Geoffrey Wall won’t be getting much sleep over the next month.
The owner of Piccadilly Circus Pub in Snohomish is in for some late nights and early mornings as he provides a gateway to soccer’s grandest stage.
Piccadilly Circus is one of several local establishments that are celebrating the World Cup, opening at unusual hours to give soccer fans a place to congregate for the games.
“I’ll be here, even if I have to sleep here,” said Wall, who plans to show all 64 games live.
The World Cup, soccer’s quadrennial international championship and arguably the world’s biggest sporting event, opens Friday and continues through July 11. The best soccer-playing countries in the world will be on display for 25 of the next 31 days, with as many as four games a day making for a soccer fan’s nirvana.
The one complication, however, is that this year’s World Cup takes place in South Africa. That means the games began at 4:30 a.m., 7 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. PDT. Those typically aren’t hours when restaurants and bars are open.
But for soccer’s true believers, the early morning wake-up calls are worth the loss of a few winks.
“There’s one time when it’s Friday night and I close at 3 (a.m.), then the first game Saturday morning is at 4:30,” said Wall, a native of soccer-mad England and a former professional soccer player himself. “I’ll just crash here for an hour, then open at 4.”
“This is the only soccer bar around,” Wall added. “All I do is soccer. I’ve had a lot of people call asking if I was going to show the games. I say, ‘Yeah, what do you think?’”
Soccer may not be the highest-profile sport in the United States, but soccer fans are true fanatics, and some local businesses are feeding the mania.
For some establishments, such as Major League Pizza in Everett, which is offering specials during the World Cup, the event is being used primarily as a method of drumming up new business.
But for most of the locations doing something special for the World Cup, it’s a case of expressing a passion for soccer. While the additional business is nice, the World Cup itself is cause for celebration — as well as the source of some long work shifts.
“I played soccer for a long time, and even though I can’t play anymore, I still have fun watching these guys and what they’re doing,” said Benjamin Guerrero, the owner of El Paraiso Mexican Grill in Everett.
“Soccer is our source,” Guerrero added. “A lot of soccer teams come here after games. When the Sounders play, we show the games. I just love soccer. I’m a soccer maniac.”
Few places are showing every game live like Piccadilly Circus, but several are showing some of the games live, then recording the early games and showing them later. The Irishman in Everett is opening at 6:30 to broadcast the 7 a.m. and 11:30 games live, then showing a recording of the early game immediately afterward. Both El Paraiso and Marimba, another Everett restaurant, are showing the 11:30 games live with recordings of the earlier games following.
“We’re an Irish pub and that makes the World Cup very important,” said Dan Pagard, general manager of the Irishman. “We want to highlight the Irishman as a place that does show games. There’s a lot of places like that in Seattle, but not many up here.”
The establishments also are getting creative with their specials. Piccadilly Circus is offering discounts on beers from the countries currently playing. El Paraiso has appetizer deals for anyone who shows up wearing a soccer jersey from anywhere in the world. The Irishman is serving breakfast as long as the games are being contested. Marimba is offering salsa music and dancing once the day’s games are over.
As for where to go to support specific countries, every location encourages fans of all the teams to come watch the games. However, the owners and regulars have their favorites. Piccadilly Circus, of course, will have a heavy slant toward England. El Paraiso’s patrons prefer Mexico and the United States. Marimba’s customers are likely to be more inclined toward the South American countries. And the Irishman, given that Ireland did not qualify for this year’s World Cup, seems to attract U.S. fans. Many locations are also holding special events for Saturday’s 11:30 a.m. game between the U.S. and England.
“This is all in the support of soccer,” Pagard said. “It may not be as big here as it is in England or Brazil, but it’s grown a lot the last 10 years. There’s been more interest, so we decided months ago to do this.”
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