Bob, it would be fair to say, was well-lubricated by the time he took the stool next to mine at the Good Dog Bar in central Philadelphia.It was about 9.30pm on a Monday evening and the Philadelphia Phillies were wrapping up a comfortable win over the Miami Marlins on the TVs at either end of the bar, while I was facing the other way watching Iran-New Zealand on a third TV.“I’m not a soccer guy,” said Bob by way of an ice-breaker.He was smiling when he said it, but before I had a chance to reply, he went on to say something not even the most laissez-faire of editors would let me repeat here.The gist, however, was that he used to think soccer was played by the worst people he could imagine but now he had seen a few World Cup games on TV, he had changed his mind. A bit. He now thought soccer was played by people who were too scared to play hockey or “real” football.Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic appI sensed this was as far as Bob was willing to go on soccer.As he started to sway and the bar filled up with Phillies fans, none of whom seemed interested in the fact that Elijah Just had scored a lovely goal to put New Zealand 2-1 up against Iran, my mind went back to Bob’s opening salvo.Does he speak for many here? Is Philly not a soccer town? If so, what will it take to change that? Is it even possible?I liked Bob, but I was not sure he was his city’s best spokesperson, so I went to canvass more opinions — at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies.My not-very-scientific rationale for picking “The Bank”? I knew how to get there.The Philadelphia Phillies were hosting the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 8-2 (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)Getting a ticket was, as FIFA president Gianni Infantino has tried to explain, very easy in the land of the free and the home of the unregulated resale market. I was looking for a decent seat behind first or third base, about halfway up, and eventually opted for a $64 seat.Within two minutes of arriving at the ballpark, I had been given a free scarf and what us Brits would call an iced bun. It came in a see-through packet, which the sweet topping stuck to, but was quite nice. The point is, the Phillies were giving me things for nothing.My seat was also something of a surprise. It was way more upmarket than I expected, or needed, in a section of the stadium called the Hall of Fame Club. The concourse was like the food court of an upscale shopping mall, with air conditioning, lots of tables, fancy restrooms, a merch boutique and a screen showing Phillies’ highlights from yesteryear.Before this gets used as another example of a European being in awe of the magnificence of an American sports stadium, it’s OK. We have fancy seats and sections in our stadiums, too; they just usually cost more than $64.But what I may or may not have paid for my seat is not the only way the Phillies planned to extract money from my bank account. A “bistro” was selling cheesesteaks for $19.99, sushi for $22.99 and crabcake sandwiches for $24.99. A local craft beer set me back $17 and I nearly bought a retro shirt for $65 before I remembered why I had come.So, what did I discover? After about two hours’ worth of conversations, with maybe a 100 different people, there was a clear consensus: Bob does not speak for Philly.Matt Slater spent his evening at Citizens Bank Park (Matt Slater/The Athletic)“Nobody hates soccer,” said Joe, in the line for a cheesesteak. “We just don’t know it very well. I don’t know anything about cricket, either, and I don’t hate that.”Fair enough, and nice of him to tacitly acknowledge that baseball is a version of our more sophisticated ball-and-stick game.“It’s about culture,” said Chad, Joe’s pal. “We have our football, you have yours. Our football is a big part of our culture, in the same way yours is. But soccer is cool and this World Cup will definitely help it get bigger.”I found Andre, Christine, Laura and Ray stuck behind dinner options in the Hall of Fame Club.“What you’ll find is Philly is a football town,” said Ray. “We love the Eagles, it’s just ingrained. But who told you nobody likes soccer here?”I didn’t want to throw Bob under the bus, so I lied and said I read it on X.It was at that point that the group’s friend, Jane, joined and announced she and her husband had decided, as you do, to spend $5,000 on two second-row seats to see the USA beat Paraguay 4-1 at the SoFi when in Los Angeles for a wedding.Deciding that Jane was clearly in league with FIFA and had been sent to the stadium to skew the results of my survey, I made my excuses and looked for more diners.Anish, Dwayne, Jim and Rob were finishing their crab fries when I asked them how much they would pay to watch a World Cup game at Lincoln Financial Field, or ‘The Linc’ as everyone in Philly calls it.“I’d pay $2,000 to see the U.S. play here,” said Rob.“He doesn’t really have a budget,” retorted one of his friends.But where does soccer fit in the pecking order? Do any of these fans watch the city’s MLS team, Philadelphia Union?“Hmmm, it’s the Eagles here, out on their own, and then whichever of the other three (76ers, Flyers or Phillies) that is doing best, and then Union. Sorry,” said Jim.“They’ve had their moments… they were good last year, I believe, but they lost in the play-offs and their stadium isn’t in the best part of town.”