RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesSomething that stands out about the English Premier League is its soundtrack.
It's charming how each club, it seems, has a trademark tune. And they aren't peppy fight songs you'd clap to from marching bands at U.S. colleges. They are more like golden oldies, songs you'd have a vague recollection of hearing as a child while riding in the car with your parents or grandparents.
Songs like Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
That’s Sunderland AFC ’s tune, and the club has leaned into it during a brief, yet productive, Music City stay.
Sunderland had a contingent visit Graceland. The team wore its new pink uniforms for a July 25 preseason game at Geodis Park against EPL rival Liverpool, promoting the look as inspired by Elvis while borrowing the song’s line and saying that “Some Things Were Meant to Be.”
(Note: There’s a chance you saw this new uniform being pitched on a billboard while driving in Nashville the past few days, and if you did, there's an even better chance you had no clue what you were looking at.)
It was clear that Sunderland, an ascending EPL club known widely for its critically acclaimed Netflix documentary of the past decade, showed up in Tennessee looking to expand a following in North America.
Liverpool didn’t exude that same ambition.
Didn’t need to, really.
When the familiar strands of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” played as starters from both clubs walked onto the field at Geodis Park, it was a teary highlight in the short history of Nashville's soccer stadium.
Liverpool’s famed song, a show tune via Gerry & The Pacemakers, is one of the most recognized by sports fans around the globe. Much like Liverpool’s club itself.
Of the announced attendance of 24,897 for this Nashville exhibition, most (but not all) of those in the seats appeared to be supporting Liverpool. The difference became evident before the Reds beat Sunderland 4-2, scoring three consecutive second-half goals to overcome a 2-1 deficit.
“So many Liverpool fans around, even in the walk this morning,” said Liverpool’s Kieran Morrison, who scored the first of the four goals. “Liverpool fans have got the best fan base in the world, wherever you go . . . It’s the biggest club in the world. You’re going to get that (turnout).”
There is a strong connection between Nashville SC and Liverpool in the form of Ian Ayre, the CEO who directed NSC's expansion entry into Major League Soccer. Ayre formerly was Liverpool's chief executive and has continued to support the club in Nashville.
No shame, indeed, for Sunderland having fewer fans in Nashville than prestigious Liverpool, especially because the Black Cats did have noticeable support in attendance to go along with their feline mascot couple.
“You see the size of the club Liverpool are, and we just got back in the Premier League,” Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard said. “To see so many Sunderland fans here was shocking, really. It’s brilliant. We thank them for coming out.”
This game, while entertaining, was only a preseason exhibition with the sport’s stars still catching their breath from the World Cup. That made it a lot like a preseason game in the NFL. You didn't see much of long-term significance. Both sides, predictably, played a bunch of youngsters looking to prove themselves. You could rate individuals, but you weren’t getting much of an impression for the season ahead.
For a local fan, this wasn’t a full-course Premier League meal. It was more like a snack. A tasty one, though.
Liverpool and Sunderland played a fun, free-flowing, high-scoring, entertaining game. As tends to happen in soccer settings without repercussions for miscues, this was a good show, complete with a few delicious goals that were emblematic of the world’s best soccer league.
Premier League clubs like to visit the U.S. in the preseason. Just last summer, Aston Villa drew 2-2 with Nashville SC at Geodis Park, a result that allowed the local MLS club the bragging rights of saying it tied a Villa team that’d go on to finish fourth in the EPL last season — ahead of Liverpool (fifth) and Sunderland (seventh) — out of 20 teams.
The Premier League has grown exponentially in the United States in the past two decades, most notably through the efforts of polished NBC broadcasts and popular fan fests like the one on Broadway in 2024 . An American TV viewer is more likely to stumble upon EPL teams like Liverpool or Sunderland than teams from MLS, which hides most of its games behind an Apple TV paywall.
What won't happen, however, is the EPL playing regular-season games in this country. That’s a major difference between Europe and North America, where all major pro sports leagues are playing more international regular-season games. The NFL has played 62 regular-season games outside the United States, and this season it’ll play more than ever. A total of 16 NFL teams — half the league — will play a record nine international games during the 2026 season, spanning seven foreign countries and four continents.
Owners, players and fans in the NFL are OK with letting that happen. European soccer? No, sir.
Spain’s La Liga tried to put an FC Barcelona game in Miami last season as a counter to the strides the Premier League keeps making in the U.S., and ended up having to back off the plan because of the backlash.
When we enjoy the Premier League in person here in America, it’ll be on pleasant summer nights like the one at Geodis Park, where locals could enjoy the talent on display and exit humming a tune.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Locals see Premier League's Liverpool and Sunderland put on a show | Estes
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