The largest crowd ever recorded at a soccer game in Tennessee used to be 27,959 fans.

That was in 2009 at Nashville’s LP Field,  where the U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Trinidad and Tobago.

Tuesday, the US National Team returned to LP Field for a friendly against Paraguay for Nashville’s first international match in two years.

And 29,059 fans showed up. In the rain.

Soccer’s back in the Music City.

“They were part of our bid for the 2022 World Cup, and there’s a reason for that,” said Neil Buethe, US Soccer Senior Manager of Communications. “Nashville has been fantastic. It’s not only just the kind of crowds that show up, but also what the facilities are.”

A sport that traditionally has not been embraced by this country due to a combination of low scoring and its tendency to get lost among the more elite American sports, soccer is least popular in the middle of the country, according to players and administrators.

So why come to Tennessee and fill an NFL stadium to a third of its capacity?

“People in the middle of the country are more traditional – baseball and those types of sports,” forward Jozy Altidore said. “I think we’re doing a good job of coming to places like Tennessee and playing games and having crowds like that, because it helps the game grow for sure.”

The US National Team primarily stays along the east and west coasts, and in Florida for international matches, all places where the sport is most popular in the U.S. Tuesday was the team’s first match away from such cities since a 2-1 win against El Salvador in Sandy, Utah in a 2009 World Cup Qualifier.

“Obviously it’s great,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “We talked about what a great stadium and field we have here. To come back, I think was great. We could tell even around the hotel that there was a buzz and the people were excited about the game.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of that since the World Cup, so we continue to build on the good things and it’s great when we can be part of it.”

There is not an MLS club within 382 miles, nor men’s teams for either Vanderbilt or the University of Tennessee. Yet, tangible evidence shows that a soccer culture is growing in the middle of the country, particularly in Nashville.

Prior to Tuesday, the city hosted the national team in 2006 for a friendly against Morocco, the CONCACAF men’s pre-Olympic Tournament in 2008 and a World Cup Qualifying match against Trinidad and Tobago April 1, 2009.

“When you look back now, we’ve played three games here – plus Olympic qualifying – we’ve had an increase in attendance each time,” Buethe said. “That’s a positive, right off the bat.”

Positives such as fan following, city size and quality of facilities each led to Nashville’s selection as a possible host city in the U.S. bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Last December, Qatar ultimately won the selection to host the tournament.

“Nashville has proven to be a very good location for us to come to,” Buethe said. “It’s not only just the kind of crowds that show up, but kind of what the facilities are. Or with the city, how they get behind you and how they promote the game and try to make it an event. We consider it a high-value event wherever we go.”

Midfielder Landon Donovan, in his 11th year with the national team, said bringing the sport to the middle of the country is as beneficial to the players as it is to those who encourage spreading the game’s popularity.

This holds most true when considering the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup in June.

“It’s important for us to play in places that we haven’t played in,” Donovan said. “In the Gold Cup we’re going to play in a few places that we don’t normally play in: Detroit and Tampa.”

After the 1-0 loss to Paraguay Tuesday, 29,059 rain-soaked fans shuffled out of Nashville’s largest sporting arena – 1,100 more than the state had ever seen before.

“People are really taking notice of what we are doing so it’s really nice,” Altidore said. “I think we’ve always had fans, they’re just waiting for a team to support. I think finally we’re building a team where we can kind of play with anybody, so I think that’s why people are now starting to come out.”