Rick Vukmanic’s team loyalty during the FIFA World Cup is split in two as the tournament enters the round of 16 this weekend. He’s pulling for USA and Croatia.
Vukmanic, a member of Prince of Peace Parish, isn’t the only Steelton resident whose ties are bound to both teams. Croatian heritage runs deep in the town and its Catholic parish.
It’s also the lifeblood of the Kolo Club “Marian,” a group of children, teens and young adults who perform traditional Croatian music and dance that keep them connected to their Croatian heritage.
In mid-June, the club performed for the Croatian national soccer team as the players arrived to their post in Arlington, Virginia. On June 27, they again welcomed and celebrated the team as it arrived via parade in Philadelphia for its game against Ghana, a match that many of the club members attended the next day.
“Our club is one of the oldest Croatian groups in the United States,” said Vukmanic, who leads the group that was founded in Steelton in 1954 by Father Vilim Primorac.
A native of Croatia, the priest established the Kolo Club – Kolo is the name of the country’s traditional circle dance – when he worried that America’s celebrated “melting pot” moniker would cause his people to lose their connection to the motherland.
Through the club, Father Primorac instructed young people in the Catholic faith, cultural traditions and attire, dances and music – including the tamburitza, a long-necked string instrument.
Vukmanic was a member of Marian when he was a teenager. Today, at age 60, he leads the group, which performs locally for celebrations and has taken their talents to cities such as New York, Detroit and Cleveland.
The club also has connections to the Croatian Embassy in Washington and to Father Maurus Dolcic, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington who has frequently celebrated Mass in the Croatian language for the community at Prince of Peace Parish.
“An ambassador from the embassy often attends events with our parish, and Father Dolcic is with the Croatian Catholic apostolate here in our diocese, so when Arlington was looking for a group to welcome the team, they said, ‘If you want to have people in national costumes giving the team a Croatian celebration, Steelton has them,’” Vukmanic said.
The 45-minute public performance was a welcome sight for the Croatian team, who had just arrived to their “home away from home” for the World Cup and delighted in the celebration of their heritage. The Kolo Club shared performance time with a Klapa group, which is a form of a cappella that originated in Dalmatia.
“We didn’t get to hang out with the team because the performance was managed by Arlington, but there was a bit of interaction and greeting between everyone and they appreciated it,” Vukmanic said. “Some of our club members then went to Dallas for the team’s first game.”
In Philadelphia last weekend, most the club’s 75 members joined Team Croatia for their welcoming parade on June 26 that included the unfurling of a red-and-white checkered Croatian banner that stretched the length of a soccer field. The next day, Kolo Club Marian and Steelton residents cheered their team to a 2-1 victory over Ghana from Lincoln Financial Field.
“It was fascinating. There were social media posts from the parade that showed our kids and teens in their traditional attire. There was a Steelton flag waving in the stadium,” Vukmanic said. “And then to see the overall vibe and positive, friendly experiences between the fans and the teams was inspirational. Tailgating is an American tradition, but we brought our Croatian food and music to the experience, and some of the fans from Ghana joined in. Everything was friendly and fun.”
World Cup fandom is a unique experience in Steelton these days, where the Croatian-American community, Prince of Peace parishioners and members of the Kolo Club are cheering on the USA, Croatia and Bosnia, the latter of which has several Croatian natives on the team.
“It’s an interesting dynamic. The United States gave people from Croatia and Bosnia an opportunity to escape the horrors of war they were experiencing and make a better life for themselves and their kids, and so we support Team USA. But we’re also proud of our little country of Croatia that came out of war and has a team that made it to the World Cup and so we’re cheering them on,” Vukmanic said.
“All of this is bigger than being a soccer fan. It’s about pride in your country, your people, and about coming together regardless of who you cheer for. It’s about connecting and being part of something greater,” Vukmanic said.
“In the same way that the little country of Croatia now has a really good soccer team, there’s this little Croatian community in Steelton that has existed for four generations, and I’m proud to say the two of them have formed a connection,” he said.
That’s the definition of a World Cup victory.
(Photos courtesy of Rick Vukmanic.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
