Seattle Does the World Cup
Having never played soccer I don’t think I even knew what the World Cup was until college, when it gave everyone an excuse to continuously go out to watch the matches. I only caught some of the last World Cup, mainly because the games would show on TV in the middle of the night thanks to the time difference between here and South Africa. But this time around it’s been a lot of fun to keep up with and feels like more and more people are talking about it (or maybe that’s because social media has grown exponentially since 2010). Either way, I love any excuse to check out a new bar or get together at the same old watering holes with friends to watch. Here’s a roundup of some of Seattle’s best bars to catch a game (or five):
Fremont Dock. A new favorite of mine, The Dock has loads of TVs inside, but the best is the huge screen in the outdoor seating area. Did I mention their festive pitchers?
Atlantic Crossing. A pub onRoosevelt Way, this place has TVs outside and inside and the bar opens at 8am, so you can even enjoy those 9am matches with a drink in hand!
Paddy Coyne's. A South Lake Union Irish pub known for being home to lots of Sounders FC fans, will be open for every game on the World Cup schedule.
Kangaroo and Kiwi. Ballard’s Australian-flared bar also opens at 8am, and will be offering beer towers and breakfast sandwich specials to the menu. This is another great spot if you want to watch the games in an outdoor beer garden!
Von Trapps. A Capitol Hill hotspot, this German beer hall has recently opened an outdoor Biergarten, complete with 4 TVs and a bocce lane. Get there early as seating is first come, first serve.
Buckley’s. Located in Belltown and Queen Anne, these sports bars are opening early to show all the World Cup games. The Belltown location will be showing the matches on 24 TVs and might add additional screens outside weather permitting.
F.X. McRory’s. Our downstairs neighbors here in Pioneer Square, F.X. has been going all out for the World Cup – opening early and offering special breakfast sandwiches for those diehard fans.
Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub. Located near Pike Place Market in Post Alley, this Irish pub is a great place to watch soccer. They’ll also be opening early for the matches and adding breakfast menu items.
Beveridge Place Pub. For our West Seattleites, don’t worry, there’s a great spot out there to catch the games, too! Beveridge will be opening at noon during the group stages of the World Cup and early for Thursday’s USA match against Germany (9am). They’ll also be bringing out a big projector to screen the championship game!
For those live tweeting during the matches, remember that Twitter rolled out a fun feature called hashflags, -- when you hashtag the county code, it will automatically turn into an emoticon of the country flag!
If you have other suggestions for local World Cup viewings, holler at me @c_allodi