STORY: From the beating of the drums to the cheer of the crowd, the enthusiasm is palpable among fans of the Oakland Roots, a second-tier men's club in San Francisco's Bay Area.

And with the World Cup coming to the U.S., Jorge Bejarano, president of the Los Roots fan club, hopes the joy of soccer will resonate across the nation where the sport sometimes struggles to break through.

BEJARANO: "Now that we get the World Cup here in the Bay Area, we definitely do see interests of tourists and soccer fans around the world just digging into what other teams are there around that same area. // I think in general, soccer is growing, you know, and MLS (Major League Soccer) has been doing their job, really growing the sport here in the U.S."

The Roots were founded less than a decade ago, and quickly filled a need for local sports fans.

Over the same period, Oakland saw its major league American football, baseball and basketball teams all move away. 

Attendance skyrocketed when the Roots took over the empty Coliseum stadium for home games.

Roots head coach Ryan Martin:

"So my hope is, yeah, there's more people that love the game and they want to come out and support the Roots at the Coliseum. There's more people tuning in to watch games because they saw something they liked at the World Cup, and now they want to see their local team doing something similar."

The Bay Area is home to a number of diverse soccer leagues and teams, including the San Francisco City soccer club, which is a semi-professional team that has a member-ownership model, with members having the right to vote on the club's direction and be elected to the board of directors.

Aaron Mansfield, is a volunteer who oversees membership organization for the club:

"We still have so much grassroots soccer that happens here, especially in San Francisco and the rest of the Bay, that, you know, while we do have our larger teams, that is a huge focus. There's so many people who are involved in that grassroots aspect that it makes it really special, at least to me, than anything else that I've seen in the U.S."

Despite its strength as a youth sport, soccer still lags other professional leagues in U.S. viewership.

According to the latest Ipsos poll, around 36% of Americans plan to watch the World Cup, but fans are betting that the tournament will boost U.S. soccer in a significant way beyond the tournament.