Cup craze kicks off

Jeff Skokna surveys the crowd inside the George & Dragon Pub in Fremont, jammed wall-to-wall, sweltering, yelling, pouring down pitchers and pints. Feels like a Friday night, says Skokna, who works the door. There's even a line of about 30 waiting to get in.

Except it's 9:30 in the morning.

The World Cup soccer tournament began Friday, and an estimated 200 fans packed the English pub to watch the opener on television, many arriving as early as 8 a.m. to snag prime seating for the 9 a.m. start.

"Even my girlfriend knows — I can't be expected to do a lot things this month because I'm watching a lot of soccer," says Gregg Schneuer, 38, a Port of Seattle employee, after pinning a German flag under one of the television screens.

Some admit skipping work for a few hours, calling in sick or taking a vacation day, simply to revel in the realization of the four-year buildup since the last World Cup.

The international gathering at the pub included those born in Kenya, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Austria, Korea and the two countries in the opening match, Costa Rica and Germany.

The crowd chomps down scrambled eggs and toast instead of burgers and fries. Many wear soccer jerseys. A few wave flags and blow horns. One painted his face red.

Coffees in hand, Rovven Eifert and his girlfriend Michaela Strunz arrived early to grab one of the benches. Eifert, a German soldier from the city of Freising, near Munich, and Strunz are visiting the United States for a few weeks, stopping in Seattle to see friends.

"It's 9 in the morning and I can't believe it," Eifert says. "The pub is full."

Their national pride swells with the thought of their homeland hosting a world championship.

"I have goosebumps all the time," Strunz says.

They erupt with the rest of the pub's mostly pro-German crowd when Philipp Lahm delivers Deutschland's first goal in the sixth minute.

"It's like a party," Eifert says. "But in the morning."

Jon Mozeika, a University of Washington student, walks up to the bar and orders a pitcher of beer. A lifelong soccer fan, he says he intends to watch all 64 games. But he catches himself later.

"I got to miss the Sweden game because of graduation," he says. "I'm not happy about that."

Peter Hauser, 34, is an Austrian native now at UW researching kidneys. Austria and Germany are rivals, so he roots for whoever's playing the Germans.

He collected World Cup trading cards as a kid, starting when he was about 6 years old. Every four years, he recalls, the companies released a new batch of cards with stadiums, players and teams.

"It's like baseball here," Hauser says. "Some people say soccer's like a mythical event, a communion."

Vlastimil Weinar, 27, installs shelves at a construction site. He should have been at work at 8 a.m. but he pushed the start of his workday back to noon.

Weinar, who was born in the Czech Republic, believes soccer has become more accessible than ever, with cable sources like ESPN and the Fox Soccer Channel, and more bars like the George & Dragon, showing all the big games.

Still, he says, "I'm surprised it's this crowded."

Weinar, who applied unsuccessfully for one of the reported 3 million World Cup tickets made available via lottery, anticipates a bigger crowd for today's 6 a.m. game featuring England versus Paraguay.

Standing nearby, Aldofo Fuentes clearly belongs in the Costa Rican camp. His arms and white sleeveless T-shirt are adorned with encouragements to his team in Spanish. Fuentes is an architect from the Costa Rican city of Alajuela, here on a training program.

On his back is written "Jose Capmany," the name of the Costa Rican rock pioneer, and a source of national inspiration, who died in a 2001 car accident.

"I'm trying to bring his spirit here for our team for the game," Fuentes says.

Fuentes shouts, "Vamos muchachos!" ("Let's go, guys!"), when striker Paulo Wanchope knocks in the second of his two goals, pulling Costa Rica to within 3-2.

But Germany pulls away and wins 4-2. The loss official, a sullen Fuentes kisses his girlfriend and prepares to leave. A few patrons slap him on the back or shake his hand. They tell him Costa Rica gave it a good try.

"The spirit of Capmany is still here," Fuentes says. "We have two more games to get on to the second round. That's it. Now it's time to go back to work."

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com