It’s Soccer Season Charlotte! Time to shout, “Olé, olé, olé!” By John Burton Jr.
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Charlotte Multicultural Resource Magazine | www.pridemagazineonline.com
Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC
S
o Charlotte, are you ready for some football, I mean soccer? Although the word “football” conjures up images of quarterbacks, running backs and offensive lines, people internationally think of “football” as two teams of 11 players running on a field, trying to kick a round ball into the other team’s goal net — that’s “soccer” to us in America. Luckily, since 2021, Charlotteans have been able to enjoy professional soccer right here in the Queen City with our city’s first professional soccer team — the Charlotte Football Club. When you go to a Charlotte FC game, you’ll hear the fans gleefully shouting, “Olé, Olé, Olé!” According to soccer blogger Jibin S. Joseph, this was the refrain fans at especially exciting bullfights would shout. The chant made its way into Spanish soccer games in the early 1980s, and then fans around Europe adopted the shout. Eventually the cry circulated around the world and is now heard even at U.S. soccer matches. You’ll also hear loud and enthusiastic shouts of “Charlotte FC!” accompanied by four claps when you attend the team’s games. Touted as “the people’s game” because of its cultural diversity, it wasn’t until recent years that soccer has taken America by storm. Soccer received a significant boost when the U.S. hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup and in 2007, when England sports icon David Beckham joined the LA Galaxy. Soccer is the fourth most popular sport in the U.S. behind American football, baseball and basketball.
Excited Charlotte FC fan cheers at a March 2022 game.
