As the United States hosts the World Cup, it was bested by Belgium in the July 5th game at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Naturally, Belgian fans celebrated their win, but one Seattle man decided that was unacceptable. He threatened to punch a Belgian fan in the face, but it was the American who ended up embarrassed when the Belgian didn’t even flinch.
Rather than look worried about the prospect of a fight, the Belgian fan didn’t budge. Instead, he continued to point to his jersey and cheer his team on. The American fan’s face said it all, as he internalized his second loss of the day.
Redditors suffered some second-hand embarrassment from the cringey video. One person wrote, “I mean, literally no one flinched. What a thoroughly embarrassing chain of events for this guy.” Another shared, “10/10, he’s going to take it out on his wall at home then ugly cry while listening to Carrie Underwood.“
Others pointed out that, despite the situation being embarrassing, the American fan should probably consider himself lucky that the Belgian man didn’t take him up on his offer to fight. As one person pointed out, “That is the windup of someone who has never been in a real fight.” Another echoed, “That Belgium kid would have smoked him.“
Many commenters had fun with trying to guess the American man’s name, based on his looks and behavior. Monikers like Chad, Trent, Jayden, and Brayden were top contenders. One individual was particularly dedicated to the cause and claimed to re-watch the clip enough times to notice someone else in the video talk to the American guy. They shared, “If you up the audio it kinda sounds like she says his name? I hear Logan, which would track. Edit: Rewatched for the 14th time and she starts with an R. Roman? Would be fantastically fitting if it was actually Rogan.”
Much like the conflict in the stands, the game’s winner was decisive. Belgium enjoyed a whopping 4-1 victory, eliminating the U.S. The win was even more of a triumph for Belgian fans as this particular game was highly controversial due to President Donald Trump’s unprecedented involvement. U.S. striker Folarin Balogun was facing a red card ban, which was overturned via Trump’s request. Naturally, the incident caused controversy over the President’s ability to influence FIFA’s decisions.
It’s highly likely that the pre-game political drama contributed to the tense emotions among Washington fans. Well, Belgium has certainly proved that it won’t be intimidated by Americans flexing their muscles – neither on nor off the field.
