Though the United States is no longer a contender in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, State College soccer fans haven’t stopped avidly following the games — especially as the finals near.
Students have continued to take advantage of several on-campus options for catching the games, said Tia Trueblood, program coordinator of the Office of Global Programs at Penn State.
In addition to the televisions in the HUB-Robeson Center, the television in the Office of Global Programs’ lounge, for example, is tuned to ESPN and CBS from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Though the office, located in 410 Boucke Building, initially planned for students to watch the games while waiting to meet with their study abroad advisers, it soon hosted international students from India to Oman with no other agenda but the World Cup 2010 schedule.
“It’s a chance for them to be proud of their home culture,” Trueblood said. “It’s a way to showcase the whole world, even countries that most students don’t usually think about.”
The International Student Council plans to hold a party for the semi-final and final games of the competition, she said.
Kathy Staad, assistant manager of Bill Pickle’s Tap Room, 106 S. Allen St., said the international student population at Penn State has definitely influenced turnout to the games at the bar, as well. The diversity of student backgrounds ensures interest for almost every game, whether or not the U.S. is playing.
She said she anticipates an energetic crowd for the quarterfinals this morning, when the Netherlands takes on Brazil.
“Crowds have been consistent,” Staad said. “And as we get closer and closer to the finals, we’ll get busier and busier.”
While the United States was still in the running, however, FIFA fans sporting American flags, Landon Donovan T-shirts and patriotic dresses formed a line outside the bar that led halfway up Allen Street.
Fan Jon Crisafi (graduate–civil engineering) waited for the bar to open early on the morning of the U.S. vs. Algeria game and said he loved the atmosphere around him.
“It’s electric. There are stars and stripes everywhere,” he said. “Now, if the ref started giving us the goals we deserve, I’d be even happier.”
Each blow of the ref’s whistle was followed by a chorus of groans or applause while conversation and laughter filled the bar between plays. The U.S. vs. Algeria game put Pickle’s at full capacity with 200 fans clustered around five flat-screen televisions.
The sheer number of FIFA fans took the bar by surprise four years ago, when it was only a year old and still adjusting to the State College scene, Staad said.
This year, she said, the bar anticipated the crowds and planned menus, hours of operation and staff shifts accordingly.
In honor of the morning games — which begin as early as 10 a.m. — Pickle’s decided to open an hour early and offer its customers a new breakfast menu, Staad said. The adjusted morning hours will last for the duration of the World Cup.
David Lamb, Mad Mex bar manager, said his bar hosted several fully clothed fans whose limbs and faces were painted with streaks of red, white, and blue for the U.S. games.
The excitement caught on with his staff members, most of whom came to Mad Mex on their day off to watch the games alongside the fans, he said.