolo, who is the general manager of Copacabana, feels that the World Cup brings the Brazilian community in the United States closer together.

"You can see all the families coming together to watch the matches. It is as big in the Brazilian community here as it is in the U.S. People like to dress up in the colors and team jerseys," he said.

Moretti said that after a Latino country is eliminated, people from that country will root for another Latino country to win it all.

The New York City borough of the Bronx is noted for having communities of almost every immigrant group imaginable, with Latino groups being the most prevalent. However, in the Belmont section of the Bronx, a traditional Italian-American stronghold, both Italian-born people and people of Italian descent had geared up for the World Cup long in advance of the opening game June 11.

Stan Petti, owner of Full Moon Pizzeria, has had a recent poster of the Italian team hanging in his restaurant for months. Petti, a native of Italy's province of Salerno who came to the United States in 1972, has been talking about Italy's chances in the 2010 Cup with his patrons, both Italians and non-Italians, for several months. The restaurant shows many of the games on widescreens.

"The World Cup is a big event in the Italian community because it is a part of our culture. We have followed the World Cup since we were kids," he said. "Besides, if the Italian team does well, it is nice to show off our flag."

Belmont in the past 20 years has seen an influx of Mexican immigrants who live and work in the neighborhood.

Petti said he sees the World Cup as a unifying force for the Italians, Latino groups and Albanians in the neighborhood.

"The World Cup certainly brings people of different backgrounds together, and it does not have to be about the players or different teams but also the referee and the country where the game is played," he said.

Rusty Chorro Serpas, a native of El Salvador who eats lunch regularly at the Full Moon, feels that Salvadorans love soccer so much that they got over the disappointment of their country failing to qualify for the World Cup and were still following the games out of their intense love of soccer.

"I can come in here almost every day to eat lunch, and every day I can talk about the World Cup with people from different countries -- Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and so many more," he said. "The World Cup is both a unifier and a way of life. When it is over, I can't wait for another four years to pass!"

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