I imagine a lot of you like soccer as much as I do. Meaning, not that much.
I have nothing against the sport, but baseball is my drug of choice, and football Sundays are second behind that. My friends who are into European soccer sometimes wake up around 6 a.m. on a weekend to see a game. I’m very content with a 7 p.m. first pitch.
But Friday night, June 12, I put on my bluest shirt and shoes and headed down to Brady Street in Milwaukee to watch the United States play Paraguay in its opening match of the 2026 World Cup.
The plan was to watch at noted soccer bar Nomad World Pub, 1401 E. Brady St., which has outdoor seating and a fan zone with a massive TV. I could have also gone to the Highbury Pub, Moran’s Pub or any other places listed in the Journal Sentinel’s watch party guide.
Nomad was completely packed. I barely got in before the game started and that was only because a group of nine people decided to leave during the national anthems. There wasn’t a seat to be found once I was in the fan zone. So a note to fans: Show up more than an hour early if you want a seat.
Steven Arthur was waiting in the long Nomad line for a chance to watch the game. He said it’s important to be out in these environments with cheering fans.
“You don’t really see people get out for soccer like this in the U.S.,” Arthur said. “I am excited to see it happen.”
His friend, Lukas Schwenke, agreed. He said he had been to other bars to watch games, but Nomad was the place to be.
”It just makes it more fun,” Schwenke said. “I could have just sat at home on my couch with [Arthur] tonight. I think it’s Important to get out and support your national team.”
I saw the first U.S. goal at Nomad and, let me tell you, cheering while elbow-to-elbow with the person next to you is an experience worth having. There was a buzz at Nomad you just can’t get at home. It helped that the U.S. handily beat Paraguay, 4-1.
The U.S. is expected to advance out of the group stage and win a game or two in the single-elimination part of the tournament. The men’s team has yet to win the World Cup. Its best finish is third in 1930.
For Arthur, his heart tells him the U.S. is winning it all. Realistically, he agrees that going a round or two in the knockout stages is the expected outcome.
Knowing nothing the team, its performance against Paraguay makes me think it could win it all. I was in the bathroom for the second goal – 100% of my bathroom breaks led to goals – which means I might have a secret method to help the team win.
I eventually bar-hopped to Saint Bibiana, 1327 E. Brady St. Remember those bluest shoes I wore? They’re style over comfort, so it wasn’t long before my feet hurt and I needed to sit down.
Brady Street was buzzing as it usually was, but it had a clear soccer flair. Jerseys from random players and random countries filled the street. Ubers moved like an assembly line, dropping off more jersey-clad fans, and the bars only got more and more full as the night went on. Many “USA!” chants broke out and fans celebrated the fourth goal as hard as they celebrated the first.
Arthur said before the game that he was looking forward to the cheering fans. And they had plenty to cheer for.
“I couldn’t be happier. We have a great team,” he said before the game. “I’m excited to see us play.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: I went to a packed World Cup watch party on Brady Street in Milwaukee
Reporting by Blaise Mesa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Blaise Mesa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
