Rose Bowl Not So Full of Itself for Return

The World Cup returns to the Rose Bowl today.

And, no, it won’t look quite the way it did in 1994, when more than 94,000 watched the Brazilian men defeat Italy on penalty kicks in the final.

Not today, anyway.

A crowd of about 20,000 is expected in Pasadena for the Women’s World Cup first-round doubleheader featuring Germany and Italy followed by North Korea and Nigeria--a far cry from the sold-out Giants Stadium crowd for the American women’s debut Saturday.

The Rose Bowl might be full July 10 if the U.S. women reach the championship game.

As for today, everyone knows what 20,000 probably will look like in the vastness of the famed stadium, but organizers hope people will realize just how extraordinary even a crowd that size will be.

“The fact there will be 20,000 people for teams that have not been written about as much as contenders for the Cup says a lot for how deep this has taken hold,” said Donna de Varona, the former Olympic swimmer and former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation who serves as chair of the Women’s World Cup organizing committee.

“What’s great about that is, the draw is not the U.S.: It’s the game, and the experience. We find that once people feel they might miss out on something historic, they want to be part of it.”

The average crowd for first-round games other than the doubleheader Saturday that featured the stars of this show, Mia Hamm and Co., is expected to be 19,000.

In 1994, a first-round game between Colombia and Romania at the Rose Bowl drew more than 91,000.

But of course that was part of what is often called the world’s greatest sporting event, and this, after all, is only the third World Cup for women.

“I know a lot of people will look at it as 20,000 in the Rose Bowl--but as early as a month ago, 20,000 would have been a record for the U.S. team in a stand-alone match--a match that wasn’t an Olympic match or a doubleheader with an MLS team,” said Steve Vanderpool, vice president for communications of the Women’s World Cup.

Many people at the Rose Bowl today might not realize that Germany is among the handful of teams given any shot at the title, or have any idea what marvels to expect from Nigeria’s “Marvelous” Mercy Akide.

But they know a lot about the Americans who may be on their way, and they remember the images of 1994.

“One reason people buy tickets is they want to be part of something,” said Vanderpool, adding that many among the crowd probably purchased the $20-$48 tickets in packages to make sure they had a ticket for the final. “A lot of people who may have been shut out in ’94 don’t want to be shut out again.”

De Varona, a member of the board of directors for the ’94 World Cup, predicts a different scene--and one with a different voice.

“I think the crowd will be more youthful and high-pitched, I really do,” she said.

“I think the ’94 experience is much different than this one. In many ways we lent a stage to bring the World Cup to America.

“What’s unique about this is, we own it.”