I may become a believer after all
My wife and I left LA almost 5 years ago. Back in So Cal, there were a number of places all over town where I could stop and watch a match from Europe. That shouldn’t be a surprise though. After all, who wouldn’t want to live in So Cal? There are imagrants from all over the word in the LA area. Remember, soccer is “a sport foreigners play”–or so ‘they’ say. So, of course there’d be outlets there.
We landed in Mrs. PZ’s hometown. A mid-sized midwest city. I’d basically given up on being the chance of watching a match in an ale house of some kind. I grew up with the belief that soccer is a social sport. You watch it with friends…or at least cool strangers. However, it didn’t seem to be possible here.
A few months ago, Ipswich were playing on Setanta. I called the “local Pub” which carries Setant and asked if I’d be able to watch the match. I was told TVs were first come, first served. If no one is watching, just ask and it’ll be put on.
So, Lil PZ and I ventured into the pub about half an hour before Kickoff. I knew Man U would be kicking off on FSC 15 minutes later than Town. Hey, “first come, first served”, right. Argh, the TV behind the bar had a basketball game or something on and the main TV was covered by some banner. Some band was playing a couple nights at the pub and the TV was above the stage. So, I played dumb and asked. It took a while (the waitress went round to all the tables in that section asking if anyone minded if the mach was put on) but finally the banner was taken down and we got the match on with a few minutes extra to order drinks and food. All the while getting amuzed stares from the other patrons. I guess they don’t see a grown man and his son wearing matching soccer jersey’s in that pub often.
Oh, and a single Man U fan (he was wearing a jersey) came in a little bit later. He was a little surprised that the match on the TV wasn’t the one he wanted to see.
Basically, after that experience, I’d assumed there just wasn’t interest in watching the sport here…or at least watching in the local boozer over a pint.
Flash forward to this afternoon. AS I’ve got to take tomorrow morning off, I was a little hesitant to leave work early. The pub is on the same block as my office-next door, and 18 stories below. I ended up deciding to cut out from work at Half-time of the Champions League final. I figured the place would be pretty empty with maybe a handful of people in there. Boy was I wrong…and I’m guessing those who run the pub were too. The place was pretty full. Maybe 30+ people were watching, most in either Man U or Barcelona shirts–though I did spot a Liverpool and a US National Team shirt as well. Oh, and one person in the front working (I assume someone was in the kitchen) which meant it took 10 minutes to get a pint.
I really was floored that so many people were watching the match. I didn’t notice any non-American accents. Many had jerseys on. Mostly male but a few ladies were in the mix. Also, a probably a third of the crowd looked too young to drink…possibly High School or early college age.
I asked the extremely over-worked waitress/bartender/hostess if they would be open for the Cup Final on Saturday, “We open at 11″ was the reply. Well, I guess that’s a few dollars I’ll save. Honestly, I don’t think the owners of the place have a clue of the potential they are missing out on. But, that’s not my problem. Someone in the area will figure it out.
In the mean time, I left the pub with the belief that there is no doubt that there is a market for the sport of soccer in this country. If a smaller city like the one I live in can manage to fill a pub on a Wednesday afternoon during the work week with a group of knowledgeable people who enjoy the sport, there is hope.
As for the match…well, I was told the Man U looked good the first ten minutes, until Barcelona scored their first. I dunno. What I saw was a frustrated English team who didn’t seem to have a plan playing against a team who pretty much dominated. I kept thinking the Mancs would wake up and level things until they let one in…then I kept hoping Barcelona would sit back and give the reds a chance to push forward. None of that happened. Congrats to Barca…they truly are the best club in Europe…heck, the world, right now.
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