When thousands of English soccer fans descended New Jersey for the World Cup
Saturday, they were looking for two things:
- A place to eat and drink;
- A place to sing … ‘Sweet Caroline’
That’s right: The Neil Diamond anthem that’s so popular in the U.S., apparently is the
unofficial anthem of English sports fans.
On three occasions, fans broke out in unison at American Dream hours before the
match. It happened again inside of MetLife Stadium. See the Instagram post here.
More on World Cup experience:
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- Volunteer hours: The good, the bad and the boring at the World Cup
- For Irvington florist, it’s about playing the long game, one World Cup match at a time
- Q&A: Lasry is loving World Cup fan experience — and challenge of making it better
- Why the best place (outside of Mexico City) to watch Mexico-Ecuador is in Carlstadt
- American Dream proving to be big hit with international fans
- So good, so good: How Sweet Caroline became unofficial anthem of England
- On transit costs, merch and branding: World Cup fans offers simple fixes
And while seemingly everyone loves the song, no one really knows when or where the
lovefest began:
- Londoner Ian Storer explained it started at boxing matches. He said it was used
to rev up the crowd. That hardly makes sense; - Londoner Sarah (last name withheld) said it began during cricket matches.
Hmmm. Still not feeling it; - Aussie Ken Jefferds, who has followed his homeland to many World Cups, said it
all started at last World Cup, surmising the fans needed a new song to sing. OK,
maybe?; - Londoner Lisa (last name withheld) was more simplistic in her explanation: “It’s
catchy and the words are easy to learn and remember, so why not?”
Lisa offered as good an explanation as any. But it still doesn’t completely answer the
question. Maybe, it’s because more than one song is sung by the fans.
Wonderwall, by famed British Band Oasis, gets plenty of love. In fact, the fans sung it to
the team after the game.
Then there’s this: After star player Jude Bellingham did his post-match interview at one
end of the field, he was serenaded by a rendition of ‘Hey, Jude’ by the Beatles as he ran
toward the locker room on the other.
(And don’t get us started on the cool, ‘I want to stay here, drink more beer,’ chant they
had while leaving the stadium.)
What song is next? No one knows.
But we will add this: When the stadium blasted Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ during a
hydration break, everyone seemed to know the words.
Neil Diamond’s days may be numbered.
