World Cup 2022 Fever Takes Over St. Pete: Where To Watch

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Since the FIFA World Cup men’s tournament kicked off Sunday, St. Petersburg residents and visitors are taking over local bars, restaurants and other venues to watch the games — even the early morning contests.

This year’s global competition — which takes place every four years — is hosted in Qatar, which means a big time difference between the Middle Eastern country and St. Petersburg. But that’s not stopping soccer fans from finding a way to watch it.

Some bars, like Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern in downtown St. Pete, are showing all 64 matches, sometimes opening their doors as early as 5 a.m. so locals can get their football fix for the day.

“Sound on for every single game, even starting as early as 5 a.m.,” the tavern wrote in a Facebook post ahead of the World Cup. “There will be lots of drink specials and lots of football fan from all over the world watching with us!”

• Also Read: World Cup 2022: How To Watch, USA Team Schedule, What To Know

The Studio Public House in the Grand Central District opened at 8 a.m. on Monday — normally it doesn’t open until noon for lunch — to watch England’s debut in this year’s tournament, a 6-2 win over Iran. Starting next week, the restaurant will even open Tuesdays, when it is normally closed, to show the games and has set up a big-screen television for watch parties.

“The World Cup is really big for us in England,” owner Alison Crippin, originally from Watford, told Patch. “We’re always excited. We always think we’re bringing the cup home. We always fail at the last minute. We usually go out on penalties.”

She and her husband, Mike Crippin, opened the restaurant about two years ago, so they weren’t sure what the turnout would be like for World Cup watch parties. At 8 a.m. on Monday, there were about half a dozen people cheering on England.

As the tournament progresses and teams are eliminated — meaning the games get more competitive and exciting — she expects there to be larger crowds, especially for matches involving England or the United States.

“A lot of people don’t really watch the earlier games,” Alison said.

Three friends, St. Pete native Lyndsey Collins and her wife, former English national team player Abi Priestley, from Leeds, and Steve Hicks, from Essex, England, were among those gathered at the Studio Public House Monday morning to cheer on Team England. All three are avid Leeds United supporters and regularly watch the English Premier League games from the bar throughout the year, so it was an obvious choice to catch the World Cup.

Hicks said he’s excited to watch England compete from one of his favorite local bars. And when his native country isn’t playing, he plans to watch as many games as possible.

“Everyone likes watching Brazil. I reluctantly like watching Argentina. You know, England and Argentina have got a rivalry over the years, but they’re always a really good game,” he told Patch. “They’ve got a lot of high energy. … They’re a good footballing nation, like Germany and England, as well. But I respect every team for what they are in football. I just love the whole competition. I love the atmosphere of the games.”

For married couple Collins and Priestley, at least in the early days of the tournament, “it’s a house divided,” as they each cheer on their home countries, the England native told Patch.

England and U.S. are both competing in Group B and the two countries go head-to-head on Friday afternoon.

“So, we’re really looking forward to Friday,” Priestley said. “That’s going to be a big game.”

And depending on which team progresses the furthest, they’ll eventually wind up supporting the same country later in the competition.

For Collins, she’s just excited that the U.S. — which saw a 1-1 draw with Wales in its first match of the tournament on Monday — made it to the world stage, since the team didn’t qualify for the 2018 competition.

“It’s really exciting because we weren’t in the last one,” she told Patch. “It’s a big deal.”

On Monday afternoon, more than 2,000 people gathered at downtown Williams Park for a family-friendly watch party, viewing the game on a giant 18-foot LED screen, Pete Boland, who organized the event through the American Outlaws U.S. soccer fan club’s St. Petersburg chapter, told Patch.

“It’s really special, the World Cup,” he said. “There’s no politics in the World Cup. It’s just Team USA. It brings everyone together.”

Boland said the tournament is especially meaningful for St. Petersburg, home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“We’re becoming a soccer town and we’re kind of becoming a big city and this is what big cities do. This type of event,” he said. “So, that was important to us, and also just growing the game of soccer.”

The American Outlaws will host two more watch parties at Williams Park — one Friday at 11 a.m. when the U.S. takes on England and the other Nov. 29 when the U.S. plays Iran. Tickets are $20 and can be found online here.

Watch World Cup 2022 games at the following St. Petersburg venues (check with venues for times):

• American Outlaws at Williams Park
• Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern
• The Studio Public House
• The Galley
• Colony Grill
• The Cordova Inn
• The Avenue
• Park & Rec DTSP