Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Soccer Fans Out in Full Force to Support Team USA

Aired June 05, 2002 - 08:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Soccer fans were out in full force at 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning to support Team USA and they were not disappointed. The American team beat Portugal 3-2 in a surprising upset. And the real diehard fans stayed around to watch Ireland play Germany, and that's exactly where we find Richard Roth, who's joining them all at a pub in New York City.

Good morning, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Nobody went home because Germany is now playing Ireland. These fans have been here all night, all throughout the night. They're not really drinking that much; they're just transfixed by watching soccer events thousands of miles away in either South Korea or Japan. The sun was coming up, 5:00 a.m., New York time, and the line was outside this establishment in the east side, and they eventually jammed in. There was just no room, even though it's 5:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m. in the morning, people wanted to come out and just rally around support for the U.S. team. Here's the reaction when three U.S. goals happened in the first half.

The United States hung on and defeated Portugal 3-2. That's just the opening game for the U.S. They still have got two other matches to see if they can get out of the next round. With me, some of the supporters for the U.S.

Chris, how was it here in the bar? Why did you come here all night? How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's incredible, an incredible atmosphere. The fans are great, and great for American soccer.

ROTH: Kenton (ph), are you surprised by the U.S. victory?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, but I knew they could pull it out. They're an underrated team.

ROTH: Margaret, you have got Irish roots. What are you thinking right now watching Ireland lose follows the U.S. win?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm still optimistic.

ROTH: Thank you very much. They're going to stay here for the next 45 minutes, for the end of this game, and this tournament goes on for a month longer. The fun is just starting here. The last time I wore these headsets was at a political convention when (UNINTELLIGIBLE) United Nations here.

Back to you.

ZAHN: But that was so much more fun, you're having more fun this morning than at a political convention. We hope your hear something restored sometime soon.

Richard Roth, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com