Prairie Village and nearby neighborhoods of Overland Park are buzzing over England’s rise through the standings to the World Cup semifinals.
A group of fans waited outside the barrier surrounding the team’s hotel in Meadowbrook Park on Monday afternoon, hoping to catch a glimpse of them as the team returned from practice in Kansas City, Missouri.
Overland Park resident Nico Armijos, 13, had a handmade sign to hold up, asking for star player Jude Bellingham’s autograph. Bellingham has been one of the breakout stars of this World Cup, scoring six goals and playing a key part in England’s march through the tournament.
“I’m so excited. England has been one of the best teams I have watched in this World Cup. They have been really good. I love how they play,” he said. “…Jude Bellingham, he’s like my idol, and he’s having the greatest World Cup of his life.”
Overland Park resident Alicia Hering, and her son Houston, 10, were also waiting in the park on Monday.
Houston has already met the players once, when he and a friend went to one of the team’s early practices and got autographs and photos with them.
Although they weren’t necessarily England fans before, seeing that practice made them want to root for the team.
“We don’t really have any ties to it or any roots to it. It’s just that they’re close, and we want to support them,” Hering said.
She said her son was inspired by them to take up soccer again after a four-year break and to join his school team in the fall.
A semifinal between two of Kansas City’s “home” teams
Having the England team nearby has had an energizing effect on others, too.
“It gives you shoots of dopamine every time you see them come by or you hear them driving through the area, or you see people lining up for them,” said Baileigh McGillivray of Overland Park.
For brothers Omar Alahmad and Manaf Mudaslat, both of Overland Park, it’s definitely a special moment.
“We have been watching soccer our whole lives. For it to be right here in our backyard,
basically, that’s not something that happens very often,” Mudaslat said. “We have two semifinalists here. Argentina’s also here, so two big teams chose Kansas City. It means a lot to us.”
The two nations, both of whom have made their World Cup base camps in Kansas City, will play each other in a semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.
The winner will play Spain in Sunday’s final, after Spain defeated France on Tuesday in the other semifinal. The loser will play France in the third-place match on Friday in Miami.
A Lionel Messi fan, Mudaslat is expecting Argentina to win on Wednesday, but Alahmad
wasn’t so sure.
“I love Jude Bellingham, I love Harry Kane, and I love England, but I’m just hoping for a great game. Whoever’s winning, I’ll root for them,” Alahmad said.
Yard signs and community pride
Local businesses have been feeling the rush of having not just the World Cup but the England team nearby.
“People have been really excited. A lot of it has been Prairie Village people who have come in excited to cheer them on, knowing how close they’re staying,” said Laura Stacy, a sales associate at the Made in KC store in Corinth Square.
“It’s also brought out a lot of people who are British but live in Kansas City, so they’ve been excited to see Kansas City be excited about their home country.”
The store has been selling yard signs to support England.
“We collaborated with a local, Anita Newton. She had the idea and brought it to our owners, and they thought it was a good collaboration,” Stacy said.
They’ve also been selling shirts that combine Kansas City with England’s flag and the team’s Three Lions symbol. Other popular items include hats (that the store sold out of) and pennants.
Stacy hasn’t encountered anyone connected with the team, though a few British journalists have stopped by the store.
“I was hoping one of the players would pop in here and get a souvenir or something, but so far no luck. They’re probably pretty busy, so that’s understandable. It’s been really fun, and it’s been an honor to have them in Prairie Village,” she said.
That feeling has bubbled up to Prairie Village City Hall, where England’s national flag, St. George’s Cross, is flying this week, between the American flag and Kansas state flag.
“What an honor and privilege it has been to host Team England in Prairie Village,” Mayor Eric Mikkleson said this week.
Fox 4 reported on Tuesday that, win or lose, the England team plans to return to its Meadowbrook Park home base after Wednesday’s match one last time before either the third-place match Friday or the final on Sunday.
A stop for ice cream
However, Imrie Goller, an ice cream scooper at Betty Rae’s near 95th and Nall in Prairie Village, met two groups of England players this past Sunday, a day after the team’s hard-fought quarterfinal win over Norway.
“The first group, I didn’t know that they played for England until a whole horde of teenagers followed them in and took pictures with them,” she said.
The second group came by later, when the store had briefly lost power.
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“Some people came to the door, and we went and said, ‘Hey, our power’s out. We can’t ring you up. All of our ice cream’s in the deep freezer. We can’t serve you right now.’ And it was the team manager, and he said, ‘That’s fine. Can we just come in to get out of the sun for a little bit?’ So they got to hang out in here with the doors locked,” she said.
Goller said they were a pleasant group to have in the store. Although she’s not a sports fan, she still likes the vibe the World Cup has brought to the area.
“The sense of community has been really fun. I feel like we’ve been really welcoming, and I’m really proud of that,” she said.
