Evidence of soccer’s growing popularity in the US can be found in the number of big city bars that show broadcasts of games from around the world. Here in Washington, there are many soccer “watering holes” to choose from if you want to catch an EPL or a La Liga game and share the experience with kindred souls. So this particular Sunday, I decided to honor my Irish heritage by joining the patrons of Fado Irish Pub which is located ironically, in Chinatown. The featured match was Chelsea vs Manchester United and I expected a decent crowd for the 11 AM start, but the sight that greeted me when I walked in the door was quite unexpected.
Since this was Sunday, I could not bear the Catholic guilt of missing Mass in order to swig beer while hollering at the TV in a bar, so I found a church that was nearby Fado and had a 10 AM Mass. Not just any church, St. Patrick’s is the oldest Catholic church in the District, having been established in 1794 to minister to the Irish stone masons who were building the US Capitol and the White House. The present stone structure has stood since 1884 just up the street from Ford’s Theatre, and there was a good crowd for the service. Everything happens quicker in DC than at home in Alabama, including worship. The final verse of the recessional hymn finished at 10:45 AM and I headed for the pub with my conscience clear.
Fado is a classic Irish pub with dark wood dominating the décor. The place was pretty full and raucous with about 2/3 of the crowd watching a big screen TV and cheering on either Dublin or Kerry in a Gaelic league soccer match. The other third of the bar, were watching pre-game commentary for the Chelsea/Man U match and I found an empty seat at a table with two young EPL fans and a couple close to my age. I just figured that the EPL game would be the featured event but as one of my tablemates explained, Fado is not an Irish bar in name only (like most are) and it is frequented by Irish nationals who come to watch soccer and rugby and drink Guiness.
The minority of EPL viewers became a majority when the Gaelic league game ended and the crowd cheered and groaned after great plays and near misses. Man U won the game as they almost always do and the guys wearing red “Rooney” shirts left happy after the final whistle. Even though I was rooting for Chelsea, the company of my table mates, as well as a couple of Harp lagers and a sandwich, made for a fun time. The atmosphere in Fado, is very similar to that of the couple of Glasgow pubs where I had the opportunity to watch some soccer with my son during my Scotland trip earlier this year. For UK nationals who reside in or are visiting DC, these soccer pubs must be a nice taste of home.
Thanks to the six hour time difference, the soccer activity for the day ended around 1 PM; just in time to catch the Redskins game. I do love the autumn.
