"They completely took over Texas." That was the verdict from Casey Settleman, a US-based football content creator with 30,000 Instagram followers, after watching England supporters descend on Dallas for the Three Lions' opening World Cup fixture against Croatia on June 18.
Settleman had publicly committed to staying sober throughout the tournament — 34 games, no booze, stay healthy. That lasted until he spent about ten minutes talking to England fans. He caved. Voluntarily. Happily.
"The atmosphere was too infectious," he admitted, before announcing he was "getting on the booze" and joining the England contingent for the day. He called it potentially "the best experience of my entire 34-game journey." That's not a small claim for someone who's planning to watch the entire tournament.
4-2 and the party's just getting started
The fans had something to celebrate too. England beat Croatia 4-2 in their opener — an attacking performance that'll have supporters daring to dream again after six decades of World Cup hurt. The scoreline gives the result context: this wasn't a scrappy win, it was a statement.
England's next match is against Ghana on Tuesday, June 23 (9pm BST, BBC One). If the team keeps performing and the supporters keep delivering scenes like Dallas, the odds on England going deep in this tournament are going to get a lot more interesting to look at. Right now, the vibes and the results are pointing in the same direction.
What the Americans made of it
Settleman's post pulled over 10,000 likes, which says something about how the England fan presence landed stateside. The comments ranged from "Cheers, it's coming home" to the rather more pragmatic observation that if both England and Scotland reach the quarterfinals, "there will be no beer left in the US."
Settleman's conclusion, stripped of any irony: "The England fans came here to prove why they are the best fans at the World Cup." On the evidence of Day 1 in Dallas, he's not arguing against himself.
