SEATTLE \u2014 Just hours before the USA Belgium World Cup match in Seattle on Monday, former US Men\u2019s National Team member Joe Max Moore met, greeted, and served up drinks to fans at a \u201cNight Before\u201d party at Victory Hall.<\/p>\n
Max Moore has reason to appreciate fans, whose cheers can be a game changer for players on the pitch. <\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah, yeah, you can feel it. As a player, you can hear it, you can feel it,\u201d he tells KIRO 7.<\/p>\n
U.S. Soccer\u2019s Chloe Spradlin says Seattle is quickly gaining a reputation for bringing the enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky enough to be here a couple weeks ago for when we [Team USA] played Australia. One of the best environments I\u2019ve ever been in. And I think we\u2019re going to see it again, and then some, for tomorrow\u2019s match,\u201d said Spradlin.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a feeling that extends out of the stadium and into seemingly every corner of the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nuts. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it. I\u2019ve lived here for 35 years. Never seen anything like it,\u201d said UK native Nick Hunt. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s so happy to be here, and it\u2019s just a very positive, welcoming atmosphere,\u201d added Amanda Provost, who is visiting from Philadelphia for the game.<\/p>\n
Visitors aren\u2019t the only ones welcoming the positive vibe and reputational boost Seattle is gaining from the World Cup. Some locals say it\u2019s a feeling they\u2019ve missed. <\/p>\n
\u201cSeattle, it\u2019s almost like a revival for us, and I hope that continues, because it is a beautiful city and I think this experience has put us back on the world stage in a much more positive light than in the past few years,\u201d said Nicole.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of sad that it\u2019s sports-related, but there\u2019s a level of just like humanity I\u2019m not going to shy away from. I do think it\u2019s really positive,\u201d said Matt Paul.<\/p>\n
Max Moore hopes visiting teams and their fans \u2013 from across the globe- will take that positive view home, too. Moore mentioned stories of Scottish fans trying to drink the city of Boston dry, memes of the Norwegian team pretending to row up an escalator, and Germans falling in love with ranch dressing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people who\u2019ve gotten here kind of realize it\u2019s a pretty neat place and not all Americans are rude and some of the things they\u2019ve somehow heard in the press and the news there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n