The World Cup Came to Gwinnett — and We Watched From the Outfield

I've watched a lot of things at Coolray Field. Triple-A baseball. Friday fireworks. But yesterday I watched Spain play Cabo Verde in the FIFA World Cup from the outfield grass with a few thousand of my closest neighbors, and it might be my favorite Coolray memory yet.

With Atlanta hosting World Cup matches down at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Explore Gwinnett launched an official watch party series — 'Kick It in the Nnett' — bringing big screens, fan experiences, and a genuinely electric atmosphere to venues across the county. Yesterday's Spain vs. Cabo Verde party ran from 11 to 3 at Coolray, and it was free. All of them are — no tickets needed for any watch party in the series, which matters when actual match tickets downtown run into the hundreds.

The series isn't done. Suwanee hosts an evening party at Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park for Congo DR vs. Uzbekistan, Peachtree Corners Town Center gets a Round of 16 match, and Norcross's Lillian Webb Park closes it out with a semifinal watch party. If you can't get downtown for a match — and at World Cup ticket prices, most of us can't — this is the way to be part of it.

Gwinnett is one of the most international counties in the Southeast, and you could feel it yesterday: jerseys from a dozen countries, kids playing pickup soccer behind the outfield wall, and every goal roared in at least three languages. This is exactly what I mean when I say this county doesn't get enough credit.