'That's America' - how rooftop event brought tepid USMNT to life

Gunna and USMNT

The USMNT officially unveiled a roster that had already leaked on Tuesday afternoon, and a touch of World Cup fever might just be here

NEW YORK -- For a moment, you couldn’t hear Tim Weah.

The chants were too loud, the shouts a little too aggressive. The USMNT’s No. 21, the hometown hero, born not five miles from the stage he was standing upon, was ever-so-briefly drowned out by the voices around him. The live TV interview went on, Weah being asked about what it meant to play in a World Cup, how excited he was to be there, what it meant to play in New York.

But the attention was really on the noise around him. For the first time in a rooftop event to unveil a roster that had already leaked, that was dragging on perhaps a bit too long, something came to life. It might have been a hundred or so sweaty fans on the top of a building in lower Manhattan, but in chants of “U-S-A”, there was the faintest of senses that there might be some World Cup momentum.

And such was the sentiment throughout this roster announcement, a registration-only, capacity-capped ticketed live-to-TV special, broadcast on FOX and hosted by a concert venue space, perched just atop the East River, with the Brooklyn Bridge painting the skyline. A lot of it felt busy, corporate. Some of it tried a little bit too hard to be too much about soccer. But in the end, everything felt just about right. This is an agreeable roster, presented in an agreeable way, with just enough fan excitement to give a tepid tournament a jolt of life.

“That's America, I'd expect nothing less. Do you know what I mean? It's a huge event, the biggest event that the U.S. will host. Yeah, it's kind of what I expected, to be quite honest with you,” USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams said in a press conference after the festivities.

USMNT rooftop

Making everything feel real

Make no mistake, the U.S. truly tried to make this a star-studded unveiling. Unfortunately, the squad was leaked on Saturday, three days before the event. A U.S. soccer employee joked that Grammy-nominated rapper Gunna, the surprise musical guest, was ‘the only thing they kept quiet.’ And there was an element of truth to that. Most of the people there knew which 26 players would appear on the stage - 25 if you account for the absence of Chris Richards, playing in a European final for Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.

So, what was the point? Well, this was the moment when it felt real, in truth. There have been posters, campaigns, and buzz. Watch parties have been organized. Public transportation has been debated, disputed, and painstakingly, formalized. But on a New York City rooftop, as players were named one by one, those logistics, the bad stuff, were all forgotten. After all, a tournament kicks off in just over two weeks.

There’s a lot to like here, too. The U.S. roster may be top-heavy, but its quality cannot be denied. In Christian Pulisic, they have a true game-changer. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more effective center midfielder than Weston McKennie this season. The full backs are strong, and there are goals up front. Player for player, this is arguably the strongest roster the USMNT have ever sent to a World Cup.

The manager isn’t bad, either. Pochettino was, in effect, a World Cup hire. And even if he spent much of his 25-minute press conference on the back foot, nothing went maddeningly wrong.

USMNT DJ

A quiet start to things

Yet such events rely on crowd energy. This is the reality with all sports, really. It’s a symbiotic relationship; the fans embrace the team, and the team delivers. People are here for a product. The product should be good. That’s what makes it easier to embrace - if you’re willing to engage with it at all.

And for an hour or so, hardly anyone was. It was a warm day in New York, and Pier 17 is an unforgiving spot at times like these. There’s no real shade, very few corners to hide in, and not much wind to cool things off. Sweat, to be sure, was a theme. It seemed to discourage any early arrivals, too.

An hour before the event, energy was pretty much nowhere to be found. A DJ stood on a stage, spinning remixes of Uptown Funk that no one danced to. A few loyalists stood close, as accomplished local comedians tried their best to get a dead crowd up for it. The food options - standard American fare - were pricey, and there were a fair few hard seltzers being passed around. A “style station” drew a pretty impressive line.

There was time, too, for a plug for the HBO documentary tracing the USMNT’s last four years (which, startlingly, didn’t find enough room in its five-plus hours of content for Gio Reyna’s mishaps at the 2022 World Cup).

Eventually, the fans got involved. One stood atop a platform, USMNT jersey on, scarf around his neck, megaphone in hand. He tried to start some chants. The DJ kept spinning her tunes. The two noises just clashed. Songs were not sung.

Weston McKennie

Lalas and Gunna - an unlikely pairing

Then the legends started showing up. FOX held the broadcast rights to this thing, and there was, admittedly, a certain buzz when some faces walked through the crowd. Alexi Lalas - so willingly the polarizing and loudest voice of this fan base - stopped for selfie after selfie. Stu Holden - more measured, more charming - was also there.

As the broadcast started, a drone flew above. Fans were encouraged to move into specific areas so they could ‘be on TV.’ A few obliged. But when FOX's Rob Stone got on the mic, and the setup really started, then the energy shifted. Attendees moved up towards the stage. And with a simple 'Are y’all ready for the roster reveal?’ there was real momentum.

