Name: Kaitlin Stiles
Age: 16
Country: USA
Team Supporting: USA With a broad smile and blond hair Kaitlin Stiles looks the prototypical image of American Midwestern charm.
But she’s no a cheerleader, rather a died-in-the-wool US Soccer fan. And with the usual swagger and optimism associated with the US, she is convinced her that the Stars and Stripes will go all the way in Germany.
“We’re gonna’ win this game against the Czechs, then we’re gonna go on and win our next game against Italy,” she shouted, brimming with enthusiasm and surrounded by her family and fellow fans from all over the States outside the FIFA World Cup Stadium Gelsenkirchen. “We’re gonna’ win the whole thing and shock the world!”
An accomplished junior player herself, Kaitlin represents the up-and-coming new soccer generation in America, weaned on WUSA and Major League Soccer. But she is shrewd enough to see the difference in excitement level and atmosphere between her beloved USA and the FIFA World Cup™ finals in the heart of Europe.
“This is crazy here,” she said, gesturing towards fans of both the USA and Czech Republic, who were mingling together before their Group E opener. “We have nothing like this back home. Soccer is getting bigger and bigger in our country but this is absolutely amazing. I was at the Trinidad and Tobago v Sweden game in Dortmund and I couldn’t believe the atmosphere. I was speechless.”
When asked who her favourite player on the US team is, Kaitlin’s response is swift and emphatic: “Landon Donovan,” she screams. “He’s so cute and so good and he has to be the best player we’ve ever had in the USA.”
After an eight-hour flight from Illinois to Berlin, the Stiles family took a train for another three hours before arriving to the Germany’s footballing heart in Westphalia. “We’ve been to Munster, Dortmund and the spirit here at the World Cup is so crazy. I remember the Women’s World Cups in the States in 1999 and 2003 and that got me really into the game... but this is something else completely.”
“Now all we need is a US win to make it complete.”