World Cup Fever Hits Maplewood

Maplewood is a very international town, and there is no better time to experience that than every four years when the FIFA World Cup heats up.

Already, there are houses flying flags for favorite teams (it's impossible to miss the England-partisan household on Prospect Street between Harvard and Tuscan). One family's Brazilian au pair has already shown up at the bus stop in her green and yellow Brazil jersey—with matching green and yellow eye shadow. At the nearby Kicks and Sticks store in Vauxhall, staffers tell us the U.S.A. team jersey sold out weeks ago and can't even be obtained direct from the Nike factory.

Bars and pubs throughout the towns are gearing up with special morning hours and events to coincide with early morning game times happening on a South African schedule. For example, Wednesday morning, June 23, St. James's Gate Publick House will be hosting "kegs and eggs" for stalwart fans with doors opening at 9 a.m. The U.S. is scheduled to play Algeria at 10 a.m. (and England is going head to head against Slovenia at the same time).

The Gate's owner, John Meade, has the games on at all times and says the biggest contingents thus far are the English and American fans.

The complete game schedule shows the World Cup Group play ending on June 25 and Second Round beginning on June 26. The final game won't be played until July 11.

That's a lot of kegs and eggs.