Moving to Philadelphia... help a newbie out.

[dirtskier]

ok, so I'll be moving to Center City to go to school at Jefferson this august and need to know the soccer-related basics to the area. I've been to the city exactly twice in my life, so don't assume I know locations... but basically, what're the best places to take in a national team match/champion's league match, etc.

...I can't say that I'll actually have much time for bar-going, seeing as though I'm going to Jefferson, but knowing where i can go to not look like an ass wearing my "recuerden corea" scarf would be a big help.

[N-I-C-H-O]

Washington DC or New York City are the best place to see soccer right now, unfortunately. Live that is. and as for bars to watch games I'm as clueless as you.

[Dills]

for soccer-friendly pubs, may i suggest the dark horse (2nd and lombard), fado (15th and locust), and tir na nog (16th and arch, i think).

good luck at jeff.

[CyphaPSU]

I think Dillon has a good top three list there.

[Talleyville United]

http://www.darkhorsepub.com/flashIndex.php

The others referenced are good, I think the Dark Horse is the best.

Cheers!

[SoB Bolton]

http://www.darkhorsepub.com/flashIndex.php

The others referenced are good, I think the Dark Horse is the best.

Cheers!

If you can get through the labyrinth to find the upstairs bar, sure :)

[n4100]

If you can get through the labyrinth to find the upstairs bar, sure :)

Its not nearly that hard, go in, make a left up the stairs and there are 3 bars. Besides, it always gets good crowds, so it can't be that hard.

[Z010 Union]

I thought you had to make a right :confused:

But yes, small bar downstairs, 3 bars upstairs. Very nice.

[Dills]

Walk through front door
Go up a few stairs to landing
Turn left
Go up a flight of stairs
At top of stairs turn right
Walk approximately 8-10 feet
Turn left
Walk straight ahead, bypassing doorways to small bars on right and restrooms on left (you'll need to find your way to those later)
Go up 1 step, and keep walking until your forward movement is impeded
Buy a beer (or libation of your choice)

[Professor B]

I haven't lived in Philly for a couple of years but tir na nog was the best I found. They were more flexible in putting on games I wanted to see. And I found parking easier in that area of town (but if you're living in Center City that probably won't matter to you).

Dark Horse is good too, especially for the big European games. Big crouds produced a great atmosphere. But, at least a few years ago, they weren't that flexible in which games they would show. If they had other plans, too bad for you. That's ok; it's their bar. I just had better luck with tir na nog.

I found Fado to be the least flexible; I never knew them to show anything but games related to their core identity.

[Dills]

I found Fado to be the least flexible; I never knew them to show anything but games related to their core identity.
and as soon as 5 o'clock rolls around (on a weekday) they immediately put the news on the TVs, turn the music on, to cater to the happy hour and/or theater crowd. can really piss you off if you head there for the sole purpose of watching a game, even if it's a replay.

[SoB Bolton]

If you can get through the labyrinth to find the upstairs bar, sure :)

I was being facetious, hence the smiley! It didn't warrant 3 responses :)

[Dills]

I was being facetious
wasn't he that ancient chinese philosopher?

[Chims]

I used to live in West Philly and then Center City and would go to Fado's to watch matches. One big positive for me, given that I was a student at the time, was that for Premiership games on the weekends they did not have a cover charge. It was different for Celtic matches ($20 a head) and I'm pretty sure I paid a cover charge to watch EURO 2004 there. But I think I remember that Dark Horse did have a small fee to view EPL there, so that made a big difference for me.

[Dills]

fado charges a cover for 2 reasons ... the games are usually PPV and the Philadelphia Fado CSC [Celtic Supporters Club] is based there, hence their name.

sometimes i had to pay a cover at Tir na Nog to watch some arsenal matches too.

[SoccerPrime]

BTW excellent places to talk to Philly residents (besides this forum) is the PhillyBlog Forums at http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/index.php or the City-Data.com Philly Forum at http://www.city-data.com/forum/philadelphia/

[JamesTaylor]

Granted, it was the Carling Cup final, but I didn't have to pay a cover at Fado's in March to watch Chelsea get lucky against Arsenal.

[Z010 Union]

I thought you were at Catherine Rooney's for that game

[JamesTaylor]

I thought you were at Catherine Rooney's for that game

Um...What...?