There’s much that goes into making a country’s World Cup base feel like a home away from home. For the England men’s national team, located about 10 miles south of Kansas City in the Kansas suburb of Prairie Village, that means not only top-notch training facilities at Swope Soccer Village but the finer details, too… such as ping-pong tables, video games and pool tables.Which is exactly how Lynne Brown came face-to-face with England, one of three highly ranked teams — alongside the Netherlands and Argentina — staying in the area between games.“We live in Kansas City. We know there have been all these preparations and things going on, but to have a chance to connect with the team … it really brought it home,” said Brown, 68, a resident of Overland Park, Kan., a suburb also roughly 10 miles to the south and west of Kansas City.Brown and her family listed a pool table on Facebook Marketplace in early June and fielded significant interest for it, save one glaring issue: “We are not providing transportation (of the pool table),” Brown said, laughing. “That’s a you problem!”But no problem for England.Brown received two messages from volunteer operations folks working with the team during their stay in Kansas City on Friday, June 12, inquiring about the pool table’s availability.“Both said, ‘Hey, I’m with a World Cup team based in Kansas City. Is this table still for sale?’” Brown said. “So at the initial point, I didn’t know who it was. I was probably guessing England, but you know, I did not know for sure. So they sent a volunteer, a Brit who had lived in Kansas City and who was volunteering to help do all the logistical support and volunteer stuff with Team England.“By 7 o’clock, we had a whole crew of people and a big truck,” Brown said. “A big truck.”It took a few “big dudes” to carry the heavy pool table out of the Browns’ basement. (Lynne Brown)The pool table had been with the Browns for about 20 years, purchased for their home when the family moved to the area from Denver, and had been a staple in their basement for friends, family, kids and now grandkids.“But we want to redo that basement, and (the pool table) is hard to work around,” Brown said, laughing. “It took five or six big dudes to move that thing. They had to stop midway and put it down. I haven’t talked to my neighbors, but I wonder what they thought was going on.”Brown sold the table for an agreed-upon $700, though her husband had another barter in mind.“My husband was like, ‘Get tickets!’” said Brown. “I was like, ‘This table is not worth as much as these tickets are.’” So the Browns were home as England, playing a few days later in Arlington, Tex, dominated Croatia 4-2.“If they win the World Cup, I’m totally taking credit,” said Brown, who added that the experience would “absolutely” be going in their family Christmas letter. “I hope they’re playing on the table, I hope they’re having a blast. I hope the good energy that that table brought us carries right over into their game.”England players also have a teqball (soccer ping-pong) table at their base, along with the Brown family pool table and a dartboard. (Eddie Keogh / The FA via Getty Images)While Brown keeps her social media accounts private, local television networks have given “this little Overland Park family with our little pool table” plenty of shine.“I will say, one of the funniest things that has happened, of course, in case my head gets too big about this whole crazy story blowing up: My youngest grandson just turned six, and when his mom told him Nana’s going to be on TV, he said, ‘Is Nana in jail?’” said Brown, laughing.“It gives you a giggle when you read about this, and I think, ‘Wow, what a cool, random thing to have happened.’ It sort of restores your faith in our ability to connect with one another.”Jun 20, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms