World Cup, Bermuda Style!

 
I've really got to start doing a better job of booking my vacations.  If you recall, last year I was in South Africa when the NCAA Tournament was ramping up and not happy about it.

This year, I was in Bermuda for the first few days of the World Cup.  I quickly realized the overlap of events soon after I purchased my Bermuda ticket.  However, instead of feeling some type of way, I was actually pretty excited about experiencing the World Cup in another country.  Unlike NCAA Basketball, soccer/football really is the world's game.  Participating in the World Cup spirit with Bermudian locals was suddenly a good look.  The only tricky part was that my flight was scheduled to depart JFK on June 12th at 5:20pm ET.  This posed a conflict because the highly anticipated USA/England match was scheduled to be played on June 12th at 2:30pm ET.  There was NO WAY that I was going to miss any of that match.  If it meant getting to the airport 4 hours before my flight, then that's what must be done.

I'm going to summarize my World Cup viewing experience starting with the USA/England match through my stay in Bermuda.

On Saturday, June 12th @ 1:30pm, I arrived at JFK.  Going through security was a breeze.  I was done in 15 minutes.  Next order of business was finding a bar to watch the USA/England match, order a turkey burger with cheese, fries, and a Stella Artois.

There was a lovely restaurant with large flat screens and all, as soon as I passed through security.  However, my flight departed from Gate 43.  I kept it moving because I didn't want to rush to catch my flight after the game ended.  I finally stumbled across Soho Bistro, which was across the way from my Gate.  Perfect.  Or so I thought.  The first thing I noticed about Soho Bistro were the teeny tiny TVs. 

Sigh...you've got to be kidding me!  Oh, well no sense complaining, I chose door #2 and will make the best of my decision. Time to get ready for the match.  When I first sat down, there were about 7 others at the bar. As the match played out, the crowd grew larger and larger.  Eventually, it was standing room only.  A nice mix of USA and England fans.  You know how it ends....a 1-1 draw.  Not bad.  I check the time, we're boarding in 10 minutes.  Perfect timing.

Three hours later, I land in Bermuda.  Besides learning where to eat, the only thing I wanted to know was where's the best place to watch the World Cup matches.  I'm told that THE place to watch matches is at Clearwater Beach.  There's a large projection screen, a bar, and lots of people.  OK, sold!  I check the schedule to determine when I'll make my way to Clearwater Beach.  If I'm going to drag my friends with me, I want to make sure it's a compelling game.  Ummm...Drogba vs. Ronaldo on Tuesday?  Let's do it! 

Until then, I'll just catch the highlights or glimpses of the matches here and there. For example,  on Sunday, I decided that I was ok with catching the highlights.  But, I was in luck!  We ended up going to the Swizzle Inn for lunch and guess what...they're showing the matches!  Nice.  I don't mind if I do.

 

Throughout the island, tons of pubs hung flags outside of their establishments, much like they do in the US. 

The locals also repped their teams by hanging flags from their cars.

I wonder how schizophrenic this US/England fan was during last Saturday's match.

On Monday, it was more of the same. Here's a crew of people watching Italy/Paraguay in a pub at the Dockyard.

OK, Tuesday arrived.  It's time to venture to Clearwater Beach.  I was excited because after all, this was where EVERYONE would be....or so I thought.  We arrived and were the ONLY paying customers there!!! My first thought was, WTH!?!?! Is this is a setup?  Everyone there worked at the beach.  Whateva, man!  I pulled up a chair, my friends ordered drinks, and I made myself right at home.  This was the setup.

The picture wasn't all that clear, but after watching the USA/England match on that little screen at the airport, I wasn't complaining!  This was a much better deal.

Despite the small crowd, the few peeps on hand erupted when Drogba entered the game. 

See?  Empty...I asked them where all of the people were and they said at work.  Ohhhh, I see....that makes sense.  The match WAS on a Tuesday morning.  I'll buy that.

These soccer balls in the net made me feel that Clearwater Beach has the potential to be a soccer hangout.  It's definitely a spot for the locals, so I can dig it.  Overall,  I was glad we came.  I just wish more people were there to enjoy the action with us. 

In between matches, we relaxed on the beach, which was also empty, lol. 


On Wednesday, there was no World Cup watching for me.  We only had one more day to enjoy the island, work on our tan, shop and eat, and that's exactly what we did.  SportsCenter highlights sufficed.

But, we did stop to eat at a restaurant and they had a special World Cup Bar menu.

Yesterday, on our way back to the States, I spotted a crowd of folks enjoying the Argentina/South Korea match.  I wanted to stop and join them but I had a plane to catch.

Curious to know where I watched the USA/Slovenia match this morning?  In the comfort of my own home.

I had the best seat in the house.  Still can't believe the ref did us dirty.  I'm hoping Karma will make an appearance and things will work out as intended.  We're already off to a good start with the nil-nil draw between England and Algeria.  Team USA, we're still in this!