Friday, June 6, 2008

UEFA Euro 2008 beaming into bars and restaurants all across DFW

By Erin Rice

Euro 2008 kicks off on Saturday featuring the top European national teams vying for the Henri Delaunay Trophy. While the tournament itself is played on Swiss and Austrian soil, local footy fans can join the several million* others around the world in raising a pint and watching matches on various big screens around town.

Since all games are televised on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, one could potentially watch them at home, but what's the fun in that? Below is a brief listing of some of the more soccer-notorious bar/restaurants in town hosting Euro 2008 watching parties.

The Londoner in Addison

The Londoner, a staunchly British pub off the corner of Midway and Beltway in Addison, has long offered fans the opportunity to watch soccer and rugby games in a dimly lit, dark-wooded atmosphere. With two large screens behind the bar, the main watching areas include an HD projector screen filled with high-top bar seating and a 42" plasma screen screen surrounded by a cozy living room setup (complete with cushy leather chairs and a couch) and some additional wooden tables and chairs. To get you in a true soccer watching mood, there are 25 beers and ciders on tap, with another 21 bottled.

While the Londoner typically doesn't open by 11 a.m. on Sundays and Mondays, they will open early to accommodate the Euro tra-, er, hoolig-, um, fans (all games are airing at either 11 a.m. or 1:45 p.m.). According to one bartender on staff, the joint fills up for soccer matches depending on who's playing. If England or one of the big name club teams (Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, etc.) are playing, it will be packed. If you've checked the Euro lineup, you'll know that neither England nor Ireland qualified for the tournament. Does this mean there will be less interest in the matches? My guess is it will probably just mean a vaster array of flags worn as clothing.

Trinity Hall at Mockingbird Station, Dallas

Stepping a tad beyond the pale, Trinity Hall is more definitively Irish than any other persuasion, but if you wear the Queen Mums colors, or any others, you will still find a friendly venue to cheer your side. A popular destination for the Angelika and otherwise Mockingbird Station crowd, for any given soccer game you are just as likely to find people sporting their Adidas warm-ups and Copa Mundial turfs. While Trinity Hall doesn't keep their television sets out if there is not a game playing, depending on the crowd, they may set up as many as six TVs, that are quick to disappear following a match's conclusion. The best place to watch, however, is in the small section just in front of the stage, where they have a projector screen set up and a number of low and high top wooden tables.

Note that on Saturday, June 8, Trinity Hall itself will be closed from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The games, Switzerland vs. Czech Republic and Portugal vs. Turkey will be shown at Chaucer's Next Door, with limited food and drink offerings. Otherwise, the rest of the matches will feature TH's full bar consisting of more than 120 labels of beer, 22 types of Irish Whiskey, and 25 different wines. Note that his pub is serious about their Irish alcohol. Whatever you do, don't ask for a Killian's Irish Red... you will not hear the end of it.

Lochrann's Irish Pub & Eatery in Frisco

Home to the first large-scale professional and amateur soccer complex in the nation, one can hardly escape the sport in Frisco. Every weekend you'll find youth soccer players in their full kits and cleats, running around the growing number of restaurants surrounding the intersection of 121 and the Dallas North Tollway. And God forbid if David Beckham is coming to town.

Futbol mecca, Texas is also where you'll find Lochrann's Irish Pub. The official Away Game Viewing Party and Post-Game (celebratory or pity) Party destination for FC Dallas, this is also a prime location to check out international games. While Lochrann's isn't advertising the Euro games on their official site, an email from the event coordinator assures that they will be showing the matches. The only potential caveat could be on June 15, when FC Dallas plays Chicago at Pizza Hut Park at 2 p.m., which runs over the 1:45 p.m. start time for two Euro Group A games.

According to a second Lochrann's staff member, there are two flat screen televisions located behind the bar with a third, projector screen located in a corner, viewable from most seats. To keep your throat nice and lubed for excessive cheering and jeering, there are 11 beers on tap, 20-25 craft or imported, bottled beers, with the usual array of domestics. They also offer around 30 types of whiskey, not counting an additional 20 of the more specialized Scotch whiskeys.

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While a full on Euro 2008 watching party is the way to go, there are a number of bars in DFW that will gladly show the games if you simply ask. The Dubliner, a small, rectangular-shaped Irish pub on Greenville Avenue, has never turned down our request for even the most obscure games. They also have a dart board within perfect view of one TV. Chances are, with a group of your own and the promise to buy some refreshments, you can convince any of these game-watching destinations around town to show the World's favorite sport on their big screen.

*The 2004 European Football Tournament (Euro 2004) final was watched by 153 million viewers. This figure is considerably above the 2008 Super Bowl, which averaged 97.5 million viewers. However, both are paled by viewership for the 2006 World Cup Final of 715.1 million.

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