World Cup watchers

Soccer spectators gather for early games in bars as long as team USA’s glory lasts.

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Ghana ended the U.S.'s World Cup dreams.

Saturday afternoon

In retrospect, it couldn't have been a good sign that a car engine exploded before the U.S. played its first-ever extra time in a World Cup match.

By the time the ball was back in play, the vehicle was burning in the alley between the Flying Saucer and the main library in downtown Little Rock. Three minutes into overtime, Ghana scored, lifting the Black Stars to a 2-1 advantage.

Once again, alarms had gone off for the American side, which had so many times in this tournament rallied from deficits.

The patrons packing the Flying Saucer expected the same kind of magic to play out in the nearly 30 minutes remaining of this match. The Americans managed shot after shot in the direction of the Ghanaian goalie. The dam seemed ready to break, just as it had four days earlier ...

Wednesday morning

I watched the second half of the U.S.-Algeria match at the Flying Saucer with about 40 other people. As both teams went scoreless heading into bonus time, with the Americans' chances at advancing dwindling, the tension in the place became palpable.

The frequency with which some of the spectators were hurling expletives at the screen was on par with most Razorbacks games I've seen in public settings, which is a good sign for professional soccer's potential as a popular sport in central Arkansas.

Landon Donovan etched his name in U.S. soccer lore in the 91st minute. Customers leapt, screaming and smashing hands together: pure catharsis.

A bright-eyed young professional proudly bounced up and down, sporting an American cape. And not long after that goal, the man to my side abruptly screamed at the U.S. players: "Okay, don't f*ck up now!" After the match, one man proudly showed off his plastic vuvuzela, that ubiquitous South African ear-splitter of an instrument. He claimed he'd gotten the thing in Alabama, and that it sported Clint Mathis' signature.

Headlines trumpeting the victory plastered the most prominent U.S. news websites in the minutes following the game. Huffington Post stretched the word "GOAL" to 33 letters, red and in all caps, punctuated by three exclamation marks. For once, I found the site's normally tacky histrionics appropriate.

Afterward, Sync writer Shea Stewart could scarcely believe so many people had gathered on a weekday morning in Little Rock to watch a soccer match. Indeed, it turned out that the Flying Saucer wasn't the only restaurant opening early for a watch party that day. I discovered Vino's had opened its doors to 50 to 60 customers, and served breakfast pizza to boot. About 20 people visited North Little Rock's Fox and Hound, which may be the area's only restaurant to open every morning at 9 a.m. expressly for the World Cup. In west Little Rock, about 15 people watched the match at Khalil’s Pub and Grill, while a smattering of others watched at Cregeen’s and Cornerstone in North Little Rock.

Stewart, whose interest in soccer barely registers as tepid, decided to join me at the Saucer for Saturday's match to see what all the hubbub was about.

Saturday

The scene was set for an unprecedented soccerplosion in central Arkansas.

The sounds of the vuvuzela, piped from the telecast, poured onto President Clinton Avenue from speakers outside of Gusano's. A large man wearing a sleeveless cotton shirt sauntered on the sidewalk with a snake slithering on this shoulders. A handful of Flying Saucer customers wore U.S. national team soccer jerseys.

I met Shea and some other friends at a table beside the window. Shea told me he heard chants of "USA," "USA," before the match. Once it began, the normally boisterous bar was mostly quiet save for the sounds of the match.

An estimated 17.9 million people nationwide watched it, the most to ever watch a men's soccer match in the U.S.

It quickly became apparent that Ghana was a force to be reckoned with, despite garish red jerseys resembling the uniforms sported by Burger King employees in the 1980s, my friend Sam pointed out. Five minutes into the match, Ghana scored, setting the stage for another U.S. comeback. In the 62nd minute, Donovan knotted it, rocketing a penalty kick off the left goal post and sparking jubilation at the Flying Saucer.

But the magic never returned, and the U.S. lost 2-1. The majority of people left the Saucer quiet, shoulders slouched, looking as if their favorite hamster had just died.

I come away from the match, though, feeling good about two things: 1) Ghana continued its run as the only African team advancing beyond the first round. If not the U.S., I would prefer an African nation to win this World Cup because I like underdogs and winning in the World Cup helps unite Africa, if only briefly 2) For a stretch of four days, it seemed central Arkansas was one big soccer town.

Minutes after the game, though, Stewart told me he's glad he doesn't have to worry about soccer again for four years. SEC football beckons.

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