A tie against Team USA felt like a win to fans of Slovenia, who took pride in their team's strong showing in the World Cup.
View full sizeA crowd of Slovenians celebrate Slovenia's World Cup soccer tie Friday against the U.S. inside the Harbor Inn on Main Avenue in the Flats of Cleveland. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- David fought Goliath to a draw Friday, a 2-2 score, and Greater Cleveland's Slovenian community savored the moment.
By the hundreds, local Slovenian-Americans descended on the Harbor Inn in the Flats to witness an improbable drama on big screen TVs. They watched tiny Slovenia, population 2 million, play the mighty U.S.A. in the world game.
The thrilling match stoked a roller coaster of emotions, from elation to anguish, as it refreshed a reservoir of cultural pride.
Men, women and children from the largest Slovenian community in America erupted in thunderous cheers as their team scored early and convincingly. They sang spirited Slovenian sports songs and broke into spontaneous polkas incited by strolling accordionists.
The second half brought anxious breaths and groans of despair as Team USA rebounded. But after 90 minutes of soccer, even a tie felt like victory. The smallest of the 32 nations in the World Cup had played the largest and proved it belonged in its league.
View full sizeAlbin Lampic, of Chardon, hugs Jure Zmauc (hat) inside the Harbor Inn as Slovenia scores its second goal."For Slovenians, this is a great achievement," said Tony Hiti, a Euclid architect and the son of a Slovenian immigrant. "A win would have been better, and I'm a little disappointed, but at the end of the day an American flag is flying at our house. This was just a lot of fun."
World Cup spirit runs electric through the ethnic communities of Northeast Ohio, but the games inspire an extra measure of pride and passion among Slovenian Americans, who are thrilled to be taking part.
The Baltic nation became independent from the former Yugoslavia less than 20 years ago. It enjoys a fan base of fewer than 3 million people worldwide.
But 50,000 of those fans -- the largest concentration outside of Slovenia -- live in Greater Cleveland. A community best known for its singing societies, polka players and quiet work ethic suddenly has a flashy futbol team -- and a place on the world stage.
Anticipation for Friday's game had been building for weeks and soared after Slovenia defeated Algeria 1-0 for its first world cup victory in history.
Wally Pisorn, who bought the Harbor Inn five years after arriving from Slovenia in 1964, posted flyers offering breakfast with kranjska klobasa (Slovenian sausage) and plenty of cold bottles of Lasko beer. The faithful filled the bar and spilled out onto Main Avenue on the west bank of the Flats.
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Mary Anne Hiti noted that her two boys, ages 9 and 11, were out of school but said she might have brought them anyway.
"This is kind of the Slovenian St. Patrick's Day," she said.
Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, the son of a Slovenian immigrant, arrived and announced that Serbia had just upset Germany in a World Cup match, drawing cheers from the Slovenian fans.
"This just shows you the incredible pride people have for their homelands," Cimperman said. "This is what makes Cleveland great."
Medina urologist David Turk wore a red accordion strapped over his hospital scrubs. Jure "JZ" Zmauc, the Slovenia's consul general in Cleveland, stood tall a under a felt top hat colored the red, white and blue of the Slovenian flag. Dozens of fans wore the green-and-white jerseys of the Slovenian national team.
Three members of the Slovenian Parliament, who happened to be in town, drank in the ambience, spellbound.
Miro Petek, who is touring America as head of a parliamentary committee for Slovenians abroad, said he was delighted to find "Slovenia" in Sports headlines and Clevelanders acting as if they were watching the match in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
"We're a winner, no matter what happens," he said.
His voice was drowned out by a thunderous cheer. An accordion player led a small brass band into the packed bar. A couple got up and began to quickstep.
A corner of Cleveland welcomed the World Cup -- Slovenian style.