Brit's Pub opened its doors at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, and general manager Shane Higgins encountered an England fan and a USA fan among the first patrons in line.
"I let the England fan in first," Higgins joked.
By 7 a.m. about 100 fans were seated for the match between England and Iran in group play of the World Cup.
The world's largest sporting event — an estimated 5 billion people worldwide will tune in over the next few weeks — is back. And the local soccer cognoscenti has been activated. Bars and restaurants throughout the Twin Cities are prepared to open at odd hours — the Black Hart of Saint Paul will show some matches that will begin at 4 a.m. — because the event is being held in Qatar.
Qatar has no business hosting this event. Organizers greased the palms of FIFA officials to land the tournament, committed human rights violations while building new stadiums and continues to suppress freedom of expression. More will be said about this in future columns.
On Monday, I hit three different bars — Brit's, The Black Hart and the Pillbox Tavern — to check out viewing parties and feel the Twins Cities' pulse for World Cup fever.
Brit's is the prominent soccer viewing location in the area, with the ability to host hundreds of fans on three different levels of its property. A trip to Brit's to watch soccer teaches you how popular the event is and how proud folks are of their homelands.
On Monday, the English accents bounced off the walls as Jude Bellingham's header opened the scoring in the 35th minute. When Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 eight minutes later — on the way to a 6-2 rout — someone yelled, "It's coming home!" As in, the English are bringing the cup back to the birthplace of the game. Someone yells this every four years at Brit's, and every four years England spectacularly crashes out of the tournament.
