With the announcement last week that the Roebling Inn [97 Atlantic Avenue] has been made an official Liverpool FCNY outpost, Premier League fans now have 3 bars to choose from to watch soccer matches from the UK on Atlantic Avenue.
Welcome to Football Row, if you will.
But is that going to cause some fisticuffs? Soccer brawls? Hooligan invasion? Courier Life reports:
Yournabe.com: “We’ve always shown the games, but it’s getting bigger,” said Chip Shop owner Chris Sall. “We’ve added a bunch of TVs two years ago, and even replaced the ones we had with larger screens.”
The restaurant is an official supporter of the Arsenal Football Club, based out of North London. When the games are on, you can enjoy some beer specials, as well as an English breakfast, which, given the early nature of these games here because of the time difference, is a big hit, said Sall.
“We’re the family venue,” he said. “It’s a safe environment where fathers can bring their sons in for games. You’re not going to hear drunken Liverpool supporters.”
That you can leave to the Roebling Inn, which is an official supporter of the Liverpool Club. Liverpool’s first game is against Chip Shop’s Arsenal on Aug. 15, and, given the two team’s long-seated rivalry, is going to be big. Just don’t expect as much drama between the two bars.
“I like the people at Chip Shop,” said Furlani. “I don’t predict any animosity.”
Floyd owner Sean Neill also speaks highly of his neighbors.
“We import a lot of English tradition, but not any kind of hooliganism,” said Neill, whose bar is known primarily for its indoor bocce ball courts but also for its devotion to the Spurs — not the basketball team, but the London-based Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. “I convinced Spurs supporters to locate to Floyd a year after we opened, around 2004,” he said.
Testament to that, signed shirts, photographs and flags all belonging to the North London team can be found throughout the bar.
“Spurs fans in the UK send us things or bring them on a visit all the time,” said Neill. “We seem to be well-known across the water.”
As for the BHB crew, we choose one of the lowest ranked teams to root for every year, which means West Ham United you’re our team! Let’s find a bar!
