HOUSTON — For one weekend, Houston was even more orange than usual.
The Netherlands trounced Sweden 5–1 in Houston on Saturday afternoon in front of a packed crowd wearing orange and yellow.
Though the flag of the Netherlands is red, white, and blue, the national team and its supporters wear orange because it’s the color of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau, and a symbol of Dutch independence. (King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and Princess Ariane attended Saturday’s win.) It was easy for locals to jump on board, as the Astros, Dynamo, and Dash all have bright orange in their color schemes.
The Dutch brought their Oranje Fanwalk to Houston after doing the same march in Dallas last week. An estimated 15,000 people gathered at Rice University and followed the bright orange fan bus about two and a half miles to the Texans’ stadium, which will take on its new corporate name of Reliant Stadium when FIFA leaves town. It was a spectacle: standing in one spot, it took 10 minutes for the sea of orange to pass by. Most supporters were Dutch, but quite a few Houstonians dressed in Astros and Dynamo gear blended into the crowd.
Two Houston natives, brothers Mason and Mac, told Front Office Sports they inherited Dutch fandom from their dad, who watched the team play at the last U.S.-hosted World Cup in 1994. “He brought us over here to give us a similar experience,” Mason said from underneath a bright orange wig.
