NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Sitting among a pint-raising crowd at a Manhattan soccer bar on the first day of the , George Carson described himself as a huge soccer fan who hopes to catch all 104 games of the global tournament.
But on Saturday?
鈥淲e got to watch the Knicks,鈥� he said.
In most nations hosting the World Cup, soccer is a fixation. But with the New York Knicks in the best-of-seven NBA Finals against San Antonio and one win from their first title since 1973, attention is surely going to be split this weekend. The Knicks can clinch with a victory in Game 5 on Saturday night. Tipoff will come shortly after Brazil and Morocco wrap a World Cup match in New Jersey, and it will directly overlap with a showdown between Scotland and Haiti.
鈥淚 want to watch all the World Cup games, but for us, the Knicks is still a priority,鈥� the 38-year-old Carson said while he and a friend viewed the World Cup opening ceremony at The Football Factory at Legends, a soccer bar near Madison Square Garden. 鈥淚鈥檒l probably catch the (soccer) recap after.鈥�
The , but even some diehard fans already have divided attention. Hours before sitting courtside for the Knicks’ at MSG, film director Spike Lee was clad in green and gold for a visit to Brazil’s training facility in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Brazil plays Morocco in its opener at East Rutherford, New Jersey, at 6 p.m., a match slated to end about 30 minutes before the NBA game starts in Texas. Scotland-Haiti in Massachusetts starts at 9 p.m.
The Football Factory has 20 screens, enough to satisfy all fandoms.
鈥淚 hope they put it to bed Saturday night, so we can just say, well done, Knicks. Have your parade, and that鈥檚 it. Now we can concentrate on the soccer,” said Jack Keane, the Irishman who owns The Football Factory.
Keane’s bar hosts supporters groups from Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Leeds and AC Milan. He estimated more than 2,000 people come through his bar on Wednesday night, when the Knicks won Game 4.
鈥淭he Knicks crowd was the same as the Champions League final crowd,” he said.
Keane’s bar was charging a $20 cover, with one drink included, for the Mexico-South Africa opener.
A 10-minute walk south and east, fans also were lined up to enter Smithfield Hall, which hosts the supporters clubs of Manchester United, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Roma and Marseille.
鈥淯sually for American sports, because they鈥檙e longer, people don鈥檛 like to stand,鈥� said Kieron Slattery, an Irishman who is Smithfield’s co-owner. 鈥淔or the Knicks right now, they鈥檙e standing. It鈥檚 like a soccer game atmosphere.鈥�
Most of the fans watching Thursday were New Yorkers, many of them originally from elsewhere.
Ryan Cole, a 44-year-old from Britain’s Southampton who has lived in New York for a dozen years, wore an England jersey and hopes to come up with a ticket for The Three Lions’ group-stage game against Panama on June 27. His grandfather, William Cole, was an English League linesman 鈥� he has a program with the grandpa’s name from a Manchester-Chelsea match in 1952.
鈥淵ou just see a wave of jerseys everywhere, which is amazing,鈥� he said of the soccer kits and Knicks gear. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just amazing to be in New York all the time, but now in particular with the Knicks, with the World Cup, with summer, couldn’t be happier.鈥�
One of his friends, 46-year-old Joel Ramirez, is a New York transplant from Dallas with Mexican parents. During the 2022 World Cup, he watched games at different ethnic restaurants that had ties to a team involved in the match, such as Brooklyn’s Sunset Park for Mexico. He thinks the soccer supporters will have greater numbers in the bars Saturday than Knicks fans.
鈥淭here’s going to be pound for pound a lot more football fans in the city,鈥� he said. 鈥淚’ll be watching both.”
New York City soccer bars open early on weekends for fans to watch lunchtime matches in England and Europe. The World Cup is different.
“When you look at the Premier League, it鈥檚 a niche market, still. There鈥檚 people who watch it, people who don鈥檛,鈥� Keane said. 鈥淭he World Cup is the big one. It鈥檚 the big party. Everyone鈥檚 got a shirt in the closet. Everyone鈥檚 going to claim either their own identity or a parent or a grandparent, get on the bandwagon.鈥�
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