There are reportedly only two towns in the world named Brentford. One in West London and the other in South Dakota. But they both root for the same team.
Brentford, South Dakota has less than a hundred residents. But on Friday they gathered at the Brentford Bar to cheer on a team thousands of miles away.
The Brentford Bees are an English football club – that’s soccer in the U.S. This is their first time playing in the Premier League — the top league in the United Kingdom — since 1947.
Meagan Williams has lived in Brentford, South Dakota for 20 years and is new to the sport.
“My kids didn't play soccer. I never kind of really got into it. But I'm, I'm thinking now I will be a fan,” she said.
She said anyone who shows up to watch the game can get decked out to support the team.
“The Premier League actually sent us a swag box. And it had jerseys and T-shirts and stocking hats and caps and cups and all sorts of things,” she said. “So, we're just going to kind of distribute those out to people that come in today.”
Williams thinks it’s exciting her small town is getting so much attention.
“You don't get a lot of notoriety in a town that's small,” she said. “And, you know, the small town in Brentford, we're also a small town, South Dakota. So, it kind of represents our whole state.”
The Brentford Bees beat Arsenal 2-0.