The crowds were so huge at downtown San Jose’s San Pedro Square the second time Mexico’s World Cup match was broadcast on two huge, outdoor screens that O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub reached capacity before the game even began.
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“We had 10 security guards, arms locked, because the crowds kept pushing in on top of us,” said David Mulvehill, a partner in O’Flaherty’s and several other restaurants and bars just off Santa Clara Street. “We had people rush and jump into our patio just to go into the bar.”
San Pedro Square expected 10,000 fans. Organizers say they drew nearly 25,000 for Mexico’s game vs. South Korea last week.
Fans belted out more national anthems than caused trouble, but organizers say they’ll be better prepared Wednesday night when Mexico plays again, this time against Czechia at 6 p.m.
The San Jose Sports Authority is adding at least one more street-spanning screen and extending the outdoor viewing area for an extra block in three directions to spread out the crowd.
For downtown San Jose, still recovering from the pandemic doldrums that emptied office buildings, World Cup watch parties have ignited shockingly large and remarkably peaceful crowds. San Jose Police, which orchestrated safety planning, said they have responded to only a handful of minor incidents. In the East Bay, fans can watch on big screens at Raimondi Park, Oakland Marriott City Center and NIDO’s Backyard. Thrive City surrounding Chase Center in San Francisco is bustling.
But San Jose is the epicenter of Bay Area fandom, home to the Earthquakes professional soccer team where locals grew up in the 1970s with “Krazy George” Henderson in the stands riling up the crowds. Some 30 percent of the city’s population — about 316,000 people — have soccer-loving Latino roots, most from Mexico.
“You can never ever underestimate the fan base of Mexico — the pride and passion they bring,” said John Poch of the San Jose Sports Authority, a nonprofit that brings sporting events to the region. It is erecting the extra screens at San Pedro Square and developed an app for fans to find watch parties from San Jose’s Little Saigon to Little Italy, along with restaurants and open parking spots.
That should alleviate the number of fans leaning out from the upper decks of the parking garage last week to catch a glimpse of the festivities below. And it should help solve arguably a bigger problem that stymied the owner of the Wagon Wheel Saloon — clearing a path through the crowd to allow semi trucks in to restock the bar with beer.
“If you have a pallet of beer kegs and you can’t get in, you’ve got to help them out,” said Sonny Walters, who is re-upping his food and drink orders to every day from two or three times a week during the planned six weeks of World Cup festivities.
Centering the fan activities in San Pedro Square, Poch said, was a way to “reward these restaurants of ours that survived the pandemic and be able to do an event to create vibrancy downtown.”
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Amy Cortes, 22, grew up in San Jose and was part of the San Pedro Square crowd during Mexico’s game last week and plans to be back on Wednesday.
“I was having so much FOMO from not being in Mexico, because I have a lot of family over there celebrating,” Cortes said. “So to have a space here of our own to be able to celebrate is something very, very cool to me.”
On Monday morning — a normally quiet day at San Pedro Square market — the smell of brisket from the Wagon Wheel wafted through the air as fans in soccer jerseys from Paraguay and hijabs from Algeria cheered on Argentina’s Lionel Messi as he scored two goals against Austria, breaking the all-time FIFA World Cup scoring record with a total of 18 goals. Paraguay and Algeria are both playing at the Santa Clara stadium.
“It’s wonderful. It’s very lively. The weather feels great,” said Ryma Mah, 31, who was born in Algeria and raised in Dallas. “Everyone talks to you. The people are very welcoming.”
Fernando Parra, 31, traveled from San Diego “mostly for the vibes” of the World Cup.
“The crowds have been pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s really cool to see the cultures come together.”
The South Bay staged watch parties in February for the Super Bowl, played at Levi’s stadium, which is also playing host to six World Cup matches, including the U.S. Men’s National Team knock-out match July 1. But San Francisco was the real Super Bowl hub with the NFL Experience festivities headquartered at the Moscone Center — the only convention center in the region big enough to accommodate it.
Now the World Cup has put the spotlight on San Jose.
“There’s a palpable feeling and energy walking throughout downtown with World Cup festivities and we know that’s only going to grow with the USA match next week,” said Brian Kurtz, CEO of the San Jose Downtown Association.
San Pedro Square is committed to broadcasting all 104 World Cup matches spanning 39 days. And no matter what time they start, fans will be able to buy a beer at San Pedro Square.
“Whether it’s 9 o’clock in the morning or 9 o’clock at night,” Mulvehill from O’Flaherty’s said. “We’ve committed to open for every game.”
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