Whether this USMNT are a likeable bunch is up for debate. In truth, the country doesn’t really know them all that well. And that’s not really the athletes’ fault, either. These people are faraway commodities with massive Instagram followings. Most play in Europe. And the ones that don’t won’t be on the pitch all that much this summer. It should also be pointed out that this was not the salt-of-the-earth type of ordeal that might appeal to the common fan. In truth, it could have probably done with a lot more beer.

Yet as the players were unveiled, to no one’s surprise, there was a bit of drama. Adams, by some distance the most marketable starter here, was met with cheers. He strode onto the stage, beaming, and held his jersey aloft.

Others didn’t quite receive the same treatment. There were scattered boos for Reyna - his high-profile run-in with then-manager Gregg Berhalter clearly remaining in the U.S. consciousness. Even Matt Freese, presumptive starter and NYCFC stalwart, was subject to a few jeers - presumably from New York Red Bulls fans. These are probably good things. This fanbase, this tournament, needs a bit of needle, a bit of bite. Is it, objectively, good to boo your own players? Ask pretty much any Premier League fan. But self-inflicted angst means that something is happening here.

The team looked like a good group: laughing, smiling, perhaps quietly confident. They’re from all over the world, but they looked like good friends. It’s hard not to be charmed by that.

And then, it was blown up by a man from Atlanta. Gunna is not, you’d imagine, the everyman artist. He hasn’t really been cool for a few years. But he showed up all the same, scooting through the USMNT players standing on stage and rapping very quickly over a beat that was far too loud. It looked wrong.

But Lalas danced. Antonee Robinson seemed to be rapping along in the background. Tim Ream looked baffled, but maybe that wasn’t so bad. You couldn’t hear a word from afar, but as an image, it was rather compelling. The chants started after, a mass of phones raised into the air while American pride had its moment. It might just have been deserved, too.

Mauricio Pochettino

'I didn't want the coach to call me'

The press conferences, though, told a different story. In his early days on the job, Pochettino had an element of an old, cheery grandpa about him: wise, friendly, a twinkle in his eye - with a certain gravitas to him. In his introductory presser in New York he smiled, made jokes about his poor English, and , through what was, in truth, a feel good event.

Here, he looked tired. He admitted, in fact, that he had lost sleep for two weeks debating squads. He finalized his plans, he revealed, the day before telling the players last Friday. The last thing he needed, it seems, was a press pool of expectant reporters ready to grill him about the absence of a midfielder who likely wouldn’t play anyway.

He made it clear early that he didn’t want to talk about players not picked: “that would be disrespectful to those on the team,” he pointed out.

But after 20 minutes, he cracked just a little. Every camp, Pochettino gets asked why he does not personally call players to tell them they are not selected. His answer is more or less the same, and it remained so Tuesday: that has always been his policy, and he made it clear from day one.

Yet after it was revealed that Thomas Tuchel made personal phone calls to every player not involved in his England team, Pochettino was quizzed again. It is, in all honesty, a fair question, and a talking point. It’s also far more exciting than asking Christian Pulisic why he can’t score goals at the moment.

Pochettino’s answer has since been characterized as a ‘rant’. The clips have done the rounds on social media. In the room, it was far more carefully constructed, not just a series of spare thoughts wrapped into one tirade.

“I was a player. When I didn’t make the roster, I didn’t want the coach to call me. If I ask 'why am I not in the roster?' what are they going to say? They are going to lie... If I call, it’s about myself. Come on, that is bullshit." he said.

The press conference ended soon after. Pochettino exhaled, apologzied to a reporter whose question he didn’t quite understand, and walked off, perhaps a bit of a relieved man.

USMNT squad

'I've been asked this question so many times'

Pulisic couldn’t remember a question. The U.S. star does bear, it must be said, quite a heavy weight. He is a near-world-class player on an otherwise pretty good team. There is no doubt that he is the most talented player the United States has ever produced. The expectations here are immense.

And Pulisic has always been a bit shy in front of the media. He doesn’t seem to love the spotlight. He is a footballer who really likes playing football, and doesn’t apparently care for all of the trimmings that come with it. And of course, he was asked about that attitude.

Are you tired, Christian? We know you are! We can tell! You look tired, Christian. Tell us you're tired, Christian.

“I’ve been asked this question so many times, so I'm not going to get into it anymore,” he said, dragging the final few words of his answer.

Later, he simply forgot a question - and mistook it for one he had not, in fact, been asked (presumably because he gets asked if he’s going to start scoring goals again every time he’s in front of a reporter). The rest of the vibes were admittedly good. Adams and Weston McKennie giggled their way through their media duties. Adams joked about the New York Knicks. McKennie took a swipe at his fairweather fandom. Up close, the contrast between their buddy-cop 80s film relationship and Pulisic’s apathy is jarring. Perhaps that’s what this team needs, though.

There were, admittedly, a few things wrong here. Perhaps scorching rooftops in lower Manhattan aren’t the best places to unveil a World Cup roster. Maybe Gunna is not necessary to get everyone - already dehydrated and a little baffled - hyped up.

But perhaps the lasting image was the sound that couldn’t be heard. Weah could hardly get a word in edgeways - the chants were just that loud. It’s that kind of energy that gives you hope.