Members of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team bonded over Clash Royale, and that bond is now connecting entire USMNT
ARLINGTON, Texas – When Walker Zimmerman was first called up to the U.S. men's national team as a late replacement for the Gold Cup, one of the first things he did was reach out to some of his younger teammates. It wasn't a message informing them he was on the way as much as it was a subtle declaration of war. It only took a few words.
"We running Clash?"
For members of the 2024 U.S. men's Olympic team, those words carry meaning. They refer to Clash Royale, a head-to-head mobile game that became an obsession last summer and, at the Gold Cup right now, remains a bitter point of contention for an ever-growing group of USMNT players.
It leads to bus ride arguments. It directly impacts training, some say. Factions have splintered off among the USMNT's squad, with players claiming they are highly skilled at the game, and that everyone else, by default, is trash.
Video games are often the go-to for players in quiet moments. Clash Royale, though, is anything but quiet. For many of the younger members of the USMNT, and one particular slightly older one Zimmerman, 32, it's all consuming – and no one is immune. Jack McGlynn bears the brunt of it. The team unites to battle the Aaronsons, Brenden and Paxten, knowing they have each other's backs. Zimmerman, the most level-headed of them all, is accused of being the most emotional about gameplay.
"The Clash fights are still going strong," Zimmerman says. "Every bus ride, you can guarantee that there are some 2-v-2 matches going on. Jack McGlynn is still catching 'Ls' so not much has changed over the last year. Chris Brady is a welcome addition to the Clash group. He's a strong player, a strong competitor, so bus rides are always entertaining. It gets us focused on that competitive mindset."
One year after the Olympics, Clash Royale remains a uniting force – or depending on how you look at it, a dividing force – for the USMNT this summer. But how did it begin? What does all of this nonsense mean? Most importantly, who is really the best? Those questions split opinions and, as the USMNT continue to march through the Gold Cup, you can bet that the clashes away from the field will be just as tense.
Getty Images SportOlympic origins
Most can't remember how the game started. Some believe that Duncan McGuire, a member of last year's Olympic squad, was the instigator. It's carried on, though. One year later, the USMNT is competing harder than ever with their phones in hand.
This summer's Gold Cup features six members of last year's Olympic team. Overage players Zimmerman and Miles Robinson are in the group. So, too, are former U23 standouts McGlynn, Paxten Aaronson, John Tolkin and Nathan Harriel. They came into this summer having already formed a bond. It's a unique experience, playing at the Olympics, the type of event that unites people for life.
"We always still speak about the Olympics," Paxten Aaronson says. "Going out the way we did wasn't the best, but we all say it was the best experience of our careers so far. The bond we have now, the team we had, everybody was so close. Now, getting to share another tournament with them, especially knowing you're so close to them, it's so nice to see those faces again."
During their stay in France, which ended with a loss to Morocco in their first knockout round match, the U.S. U23s bonded over Clash Royale. It was their go-to bus ride activity, one that kept their heads off the game but in that competitive mindset. Players would battle for virtual supremacy every day, then leave the hotel or bus and do it for real on the training ground.
"There would be arguments," McGlynn admits with a laugh. "They'd lead onto the field. It gets that bad. It would turn into some fights."
So, when Zimmerman sent that message to his Olympic teammates, they all knew what he meant. The game was on again.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe ongoing clash
Last summer, the U.S. U23s built out a Clash Royale clan, allowing them to play with and against each other during their time in France. At some point, things got muddied, though, so John Tolkin dropped out.
"I had to leave," Tolkin tells GOAL. "It was open to the public, so all of these random people were joining our clan. Honestly, I just rejoined when I got back here. I won't leave now, but the names in the clan are foreign to me now. Honestly, the guys don't want to play with me anymore anyway because I'm too good. There's a one-v-one mode and I'll smoke everybody. The cards aren't even, and I have the best cards. It's pay-to-win and take my money, bro!"
For the unitiated, the core point of Clash Royale is strategy. Players "meet" in arenas, aiming to outthink their opponents and take down each other's towers. It's a game of strategy but also, as Tolkin said, a game of resources. Players can buy better cards to help give
Tolkin is far from the only one that claims he's the best. It all depends on who you ask. When it comes to the Clash Royale games, there are few things anyone can agree on. There is one unified message from everyone: Zimmerman, despite his age, experience level and poise, takes this thing way more seriously than anyone on the outside can understand.
