Soccer Support Groups

Where to watch the World Cup—with people who actually care

Corina Zappia

published: June 06, 2006

Combine America's patriotic love of baseball with good old Superbowl-style ad whoring and a month's worth of beer-fueled machismo—and you have only begun to approach what World Cup madness looks like in almost every country besides ours. In New York, granted, there is more recognition of this event than elsewhere—an Adidas window display here, a nod on the cover of the Post there—but nothing on a par with the riot-inducing devotion in the rest of the world. (Can you name a single player on the American team? We didn't think so.) For the large contingent of soccer enthusiasts and ex-pats in this city, this month will be about hunting down the few bars that do show the games live—and that means all the games, even those inhumanely early 9 a.m. ones. Only a handful of places are actually showing every single match, so expect to be crammed into the more popular venues with every other obsessive in the five boroughs. Still, there's safety in numbers. This is not the time to enter a garden-variety bar, try to watch the game, and get shot down for a Judging Amy rerun.

Americans are so uncultured.

Nevada Smiths
74 3rd Ave
Home to over 10 soccer clubs—including the Manchester United supporters group—this East Village bar, "where football is religion," may well be the most packed, most raucous World Cup bar in the city. (When we called, the employee there said they were preparing by removing chairs and switching from glass to plastic cups.) The bar features a "World Cup hotline" you can call and find out which games are happening when. The doors open at 8 a.m. Friday morning, and 7 a.m. on the weekends.

Mundial
505 E 12th St
If Nevada Smiths is too packed, soccer lovers can head to Mundial, which will also show the whole World Cup live, opening at 8:30 a.m. for the 9 a.m. games. Mundial will offer a drink special during the game: $4 for pints of Newcastle Brown and Kronenbourg. (Just the thing at 8:30 a.m.)

11th Street Bar
510 E 11th St
The bar of choice for the NY Liverpool Supporters Club will show every game live and open up about a half hour before morning matches.

Standings
43 E 7th St
This small East Village dive will show all the games live and offer $1-off drafts. They will open at 9 a.m. for the morning matches.

The Parlour
250 W 86th St
Upper West Siders can watch all the matches live at Irish pub Parlour on more than 10 TV sets. They'll open a half hour before every game.

ESPN Zone
1472 Broadway
The Disneyland of sports bars will show all games live on high-definition TV, open up 30 minutes before the start of the morning matches, and offer a breakfast buffet menu and giveaways.

Social
795 8th Ave
Hell's Kitchen pub Social will show all the games live and offer a drink special: $3.50 bottles of Bud, Bud Light, and Coors Light.

Stout
133 W 33rd St
Massive Herald Square beer hall Stout will show all the games live on 21 large TVs and open early for the morning matches.