New York’s Best Bars for Watching British Football

Rosie, rooting for Tottenham, and Mark, rooting for Manchester United, at Brooklyn’s Black Horse Pub.
“A true Londoner would never support Manchester United, I was told,” Craig Taylor writes in this week’s London-centric issue of the magazine. When I ran into my friend Sulimon on Sunday at Brooklyn’s Black Horse Pub to watch Man U. play my team, Tottenham Hotspur, he disagreed. Born and bred in Brixton, Sulimon resolutely counts himself as a true Londoner — but he has been a United supporter since age 5. “A true Mancunian can never be a United supporter,” he said by way of correction. “They’re all Man City supporters. The rest of the country supports United.” Fighting words.
Still, London clubs currently account for 5 of the 20 teams in the Barclays Premier League, the highest stratum of British football: Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur. Here in New York, transplanted Londoners and their American sympathizers come together at bars, often at appallingly early weekend morning hours — 7:45 kickoff, anyone? — to watch their teams play in the company of fellow fans. Here’s a primer of where to go, by team preference:
Arsenal: The NYC Arsenal Supporters club watches at the Blind Pig, 233 East 14th Street, in Manhattan. Another local Arsenal fan club, NY Gooners, convenes at Legends, 6 West 33rd Street, where the beloved former Nevada Smith’s barman Jack Keane started the Football Factory — a home away from home for fans of a multitude of international teams, showing more than 100 matches every week.
Chelsea or Fulham: The Football Factory is also the preferred meeting place for the New York Blues, a substantial local Chelsea supporters’ club, as well as for fans of Chelsea’s neighboring Fulham F.C.
Queens Park Rangers: Devotees of this new addition to the Premier League congregate at Veronica’s Bar, 34-04 36th Avenue, in Queens.
Tottenham: The NY Spurs supporters’ club takes in weekend matches at Floyd, 131 Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn, and the rarer weekday games at Manhattan’s Perdition, 692 10th Avenue. I prefer the low-key scene at the Black Horse at 568 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn. It’s a welcoming spot for fans of many teams — there’s a good mix — but Spurs supporters always make a good showing (in no small part because Brian, the owner, is one of us).
Some fans prefer to watch in the comfort and isolation of their own living rooms — undisturbed by the chatter of strangers and free to chew their fingernails off and curse at the television in privacy. I love the camaraderie at a good soccer bar, where we can rejoice, lament, cheer, cringe, argue and drink together. On Sunday, there was no rejoicing for me: my beloved Spurs played well but lost to Man U., 3-1. Sulimon and I politely shook hands. And Mark, another United supporter in the house (shown with me in the photo above), was gracious enough to treat me to a pint. It helped take the edge off.
What about those of you in the rest of the country? Where do you go to cheer on the world’s game?