I suppose I don't need to tell you how one of Nashville SC's players made an impact for the United States in Monday's World Cup game in Qatar .
If you watched along with the rest of the world, you noticed him.
You saw Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman make the deeply regrettable decision of tackling a Wales player who had his back to the goal. You saw how poor a tackle it was. You saw the referee award a penalty kick. Then you saw Gareth Bale turn that penalty into a game-salvaging goal for Wales.
Can't say Zimmerman's foul cost the U.S. the game, because the Americans didn't lose. It just felt that way. The 1-1 draw was a disappointing result after they'd led for about 45 minutes of soccer before conceding the penalty in the 82nd minute.
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And so at GEODIS Park – where I'd joined Nashville SC fans in gathering to watch and to cheer Zimmerman, which they'd done with pride all afternoon – the vibe was silenced.
Sports can be like that, y'all.
More than ever, it showed how Nashville has a piece of this World Cup like never before.
Zimmerman is on the U.S. men's national team along with Nashville SC teammate Shaq Moore, who didn't play against Wales.
When Bale made his MLS debut this past summer for LAFC, it was in a game at GEODIS Park . We knew then that Bale would lead Wales against the U.S. in a World Cup match enthusiastically anticipated by each side.
The U.S. didn't qualify in 2018, which meant the last time that our men's national team appeared at a World Cup was in 2014.
Just look at all that has happened in Nashville since then.
We've got a Major League Soccer franchise. We've got a new soccer stadium at the Fairgrounds, and as a result, there are a growing number of locals getting to know the beautiful game.
At that stadium on this Monday, fans showed up in USMNT jerseys and Nashville SC ones. Friday's gathering for the U.S.-England game, I was told, is already sold out.
In attendance to watch U.S.-Wales was Nashville SC majority owner John Ingram, the man responsible for the existence of that team and stadium.
"I wanted to come. I'm a fan, too," Ingram said at halftime. "… A combination of having our club and people taking more notice around the city about soccer in general and having two of our players that are on the U.S. team, it makes it more interesting when somebody you know or you watch play is participating. You feel more ownership and more connection to it."
At one point during the Wales game, the sight and sound bled through television screens of American fans at the venue in Qatar clapping, faster and faster, to a rhythmic U-S-A chant. Those at GEODIS Park picked it up, clapping and cheering along with those on the other side of the globe.
It was a moment. The U.S. team was back on the world's biggest stage, and Nashville was a part.
The U.S. team was playing well, too. As the Americans controlled most of the game. Fans in Nashville jeered referees as if they were there. They collectively roared when the U.S. took a 1-0 lead and were growing nervous as the U.S. was hanging on to a win and three points that'd be huge in trying to advance from the group stage.
Then it happened, of course.
In Zimmerman's home stadium, his tackle was met with immediate groans, along with a gloomy realization about which U.S. player was responsible. Tough scene. Mixed emotions. Because here, Zimmerman has such a reputation for being a genuinely good dude in addition to being a good MLS player.
Seriously, the Washington Post ran an article about that a week ago.
"Walker is a really good guy," Ingram said at halftime. "Our locker room is full of good guys."
Zimmerman has been a cornerstone to Nashville's three years as an expansion MLS team. He scored the club's first MLS goal. He has twice been named MLS defender of the year.
None of that changed with Monday's mistake.
If anyone is going to stick up for Zimmerman moving forward, it'll surely be those die-hard fans back in Nashville. If anything, they'll root even harder for him in this World Cup. This city's soccer fans were emotionally invested before, but even more so now.
A good performance by Zimmerman on Friday against England wouldn't hurt, though.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville is invested in this World Cup like none before
