Game one of the World Cup has kicked off, bringing hundreds of fans in front of the tv to take part in the celebrations.<\/p>\n
Mexico making their first goal within the first 10 minutes of the World Cup made the room erupt in cheers, setting a theme of excitement for the remainder of the game.<\/p>\n
Fans packed the restaurant, drawn together by the high-stakes showdown between Mexico and South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here because I want to support Mexico with my community here and have a good time,\u201d said soccer fan Jose Quintero.<\/p>\n
From toddlers to grandparents, the crowd was a sea of vibrant jerseys, waving flags, and blaring horns.<\/p>\n
For many in the Hispanic and Latino community, soccer is more than just a sport. Fans here say it\u2019s an identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it holds huge significance because I grew up with soccer as a kid, but to me, soccer is love, the love of the sport,\u201d said soccer fan Carlos Andrade.<\/p>\n
Like many here, soccer fan Carlos Andrade grew up eating, breathing, and living soccer. But this World Cup is a little more meaningful to Andrade as in just a few days, he\u2019ll be watching Mexico play in person from the stands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited for it, it\u2019s Mexico vs Czech Republic. I don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to react but I\u2019m excited,\u201d said Andrade.<\/p>\n
For many, moments like these are what make the World Cup special, the cheering, the nerves, and the shared emotions that come with every match.<\/p>\n
Mexico scored again in the second half, winning the game, 2-0. Fans celebrated by singing together a moment of pure unity.<\/p>\n
World Cup fever continues on Friday, with the US going up against Paraguay.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Game one of the World Cup has kicked off, bringing hundreds of fans in front of the tv…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":["post-357315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-downtown","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-kern-county-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}