Before many people have finished their first cup of coffee, Paul Johnson is working on his third pint of ale.
Facing the big screen TV in the corner of the main room at the English Pub, he is decked out in the red and white of England’s national soccer team from head (his close-cropped mohawk dyed a fading red) to toe (with custom Adidas covered in miniature English flags).
Between sips of Stella Artois, Johnson and his mates are revving up for the first match of what they expect to be a triumphant run for the English in the World Cup.
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Soccer fans, including Stephen Jones, right, and Tim Sheppard, center, react after England nearly scores a goal in the second half of their World Cup soccer game with Paraguay last Saturday. Fans, including a crush of English expatriates, have turned the English Pub on Linwood Avenue into World Cup Central.
Photo: David Ahntholz |
Johnson and the 50 or so expatriates and vacationers gathered at the pub are expecting their countrymen to hoist another Cup when the tournament ends in July.
"I think this is our year," he says, before last Saturday’s game. "We’ve got the most talented team we’ve ever had. Every player is a superstar at his position."
Brits and local soccer aficionados have come to the English Pub, a small bar tucked away on Linwood Avenue in East Naples. Mostly a hangout for United Kingdom refugees and young professionals looking for brews not made by Anheuser-Busch or Miller, the bar has transformed itself into World Cup Central for the next month.
Although the summer schedule called for opening later on Saturdays and Sundays, a full staff was in place early to cope with the rush before the 9 a.m. match. In the kitchen, the staff busily prepares trays full of eggs, bangers - sausages, for all you Americans - and beans, components of a traditional English breakfast.
Behind the bar, two tenders pour Stellas, Strongbows and Fullers in twos and threes, struggling to keep up with demand. Though a chunk of the crowd will leave after England’s match with Paraguay, it seems like the wave of orders crashes steady against the bar from 8:30 until the bar closes that night - almost 18 hours later.
But as the ball enters the pitch for the start of the England game, even the bartenders stop for a second to take it in. A brief hush comes over the crowd.
History repeating?
Forty years. That’s how long its been since the English hoisted their only World Cup trophy. Most of the fans at the Pub can’t remember when Bobby Moore and the "Wingless Wonders" took home the crown on their home turf of Wembley Stadium.
Still, you’d think each has died a little in the time since. Like Boston Red Sox fans before 2004, England’s fans have to navigate the collision of birthright and failure. England created the game and should dominate, but something always stands in the way.
They even have their version of the baseball squirting between Bill Buckner’s legs, in Maradona’s "Hand of God Goal." Both happened in 1986. Although Red Sox fans like to forget all the other snafus that led to Buckner’s blunder, the Brits often forget that Maradona’s second goal of that match, considered by many the greatest goal in the history of the tournament, was the real dagger.
Since 1986, England has only made it past the round-robin section three times, and have not advanced farther than the semifinals, losing twice to eventual champions. Even worse, in 1994 the team didn’t even qualify.
Each tournament defeat has been another wound inflicted by the cruel soccer gods.
"This team is better," says Bernie East, 64, comparing the current English squad to the 2002 version. "It’s better than 1966, too."
The First Half
At least things got off to a good start. Just four minutes into the game - a goal. 1-0 England.
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A sign at the English Pub promotes the start of the World Cup.
Photo: David Ahntholz |
David Beckham, the team captain and international sex symbol, makes another of his patented curling free kicks, deflecting it off the Paraguayan captain’s head and past the goal tender.
The bar erupts. Glasses of beer click together. "Cheers, mate."
A minute later, another good sign. Paraguay’s first string goalkeeper leaves with an injury. Surely now the rout is on.
The first half ticks on. England keeps making mistakes and the crowd keeps getting nervous.
Jimmy Porter turns to his friends standing behind a side bar and looks discouraged.
"We’re playing like (expletive deleted)," he says. "We should be killing these guys."
His lament soon becomes a common cry.
American Contrast
It’s noon, two days later. The same bar has another football game on the TV, only this time it’s soccer.
The U.S. national team, which until 1990 hasn’t qualified for a World Cup in 40 years and has only made it past the first round three times, is playing its opening game.
The Americans quickly find themselves in a hole. 1-0 to the Czech Republic, then 2-0 before the half.
After a good showing at the 2002 Cup, there is some expectations that the U.S. is ready to turn the corner and become a soccer superpower.
The contrast at the English Pub couldn’t be more different. Instead of people jostling for position in front of the big screen, being forced at times to be happy with an obstructed view, only five fans pull up chairs near the front.
Dave Alderson says the turnout helps reinforce the stereotype that Americans don’t care about soccer. "I think the popularity is growing all the time," he says. "It’s been a gradual thing, but people do care."
The problem, he says, is that American fans expect domination. "Just because America’s in it, people think we should be winning," he says.
The team eventually loses 3-0 to the Czechs, much to the dismay of Elliott Trumbull.
Staring at his Brian McBride jersey a few minutes after the game was put out of reach, the avid fan shakes his head.
"I guess I should take this off now," he says.
The Second Half
In the 15 minutes between halves, the England fans have time to drown a few more pints, smoke a cigarette or two and completely psych themselves out.
"We should be destroying them."
"It should be 4-0 at least by now."
"This is pathetic."
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Andrew Beardsall, left, and his girlfriend Sandra Payne (vacationers from Yorkshire, England) support their team with military helmets decorated with red and white flags. The couple bought the helmets at England’s final warm-up match. “We knew we’d be watching the match somewhere, so we brought them along,” Beardsall says.
Photo: David Ahntholz |
The mood, which an hour earlier was close to that of giddy kids on Christmas Eve, now is sullen. It doesn’t matter that England is winning, seemingly controlling the match. They expect a rout.
"It’s just more mediocre play," says Andrew Beardsall, a 40-year-old Yorkshire native visiting for the week.
Beardsall sits at the bar wearing a unique piece of England periphenalia - a military helmet decked out with dozens of stickers of English flags, the team crest and the country slogan, "The think it’s over ... It is now."
He picked it up a month earlier at the team’s last warm-up match, and is now hoping it will bring a little luck.
It did. England won. But that wasn’t enough to keep the crowd happy.
As the match continues without more goals, the fans start hurling insults toward the big screen, stuff that would make sailor blush. The English have such a creative way to swear.
In the back, pub owner Joe Ring takes it all in. Although soccer fans can get a little rowdy, they are good for business. Ring says he expects the World Cup to help offset the off-seasonal swing.
"This is where people who want to watch soccer are going to come," he says. "It’s not just England and the U.S. that will be good for business."
Later he’s proven right. Standing outside the bar smoking, Serbian immigrants Marko Suput and Slavisa Nikola make plans for the next day’s match against Holland.
"I’ll either be at my sister’s house or here," Suput says. "Where ever we can get the most Serbs."
Copyright © 2006 Naples Daily News. All rights reserved.
Re-printed by kind permission of Naples Daily News. 
