Welcome to Rochester, NY, where with three weekly radio soccer shows and a weekly television show, soccer fans are as passionate about their sport as their European counterparts. And for these supporters of the American squad, optimism reigns. Twenty-five members of the Stampede, a group of rabid soccer enthusiasts who usually unite to cheer on the Rochester Rhinos, a professional team in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, headed the fan rally on Monday. Tommy Smyth, a World Cup analyst for ESPN who has called more than 1,300 soccer games, including some Rhinos matches, says Rochester is as rabid a town for soccer as any in the US. "Rochester is the only place in the United States that I found people in their daily life talking about soccer," Smyth said via e-mail. "It was just an all-around feeling that soccer was a very important phase in their life."Read the entire feature at USA Today >>
