This story initially appeared on SI.com in September 2013.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – There is no official national stadium in the United States, but a case can be made that American soccer–or at least its most popular team–does have a spiritual home.
Multiple markets, from Portland to St. Louis and from L.A. to D.C., have a claim. When the chips are down, however, the U.S. relies on Columbus, the unexpected–and now unquestioned – home of the national team's most high-profile game.
On Tuesday evening, the nation’s 32nd-largest metropolitan area will play host to the quadrennial U.