On July 9, more than 1 billion people are expected to watch the World Cup final. That’s almost one out of every six people on Earth and nearly 10 times more than watch the Super Bowl.
England is bracing for a loss in business productivity during the month- long soccer tournament, which begins Friday in Germany. In 2002, the country’s businesses lost an estimated $2.6 billion because 4 million people showed up late for work. Many businesses are installing TVs in hopes of keeping their employees on the clock.
Togo declared a national holiday when its team qualified for the first time, and the Singapore Stock Exchange is bracing for a fall in share price comparable to the 7.1 percent drop in 2002.
From Andorra to Zimbabwe, from Australia to Austria, the 32-team event will turn the planet into a giant soccer ball for six weeks. The entire planet?
The question, of course, is whether the tournament will captivate this country. Football is king in Denver and most U.S. sports cities. And Broncos camp starts next month.
World Cup interest in Denver spans the spectrum. Francis Carrera, the Argentine owner of Buenos Aires Pizzeria on 22nd Street, says: “It’s bigger than life. If I get divorced between June and July, I don’t care.”
Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Scot Minshall, general manager of Jackson’s sports bar near Coors Field, says, “I haven’t heard one thing about it.”
Local World Cup interest isn’t cut exactly along the line between American- and foreign-born. The British Bulldog, a new English pub on Stout Street, gets numerous calls from many Colorado natives about European soccer games it televises, and the Sports Column on Blake Street recently bought the Fox Soccer Channel in preparation.
But if you want to witness the true meaning of the World Cup, if you want to feel the pulse of a plaza in Mexico City or a beer hall in Prague or a nightclub in Buenos Aires, find an ethnic restaurant or bar in Denver with a TV. For a few hours, you may not care whether Jay Cutler challenges for Jake Plummer’s quarterback job.
“It’s going to be crazy,” said Paco Lara, owner of Aztec Sol Mexican restaurant on West 32nd Avenue.
Like many owners of ethnic bars and restaurants, Lara hopes to show every game, not just those of Mexico or the United States. He has seven TVs and a giant screen in his 4,200-square- foot bar/restaurant/bakery with a giant Mexican flag on the roof.
With Hispanics making up 35 percent of Denver’s population, Mexican bars with TVs should be hopping for the next five weeks. Four years ago, when the World Cup was in South Korea and Japan, Aztec Sol buzzed even at 3 a.m. That’s when some of the games in Asia started. Yet, up to two dozen people sat in the bar and watched soccer.
“It’s almost like Cinco de Mayo,” said Lara, who was born in Denver but lived much of his life in Guadalajara. “Everybody comes out to support. But with soccer, there is no other sport that does this where everyone’s fighting to be the best in the world. This is bragging rights.”
Sobo 151 on South Broadway is expecting a huge throng June 12. That’s when the U.S. opens its World Cup against the Czech Republic. Sobo 151 is a Czech bar.
“A few years ago, when they had the Euro Soccer Championships, during the Czech games, we were packed,” owner Filip Tomas said. “During England games, we were packed. Other games were moderate to good. I guarantee this is going to one of those places.”
Sobo 151 has a rabid Eastern European following. It’s also a major hockey bar, and the ceiling is adorned with Czech and National Hockey League jerseys.
Tomas, 32, came to the U.S. in 1979, sneaking out of Czechoslovakia through Austria and Yugoslavia. Many patrons have similar stories, and though many memories aren’t good, the love for their roots remains, often represented by a white ball.
“They’re very passionate,” Tomas said. “They’re more passionate than American football fans or baseball fans. It’s very similar, but it’s stronger just because it’s not just the city you live in but it’s the country you were born in, and a lot of pride and heritage go into that.”
Colorado Rapids players often congregate at Buenos Aires Pizzeria or the British Bulldog after games, knowing they’ll find fans who can tell a corner kick from a free kick and Real Madrid from Real Salt Lake.
Buenos Aires Pizzeria has its walls lined with pennants from Argentine pro teams, and the downstairs has a 6-by-9-foot TV screen. It will soon have an air conditioner “to calm down the guys during the heat of the game,” Carrera said.
While the British Bulldog has three soccer channels and expects standing room only, Minshall at Jackson’s had to think twice about the World Cup.
“It’s in Germany this year?”
Don’t blame Minshall. He’s not alone. He’d love to have his bar filled with World Cup fans. He likes soccer. But he’s been in the business long enough to know the average Denver fan wants only palatable sports on his or her plate. And they don’t have much taste for soccer.
“A friend of mine asked me how to get (Rapids) tickets two weeks ago, and I said, ‘You’re the first person I’ve ever even heard ask that,”‘ Minshall said. “I’m a big sports fan, too, but you can only cram so many sporting events into Joe Average Denver sports fan.”
Added Jim Brown, bar manager at Brooklyn’s, the sports bar closest to Invesco Field at Mile High, where the Rapids play: “I don’t know anyone who is interested except people who go to Rapids games.”
TV numbers in the U.S. were somewhat encouraging despite the 2002 tournament being held on Asian time. According to ESPN, 5.3 million watched the U.S.-Germany quarterfinal and 3 million watched the U.S.- Mexico match, which began after midnight in Denver. The world soccer association puts the worldwide TV viewership for the 2002 final at 1.1 billion.
In Denver, the numbers were small. The live broadcast of the U.S.-Mexico match drew 14,000 households, according to Nielsen Sports, while the Germany match drew 19,000. (Some games were taped and shown to a new audience during the day.)
Irv Brown has been a sports radio host in Denver for 25 years. He rarely gets a World Cup call and never one about the Rapids.
“I thought it would take over,” Brown said. “There are no injuries. Kids can play. It’s inexpensive. But it never seemed to click. But there’s so much interest in foreign countries. We just don’t get it.”
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
