Rising levels of support buoy U.S.

Sao Paulo • The last time the U.S. played in a World Cup in Brazil, just one American reporter was on hand, using vacation time and paying his own way.

Sixty-four years later, about 100 credentialed U.S. media members are covering the tournament — and that doesn't even include staffers from the networks broadcasting the games.

Back home, millions of people are watching on giant screens or office computers, at bars and public gatherings. In their protected Brazilian bubble, U.S. players find out about it via email, text, tweet, Facebook, cable television and all sorts of other inventions that didn't exist in 1950.

"All the bars and the pubs and restaurants are packed, and it's all over social media and people are taking off work," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "That says a lot. They do that for the Super Bowl. So the fact that they're doing it for the World Cup is special."

The Americans traveled Sunday to Salvador for Tuesday's second-round game against Belgium. Sunday also marked the anniversary of the famous 1-0 victory over England at Belo Horizonte, still considered by many the biggest upset in World Cup history.

Dent McSkimming of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the only American reporter there in 1950. Now every game is televised live back home, drawing audiences that would make every U.S. league other than the NFL jealous.

This kind of attention and hype would have been unimaginable not just in 1990, when the U.S. returned to the World Cup after a 40-year absence, but even as recently as 2010.

"Obviously when we were in Korea, when we were in Germany, South Africa, the support has always been there, but it's just a lot bigger," said defender DaMarcus Beasley, the first American to play in four World Cups. "We get a lot more mainstream people that never really watched soccer or been a fan of soccer. And obviously people are going to say, 'Ah, people only come out during the World Cup. They don't support every game.' But we see it differently. We see what's going on behind the scenes, and we know our support is growing in the right direction, and us getting out of our group is a way to help improve our growth from a soccer standpoint." —

U.S. vs. Belgium

P Tuesday, 2 p.m.

TV • ESPN