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Olympics soccer with big fans locally

Posted: 6:15 PM Jul 30, 2012

Local soccer athletes tuned in to Olympics

While the sport of soccer or futbol continues to be a European favorite, it continues to grow in popularity here in the United States. SportScene 13's Bob Gallaher caught up with some local soccer players who will be avid viewers the next two weeks.

Peter Rentzepis says, "The Olympics are always an excitng time, it's kind of the World Cup with teams from all over the world coming so it's a fun time to watch soccer."
For these soccer players that took part in this summer's Eau Claire United Soccer Academy, they are passionate about the game. Peter Rentzepis and Frank Lowry, teammates at Memorial high school say
it's a thrill to see the top players compete for the gold.
Rentzepis says, "Watching the skill level of the guys overseas is always fun, we always support Ronaldo, Messi... but we like hometown guys like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey."
Frank Lowry says, "I know it would be a lot of hard work, it would be really fun to compete with all those guys, play with your favorites on TV like Donovan."
While the United States men did not qualify for the London Olympics, the USA women are back to defend their gold medal win in Beijing four years ago. Eau Claire's Maddie Janke and her family have made the trip across the pond to watch Team USA in action.
Maddie Janke says, "I'm so excited, it's a once in a lifetime chance, I feel so fortunate to be able to go. Mainly I just want to have fun and watch their technique and admire their abilities..."
Eau Claire Memorial standout Meg Van de Loo echoes that opinion saying she'll be watching with the hope of improving her own game.
Meg Van de Loo says, "You can learn from watching, they're speed of play, can pick up a lot from them, the top athletes work hard all the time, and they really want to win."
The United States women's soccer team returns to action Tuesday when they take on North Korea.