Two diehard England football fans walked into an American bar. They started out torn by dual allegiances. After an unforgettable, last-minute goal, they ended up joining U.S. fans for a dual World Cup celebration.
The scene took place Wednesday morning at the Anna Liffey’s pub, which broadcast simultaneous USA and England soccer games for over 250 anxious local fans. Both teams were competing, on different fields, to qualify for the next round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Their dual fates, which hung in the air for a tense 90 minutes, ended up aligned as both teams won their games, 1 – 0, and avoided being booted from the international competition.
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Fans poured into Anna Liffey’s to watch the 10 a.m. games. Some wore USA bandannas and flag shorts. Most had their eyes fixed on USA’s first-ever match against Algeria.
Josephine Giles, a 26-year-old Texas native, had her eyes glued to a different screen. She was rooting for her favorite players for England, who faced Slovenia.
Giles took a seat at a stool in Anna Liffey’s upper room, where the USA and England games played simultaneously on different screens. She sat next to Steve Hall, whose England jersey announced his fanatical devotion to player number eight, Frank “Super Frankie” Lampard.
Hall, who’s 53, hails from Hammersmith, England. He’s been in the States for 30 years, and married an American. As dual U.K.-USA citizen, he came with mixed allegiances: he said he wanted both teams to advance.
But as president of the Chelsea Supporters Club of Connecticut, he said, he had to cheer — and sing — loudest for his homeland.
“I’m England ‘till I die, I’m England ‘till I die,” he proclaimed at the end of the bar. “I know I am, I’m sure I am, I’m England ‘till I die.”
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Giles, a Yale graduate student, sang along. She met Hall through the Chelsea Supporters Club, which meets faithfully at Anna Liffey’s to watch all the games of the Chelsea Football Club. She said she first saw Chelsea play while on vacation in England, and she’s been hooked ever since. Four Chelsea players made it to England’s World Cup team.
Giles said she wanted the USA to win Wednesday, but a victory for England was her top concern: “It’s hard to root against players I’ve been following all along.” She spoke between bites of an English Breakfast, an Anna Liffey’s special involving eggs, sausage, hash browns, and of course, baked beans.
Giles sipped a glass of Bailey’s Irish Creme. Hall drank Guinness.
The duo joined in a round of a special song that Hall came up with, about winning the World Cup title back from the last champs, Italy. Sung to the (American) tune, “Winter Wonderland,” it centers on England’s Italian coach, Fabio Capello:
Italy, are you listenin’?
Keep our trophy glistenin’,
At the end of the day,
We’re gonna take it away,
Walking in Capello winterland.
Hall belted out the song, several times, raising his arms straight up in the air.
As both games neared the half, he was the only one singing.
England stood at a 1 – 0 advantage — a tenuous lead, but one that left it poised to survive to the next round of the Cup. After the morning’s game, two of the four teams (England, USA, Slovenia and Algeria) would be eliminated, and two would advance to the Round of 16.
“You make me happy when you score a goal,” Hall crooned to his team, to the tune of “You are my Sunshine.”
Meanwhile, USA fans had no reason yet to sing: Their team stood at a 0 – 0 deadlock with Algeria. Fans groaned and cursed at missed opportunities, including one goal denied by a referee.
“Just put it in!” cried one frustrated USA fan as one player missed a goal, point-blank.
About 10 minutes into the second half, England and U.S. fans merged in one charged moment, as both teams missed goals that bounced off the crossbars, within 10 seconds of each other.
The England fans weren’t comfortable with their lead. Just one goal could leave them tied, which would send them out of the tournament.
“Wake up, England!” screamed Hall, drawing chuckles from the American fans across the room.
“People think I’m drunk,” he noted, “but I’m like this all the time.”
As the clock wound down, the feeling in the room was tense. England’s and the USA’s interests ran at cross purposes: Though they weren’t on the same pitch, they were competing for points to qualify into the next round. If England’s keeper let a goal slip by, it would propel the U.S. forward to the next round, and vice versa. Still, neither camp booed the other.
“C’mon, you Yanks!” offered Hall to the distressed U.S. fans, as England appeared to have clinched a victory with only three minutes left.
“That’s a song for you guys,” he explained.
The American fans didn’t sing. They watched and cringed. On one close call, one man leapt to his feet and broke a pint glass.
Then came the moment: In the 91st minute, U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan snatched a loose ball and drilled it into the net.
In that single kick, U.S. and England’s fates became merged, as they simultaneously qualified to advance in the next round.
“We’re both through!” announced Hall. “That is classic soccer!”
The room at Anna Liffey’s erupted in cheers for both sides.
“God Bless America!” declared one Yale student.
The room broke out into a chant of “USA! USA!” Giles joined in.
“This is exactly what we wanted,” she said.
In the post-game revelry, Hall shook hands with a U.S. fan.
If both teams keep winning, he noted, the U.S. and England could face off a second time on the soccer pitch.
“We may meet again,” he told her.
“That would be good,” she said.