Hundreds of England fans battled Texas-sized distances to gather in a packed pub on the eve of the Three Lions World Cup opener.
Supporters created a sea of St George’s flags, turned out in fancy dress and sang popular chants as they descended on the Londoner pub on Mockingbird Lane in the hot Dallas sunshine on Tuesday.
Organiser John Gallivan, 39, told the Press Association the scale of Texas had made it far harder for fans to find each other than at previous tournaments in Europe.
He said well-known England fans Andy Milne, Steve Bracknell and the Tango Man would all be in attendance at the event, saying the party atmosphere was “what we come away for”.
The event comes the night before England’s first game at the AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington against Croatia.
He said: “America’s massive, it’s so big, so vast. When we go to Europe, it’s really easy – you know where you’re going to be. You don’t have to ask, you don’t have to look, you just know where we’re going to be. In America, that’s impossible – so the whole idea of today was to just find somewhere, get them to put a deal on the beer and then advertise it.”
There was no police presence at the event as supporters wearing England-themed costumes and draped in St George’s flags filled the pub throughout the evening, with chants of “It’s Coming Home” and “Don’t take me home” breaking out as more fans arrived.
Mr Gallivan said the event had grown far beyond his expectations after sharing it on social media.
“We’ve been here since 4pm and it’s been grand. I feel sorry for the bar staff,” he said. “I pushed it so hard, I think I was an event planner in another life. I put it on the supporters’ travel club Facebook page and it’s just spiralled and spiralled and spiralled – and we’ve got Andy Milne, Steve Bracknell, Tango Man – they’re all coming here tonight. So it kind of sells itself. If you’re an England fan and you want to sing and drink, come here.”
The event was ultimately shut down by police just before 10pm, with the venue at maximum capacity and only two security guards on duty. Despite multiple police vehicles arriving at the scene to ensure the bar was vacated, England fans remained in their numbers on the venue’s balcony.
According to the Londoner pub, it was estimated more than 5,000 beers were sold at the event, including 2,352 bottles of beer, generating more than £30,000 in sales.
Earlier, Mr Gallivan said many regular England supporters had been unable to make the trip because of the cost of attending the tournament. He said: “I think the way FIFA have managed it, it’s been disgraceful. We’ve been dealt a bad hand. We could have brought so many more out here, but sadly they’ve been outpriced. People that I spent time with in Albania and Latvia and had a really good night with, who go home and away, they’ve been priced out of it and that’s not right. They shouldn’t have been.”
He said he was already looking ahead to England’s next group game in Boston, where he hoped to organise another gathering for travelling supporters. “I’ve reached out to several outlets in Boston and I’m waiting to see who can do the best deal,” he said. “Whoever can do the best deal, I’ll get everyone to go there.”
Mr Gallivan also said England supporters had received a warm welcome from Texans since arriving in the United States. He said: “Anywhere I go, whether it’s buying a drink in a shop or ordering food, as soon as I order, they go, ‘Oh wait, where are you from? Britain? England?’. They’re excited to have you here. So that whole narrative that England are disliked is not true at all.”
For Mr Gallivan, the atmosphere created by fellow supporters before kick-off is as important as the football itself. “That’s literally what we come away for,” he said. “To be honest, this is more to me than the actual match. The night before every England game is what we’re here for – the singing, the dancing, the whole lot. There might even be karaoke later, who knows?”