"Walker is such a gamer. He’s such a little kid at heart," Tolkin says. "I think he went 0-7 the other day, and he absolutely carried that into training. That ruins his day. He goes into training, knowing that he has a point to prove. I wish people could understand, man. He gets so wrapped up in this stuff. It's so entertaining."
"I beat him four times today already," adds Brenden Aaronson, who has been recruited to the group via his younger brother Paxten, "so now I know he's going to be back in his room training on this thing all day."
Clash Royale has bonded Zimmerman to many of his younger teammates and he remains an older brother figure for the guys that were in the Olympic squad.
Getty ImagesEveryone loves Walker
Everyone can acknowledge it: Zimmerman was thrust into a tough spot last summer. Instead of heading to the Copa America, he went to the Olympics as one of three overage players alongside Robinson and Djordje Mihailovic. It wasn't a demotion, but it was a change.
How would he handle it? How would his leadership translate? Most importantly, how the hell would he bond with a group of 20 somethings heading into their first major tournament?
It was seamless.
"Honestly, it's a big credit to him," Tolkin says. "I think it's just who he is. It must have been hard being that older guy on the team. Obviously, it's a younger team and maybe hard to fit in, but he was one of us. He's 30 something with the heart of a 20-year-old. He was the perfect overage guy for us in the team."
That was, of course, on the field, where Zimmerman played a key role in the heart of defense. It was also in the quiet moments where some of the younger guys needed that bit of perspective.
"He was such a good guy to have," McGlynn says. "He was the perfect leader for us. You couldn't imagine a better overage guy than him. He helped us take everything in, and then he helped us get through everything."
The older brother vibes have extended to this camp. Tolkin was quick to point out Zimmerman's recent buzzcut and how "cute" it makes him look. Zimmerman, meanwhile, says he was the first to leap out of his seat with McGlynn scored a jaw-dropping goal against Turkey.
"I'm grateful to have had so much time with those guys at Olympics and they've became some of my really good friends on my team," Zimmerman said. "I'm always rooting for them we're always rooting for each other. It's the same with any of the guys. Seeing them get some of their first caps, you're so happy with them and you know what a big step this is and their career to get these first USMNT camps. I'm rooting for all of the young guys, again, because we became a tight group at the Olympics."
It was also Zimmerman that offered some insight into the USMNT's fiercest intra-team rivalry: the battle between McGlynn and the Aaronsons.
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Brenden Aaronson may not be one of the original Clash Royale contenders, but he considers himself one now. And, for a while now, Aaronson has also considered himself the best when it comes to gaming in general.
It's a good-natured rivalry. Tolkin says he's the guy at Clash, adding that Nathan Harriel and Quinn Sullivan are terrible at every game they touch. Aaronson, though, holds steadfast: he's the guy.
"I would say Clash Royale is my best game, but you've also caught me on a good day today," he says. "I won like seven in a row. In Call of Duty, I'm the best, too. Fortnite, that's me. Chris Richards is good, too. He's good at Call of Duty, but I'm just a guy that, when I pick things up, I always want to be the best. I grind it. Just overall gameplay, that's what I care about most."
Uniquely, Aaronson is in camp alongside brother Paxten, which has resulted in an interesting dynamic. Those two leave a little extra on challenges in training, teammates say. Brotherly love is fierce, but nowhere near as fierce as their battles with McGlynn, who is the best at getting under the brothers' skin.
"It's more Jack," Paxten Aaronson says. "It's always me and Brenden against Jack. Really, everyone's always fighting against Jack."
Adds Brenden, "Me and Paxten, we can talk crap to each other, but when Jack starts talking, you just get angry. He can wind you up really fast. He talks a lot of crap. If you talk the crap that he does, you have to be able to back it up."
It then turns into a he-said, he-said situation. Brenden Aaronson claims that McGlynn is terrible despite spending more hours on video games than anyone. McGlynn fires the same accusation back at him.
"He needs to get a life, man," McGlynn says with a laugh. "He plays way too much. There must not be much for him to do in Leeds."
Zimmerman, as that veteran figure, can step in. However, he, too, take sides.
"Every team has a common force that can unite the players, and the banter against Jack might be that thing for us," he says. "I'm sure you've heard all of the things we rag on him for, but it definitely brings us together at his expense. He's young. He has time to get over it. He's just an easy target, a super easy target. He's a very funny guy and he takes it well. I don't know what it is, but he's the easiest target."
McGlynn isn't escaping it either. Not as long as the game goes on.