Oranje Bus fan walk brings Houston, Netherlands together
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José de Jesus Ortiz, Founder & Editor in Chief
- June 20, 2026
Thousands march with Netherlands fans from Rice University to Houston Stadium
HOUSTON – Soon after arriving at NRG Park among the first wave of thousands of Dutch fans on the Oranje Bus fan walk Saturday morning, Paul Joosten took off his orange No. 10 Dennis Bergkamp jersey. He rolled the Netherlands jersey into a ball and squeezed tightly, draining his sweat out of it for about a minute.
In the background, you could hear thousands of fans still chanting, dancing and marching ahead of the Netherlands’ FIFA World Cup match against Sweden. An estimated 15,000 fans waved Dutch flags and danced from Rice University to Houston Stadium, picking up fans along the route as Rice Village residents stood outside their homes taking pictures as you would expect for a Fourth of July parade.
“It’s really hot, but it’s fun,” said Joosten, a Netherlands native who currently lives in Los Angeles. “It’s beautiful. … I’m very grateful for them showing support for the Netherlands.”
With Brian Brobbey and Cody Gapko each scoring two goals, the Netherlands also delivered a sensational, thorough performance for a dominant 5–1 victory over Sweden before a crowd of 68,777.
Orange fits Houston
In many ways, Houston is the perfect American sports town to host a Netherlands fan walk. Orange, after all, is the primary color for the two-time World Series champion Houston Astros, two-time MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo and the NWSL’s Houston Dash.
Most of the participants wore orange, mostly replica Dutch soccer jerseys or T-shirts. Many others wore Astros, Dynamo or Dash jerseys. A small percentage wore the University of Texas’ burnt orange jerseys. Even fans of the Longhorns’ rivals pulled some orange out of their closets. A few Texas A&M Aggies wore orange T-shirts with the famous “horns down” logo.
“We’re having a good time,” said Austin Perry, a Los Angeles resident who has been in Texas supporting the Netherlands during the World Cup. “We were in Dallas following the Oranje Bus all the way to Houston, and here we are. This is the most electric atmosphere that I’ve ever been at.”
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The Dutch’s famous double-decker bus left the Netherlands via ship from Zeebrugge on April 15. After almost a month on its voyage through the Atlantic Ocean, the bus arrived in Galveston on May 11.
The bus has made many stops throughout Texas over the last month, making its first official march on June 14 before the Dutch played Japan at Dallas Stadium, which is known as AT&T Stadium.
Appreciating Houston’s legendary oppressive humidity, Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Houston Metro chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock deployed 14 Metro buses to serve as cooling centers and bathrooms along the route that was a little more than two miles.
Some families along the route passed out water bottles to appreciative, sweat-drenched fans. At one house, three trees that resemble bears were dressed in Dutch orange jerseys. Fans took turns taking pictures in front of the bears.
‘Can-do city’
Others happily accepted water bottles from the dozens of cases that the family set out for the Oranje Bus Fan walk.
“We are a can-do city,” Whitmire said proudly of his community and Metro’s efforts to help fans avoid dehydration.
Considering bitter World Cup rivalries and past controversies, it’s important to note that Mexico green jerseys were the second most popular jerseys worn by fans on the Oranje Bus walk. The Netherlands famously eliminated Mexico from the 2014 Brazil World Cup with the help of a controversial penalty kick.
“No era penal” (It wasn’t a penalty) became a famous Mexican rallying cry. Some fans wore orange T-shirts with the phrase, “No era penal.”
Others merely playfully mentioned the phrase to Dutch fans. For the record, Joosten agrees that the infamous call was incorrect when the ref ruled that legendary Mexico captain Rafael Marquez tripped Arjen Robben.
“Get over it,” Joosten said with a laugh.
Many are clearly over it, considering that fans in Argentine jerseys were also on the fan walk. Argentina and the Netherlands had a bitterly nasty match in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup.
On the way to the 2022 Qatar World Cup title, Lionel Messi and Argentina eliminated the Netherlands in a penalty kick shootout after tying at 2 after extra time.
Green Mexico jerseys stand out
Fans in Mexico jerseys waved Dutch flags while others waved Mexican flags. One fan had a Salvadoran flag draped over his shoulders. The bus’ DJ played some Mexican songs at Rice University before taking off. Shortly before the bus started moving, the DJ played Deep in the Heart of Texas.
Along the way, the fans were entertained with Sweet Caroline and other hits. Not far from their final destination, the DJ even played “Dancing Queen,” a hit from the Swedish group ABBA.
Although Sweden’s supporters had their own march, a few fans in Sweden jerseys participated in the Oranje Bus fan walk.
“I love it,” said American Mike Spielman, who flew in from Florida. “It’s shocking to see how large the Netherlands diaspora you have here. And to see people coming together, it’s just unreal. It’s unmatched. There’s nothing like it.”
José de Jesus Ortiz
Founder & Editor in Chief
Award-winning writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz, a former lead sports columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has covered Major League Baseball since 1997 in Los Angeles, St. Petersburg, New York and Houston. He was the first Latino to serve as president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
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