In what was to be the final International Champions Cup (ICC) match I covered, I traveled to Washington D.C. to watch Chelsea play against Barcelona.  Having spent the majority of my time covering the ICC in the New York/New Jersey area, I made the trek south a day early in order to reduce travel stress and to use the opportunity to check out the nation’s capital.

Thankfully, my brother is a local resident and he offered to accommodate me (I threatened to call mom and rat him out) so I graciously accepted.  We used our time together well – in the only way two upstanding young gentlemen could – by playing FIFA and speculating about how the game was going to go.  An ardent Chelsea supporter, my brother was convinced the London club would take the victory home.  Walking around his neighborhood, I wasn’t surprised to see an abundance of Barcelona jerseys being worn.  Not that I’m aware of any particular Barcelona fanbase in the area, but you can’t really go many places where the Champions League and La Liga winners aren’t well-supported.

The match was being played at FedEx Field, home of the Washington NFL team, which was a quick 30-minute drive from his apartment – or so I thought.  To say I hit traffic wouldn’t really do the experience justice.  I sat in the most painstakingly slow-moving, pull-your-hair-out, bumper-to-bumper, never-ending, stop-and-go, creep-and-crawl – well you get it.  It was awful traffic and I was miserable.

The thing about FedEx Field is, despite being a great venue for a sporting event, it’s nearly impossible to get to in a timely fashion unless you show up a few hours early.  (Note: I probably should have showed up a few hours early).  The main access road, an eight-lane cluster of hurried drivers and anxious fans, fills up like a parking lot.  The lot for media and staff was poorly marked and my parking there required a four lane switch at the last minute and several profuse apologies.  After a 20-minute walk in the 97º heat and 96% humidity, I arrived at the media entrance completely soaked.

After picking up my media credentials and attempting to dry myself off, event staff pointed me towards the press box and I made my way there.  Upon arriving, I set my things down and immediately walked to the bathroom to cool down.  Having made it there just a little bit before the pre-match warmups, I was impressed with the amount of fans who had already entered the stadium.

Interestingly, there was no differentiating between sections of Barcelona or Chelsea fans, as everyone was intermingled.  Fans of the Blues stood next to those sporting Neymar and Messi jerseys.  After the match, Mourinho said what most people were thinking about the makeup of the crowd: “I first thought when I got out on the pitch was the amazing color of the game.  The crowd was beautiful.  Lots of blue guys mixing with Barcelona people.”  Until Mourinho’s comments, I hadn’t realized how odd it must seem to teams who usually see away fans segregated from home fans – in some arenas they’re literally fenced in.  It spoke volumes about the culture of soccer in America and how certain ‘norms’ from across the pond haven’t necessarily gained similar traction stateside.

Despite Mourinho insisting the match was to be “a training session,” the fans had come to see the best team in England play against the best team in Spain, and currently, all of Europe.  For the players, regaining fitness and touch while learning or improving an understanding of the manager’s preferred system was the focus.  However, I doubt the players found it hard to be motivated for this game.  In an exciting but close contest which saw four goals, Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard both scored impressively and there was no shortage of quality action.  With the score tied at full-time, the match went directly to penalties, and the 78,914 fans in attendance (including those who paid upwards of $95 for standing room tickets), probably got their money’s worth.

Despite the obnoxious yammering and celebrations of the Barcelona media contingent sitting behind me (seriously, they yelled the entire match and celebrated goals as if they were on the pitch), Chelsea won the day, winning the penalty shootout 4-2.  The lack of team celebration of the victory was sobering, but it didn’t keep the Chelsea fans from celebrating.  A group of Blues supporters who made the trek down from Toronto waved an enormous flag while the “Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea!” chants rang out across FedEx Field.

In the press conference, Luis Enrique and Mourinho thanked one another for the “quality training session” they had each been given, playing down the importance (or lack thereof) of the result.  I asked Mourinho if he was approaching the Community Shield against Arsenal, which is just days away, with the same sort of mentality.  “It is a title. It’s the least important one, but it’s a London derby against a top team and also a rival.  For the fans, it’s nice.  It’s a big day at Wembley, but it’s still a preparation match,” he said. Cryptic as ever, but the Chelsea manager refused to rule out the fact that he’d probably love to beat Wenger and also secure a piece of silverware.

What interested me the most was Mourinho’s comments about American soccer in his press conference, since Enrique took maybe one question that wasn’t from a Spanish or Catalan journalist.  Mourinho said, “I know our sport in the U.S. is not the king. There are other sports in front of us. But bringing the best teams, the best players, I think feeds the passion.  I’ve been coming to the U.S. in pre-season since 2004 and I can see the difference.  I can feel the difference.  Not just in the stadiums, but in the street and hotels.  In the way people look at soccer teams and soccer players.  I think the evolution is clear.”  Refreshing words for fans of the beautiful game in America.

Similar to Laurent Blanc’s words following PSG’s victory over Fiorentina at Red Bull Arena last week, Mourinho asserted that there was nowhere to go but up for professional soccer in the United States.  “You are getting superstars, superstars in the last part of their careers, but people like Drogba, Raul, Gerrard and Lampard.  So many of them are coming.  I think their contribution is fantastic.  The next step is to be able to bring them younger, not just the last couple years of their career, ” he said.  American soccer development is at the heart of tournaments like the ICC, geared towards providing supporters with quality competition the likes of which they’d have to travel internationally to see.  Converting young fans and nurturing seasoned ones is essential for the growth of the global game.  The folks at the ICC seem to understand that quite well.

Leaving the stadium was considerably easier than arriving, as most fans had exited the lots during the journalists’ time spent at the press conference.  While some fans remained to wait for the departure of the team buses, I made my way back to my car.  On the way, I finally understood the benefit of parking in the media and staff lot. From there, leaving the FedEx Field parking complex is simple as there is virtually no wait or traffic.  As I trekked back to New Jersey, I passed multiple cars laden with Barcelona and Chelsea fans.  Stopping at a rest stop somewhere in Delaware, I ran into even more.  It struck me then, how right Mourinho is – soccer may not yet be king in America, but its evolution was happening right before my eyes.