JUST JOLLEY WORLD CUP TOUR 2006


New York City is a very opinionated kind of town. “Tell it like is” may just be the official city motto. That is precisely why I love and live in this town. If Texas was known for its hospitality, then NYC must be known for its brutal and direct honesty. This is one of the many reasons why there may not be a better place to be during a World Cup summer outside of Germany. Walk into literally thousands of bars and restaurants from June 9th through July 9th and you’ll get a World Cup watching experience that you will not find anywhere else in the world. Bars, in all of their great diversity and national attachment, will be packed with supporters watching with bated breath as their homelands fight for glory in a sporting contest that simply has no equal. You name a country in the World Cup and I’ll name you a section of the city or restaurant that will be packed with fans watching THEIR team compete this summer. My goal is to meet, greet, debate and enjoy the experience with every single one of them.

Back in the summer of 2002, Paul Grafer, my wife and I decided to go on a little adventure. We collectively decided to try in visit as many places as we could in the city to watch the World Cup. South Korea was playing, lets go to the Korean section of the city. France was on that night, hey, lets head over to that great bistro that we read about in Time Out New York. You get the idea -- an idea that created one of my greatest summer memories. Since I’m back in The City, why not try to do it again, but only this time, I would like for you to join me in all the fun.

Here is how I hope it will work. Everyday, after watching games at a particular bar or restaurant, I will write about the games and the experience/stories that happened that day on the team’s website http://www.nyredbulls.com and at http://www.justjolley.blogspot.com/. In the blog, I will also add the next day’s location for OUR watching party. It is my hope that within days we will be a group that travels throughout the city enjoying the culture, food and camaraderie that only New York City can offer. Simple idea really -- just me with a backpack full of Red Bull talking about, debating, and enjoying the games with a variety of soccer fans in an atmosphere that only New York City can offer.

Let me warn you now about this daily blog, though. If you’re looking for some heady debate about specific match-ups, the tactical diversity of a specific team or long-winded soliloquies on why this is the “beautiful game,” you are reading the wrong blog. The key to this adventure is not necessarily the blog, but the experience of enjoying an afternoon in the city with thousands of soccer fans, watching the greatest sporting event in the world.

I may make my living playing soccer, but I am and always will be, a fan of the sport – a sport known for its wonderful cultural diversity that separates it from any other sport known to man. I happen to live in a city that parallels the same principle. I look forward to spending an afternoon with you. You bring the passion. I’ll bring the free Red Bull.

First Location on the Just Jolley World Cup 2006 Tour (Friday 11:30am):

Heidelberg Restaurant (German)
1648 Second Avenue (between 85th and 86th Street)
Manhattan
212-650-1385

The Heidelberg Restaurant, located in Yorkville, the traditionally German section of the Upper East Side of Manhattan has just the right ambiance for enjoying classic German cuisine and watching a World Cup game. Wagner and oompah-pah-pah bands alternate as background music, German flags grace the walls, and wooden knick-knacks from Bavaria are scattered here and there. A trellis-like screen divides the restaurant into two sections: the bar and smoking area; and the more sedate dining room where local families gather for hearty portions of their favorite German dishes.