I’m not sure what felt stranger—sitting in a bar at 9 AM or sitting in a bar with no cigarette smoke. Or maybe it was that I was sitting in a smoke-free Chicago bar at 9 AM to watch soccer.
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Soccer is one thing, but who am I to argue with the appeal of catching a little beer buzz in the morning? So with five British Premier League matches set to take place live before noon CST on satellite TV last Saturday, I hit the Globe to see how the other half of the world lived (and drank). I sat down at the bar at nine, just before kickoff of the game between league-leading Arsenal and underdog Birmingham City, and ordered a Bloody Mary. Then I broke out my notebook, expecting it to fill up with colorful quotes from local soccer hooligans.
In the past I’ve been at my most eloquent on the dreariness of soccer. My in-box filled with irate e-mail from around the globe after one of my columns was posted on an international footballophile Web site. This game, however, was different—even from the World Cup. The British Premier League and the other top European leagues recruit and hire the best of the best from around the world, much as Major League Baseball plunders Latin America and Japan. At a glance these players were much more deft, fast, and talented than the bush-leaguers playing our Major League Soccer. And because these athletes spend the vast majority of their playing time with their league teams—the World Cup happens but once every four years—the playmaking is far more intricate than it is in the Cup. Watching the skilled Arsenal forwards or, later, the renowned Manchester United forwards attack—with quickly forming patterns full of touch passes, deflections, diversions, and shots either hooked or sliced—was like watching predatory animals in the wild instead of in a zoo.
The Irishmen flirted with the bartender after discovering she was from Bondi, outside Sydney, Australia. “You guys are sweet,” she said, deflecting the attention. It was the defensive play of the day.
