I will be in Amarillo on Saturday. Where is the best place to watch the opening match of the World Cup against England?

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Being a soccer fan at World Cup time in America is a little like being Jewish in December in a small town in the Midwest. You sense that something big is going on around you, but you're not really a part of it. And the thing you're celebrating and enjoying is either ignored or misunderstood by your friends, peers, and neighbors. It can be a lonely time. But the World Cup is much bigger than Christmas. After all, only a couple of billion people in the world celebrate Christmas; the World Cup is likely to garner the attention of a much larger audience. Yet in the world's largest and most important sports competition, the American team, and the American audience, is a marginal, bit player. And for those of us who love the game of soccer and the World Cup, and for the few of us who followed the ups and downs of Landon Donovan's career, these next couple weeks are likely to be bittersweet.

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Because of the nation's historical incompetence at international soccer, Americans generally look at the World Cup the same way they look at other foreign phenomena like sovereign wealth funds, Bollywood, and China — as a potential marketing bonanza. The Wall Street Journal and other organs of the financial press have been filled with articles about the opportunities for consumer products, brands, and media. The international soccer community, likewise, sees America less as a budding soccer power than as a potential financial bonanza — why else would FIFA consider giving the United States the World Cup for a second time?

As a result, if you're interested in the game, and particularly interested in the U.S. team, you really don't have that many people to talk to. At a recent soccer practice, one of the other dads noted that his son wanted a jersey for some guy whose name he couldn't remember but who might play for a Spanish team. "Lionel Messi?" I asked. From the lack of recognition on his face, I realized I may as well have said "Lionel Trilling?" I wanted to shout: "You know, the best player in the world? The mite from Argentina who moves faster with the ball than without it, whose low center of gravity lets him ride off tackles from much larger defenders, who schools the opposition the way Michael Jordan used to, who in April scored four goals against Arsenal — against ARSENAL, for god's sakes! — in a Champions League game, who plays for Barcelona, possibly the most awesome and elegant club in the world, a team that gives its shirt sponsorship to UNICEF rather than selling it to some awful corporation? You mean that guy?" But what was the point? Talking with my neighbors about Lionel Messi would be like trying to engage a group of Amish farmers in a discussion about the merits of the 2011 Porsche Carrera.

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http://www.slate.com/id/2256618/

I'd say try Fast Eddies, or Hummer's........both have enough big screens that maybe it'll be on one.

I'll be in Amarillo this saturday. Thinking of Buffalo Wild Wings but wondering if anyone else had a better suggestion. Looking for good bar food, decently priced drinks, and a solid atmoshpere to watch the US vs Ghana world cup game. Bringing a couple of non-soccer watching rednecks from the rig, so hoping to show them soccer can be entertaining to watch with a good atmosphere.

Also we will probably be staying the night in Amarillo so if anyone could recommend a bar for a couple of 30 year olds to hang out at I would appreciate.


[This message has been edited by fletch03 (edited 6/25/2010 3:34a).]