Soccer Fans Unite at Irish Times for World Cup

It was an exciting day for soccer fans as the United States took on England, Saturday to open its World Cup play in South Africa. England was the favorite to win by the FIFA world rankings, but the United States was the favorite by a long shot at Irish Times in Holbrook. There was quite a turnout at the pub, as even some employees commented that it was a larger turnout then expected.

In celebration of the day's event, Irish Times gave out free shots named "The Patriotic" to all the patrons in the pub to honor the U.S. soccer team.

England is ranked 8^th and USA is ranked 14^th, which means local soccer fans were hoping to see USA upset England in the game. Everyone was still appreciative of the effort and the 1-1 score by game's end. The crowd was buzzing during the pregame show. By opening kickoff, everyone was ready for some action.

Only a few minutes into the game England's captain Steven Gerrard scored on a pass from striker Emile Heskey. The score was met with plenty of booing from the crowd, drowning out the cheers from the small handful of England fans present at the pub.

Throughout the remainder of the first half there were plenty of exciting moments that got the crowd riled. None more than in the 40^th minute when U.S. midfielder Clint Dempsey scored the game-tying goal. Irish Times erupted in cheers, which continued on all through the replays and then some. High fives and congratulatory slaps on the back were all around as many friends raised their glasses in salute to the United States.

The second half of the game was less eventful than the first as the tie remained. The crowd erupted in cheers, quickly followed by groans of disappointment as a shot by USA's Jozy Altidore hit off England's goaltender and rung off the post, losing out on an opportunity for the U.S. to take the lead.

"Typically I root for USA and for Italy, unless they play each other," said George Randazzo, who was rooting for the U.S. at Irish Times, "then I root for Italy. It's a shame they didn't win, but a tie is better than losing."

His friend Joe agreed, saying that, "A tie is good enough for now, though I would have loved to see them beat England."

Though the end of the game brought a bit of a lackluster feel in the air, the place erupted in cheers of celebration for the United States nevertheless at the final whistle.