The world's game as played in March in Minnesota looks a bit different than a match in Milan, Manchester or Madrid. For one thing, to get maximum visibility in steadily falling snow, the ball is a blaze orange color familiar to hunters.

But fan spirit is similar the world over. Just before kickoff, Mike Powers, 29, of St. Louis Park, was among an organized club of hard core fans, pounding away at his bass drum as others chanted and waved flags.

"It's a really nice feeling that we've come from the second division," he said. "We have all this fan support around us, and it's just a really cool experience to see it grow to thousands of people at the game."

Minnesota United will play the rest of this season and at least part of next at the University of Minnesota, while its $150 million, 20,000-seat stadium is built in St. Paul near Interstate 94 and Snelling Avenue.

Correction (March 13, 2017): A caption accompanying a photo of Minnesota United fans indicated they were part of the team's Dark Clouds fan club. They were part of the True North Elite fan club.