Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport EditorFOUR YEARS ago World Cup fever gripped Jamaica as never before.
Of course the entire island, 'waggonists' and serious supporters included, were lined up behind the Reggae Boyz who were in France after reaching the greatest show on earth for the first time.
Jamaica failed to get to Japan/South Korea this time but the enthusiasm for the tournament remains high as diehard fans flock to sports bars and clubs in the wee hours of the morning to watch matches on big screens in between kicking up a storm on the dance floor.
Casson's on Braemar Avenue, Jamrock and Halftime Sports Bars on Knutsford Boulevard, all in the hip New Kingston area, are among the fun spots which have been pulling in the crowds on match nights since the tournament kicked off on May 31.
Josh James proprietor of Halftime Sports Bar says fans have shown great interest in matches.
"We have been showing the early game (1:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.) as we close at 4:00 a.m.," James, a native of India, said.
At Jamrock, the pre-match and post-match parties come alive on Friday and Saturday nights.
"We have Renaissance Disco in the house until just before match time. Then it's dancing again at halftime," Sandra Sachs, Jamrock's general manager, said.
"We have only been showing matches on weekend's but the crowd has been great with people supporting their favourite teams and dancing the night away, gulping down lots of X-ray, Appleton and overproof rum at discount prices," added Sachs, an Australian who has been living here for the past three years.
The place to be, however, is Casson's Pub and Restaurant. The pub has been deluged by fans nightly.
On Thursday night fans began flocking to Casson's from just after 9:00 p.m. more than four hours before Friday morning's Brazil-England clash dubbed the game of the tournament.
Fans were split down the middle in their support for the two teams. A huge cheer greeted the early England goal but Brazil's supporters, the majority local fans, had the last laugh as the South Americans were come-from-behind 2-1 winners.
Run by the husband and wife team of Gary and Debbie Casson, the 'English' pub has been making quite a name for itself since it was opened three years ago.
Casson's had a head start on its rivals as it has been showing live football from well before the World Cup kicked off and the those in the know have been inviting friends to the pub.
"We have been showing a lot of football like the English Premier League and the European League live with the feed coming out of the United States," Gary Casson, an Englishman who has been living here for nine years, said.
Casson's goes all the way through until the next morning for the World Cup. Merritone plays until 1 o'clock then it's match time.
"It has been incredible during the World Cup. We have had some really good crowds," Gary Casson said.
"People have been supporting all the top teams Brazil, England, France. There is a huge local support for Brazil, the Irish also had their supporters. It's been really good fun. We have good German support as well," he said.
His wife Debbie, a Jamaican, said they have always catered to a large expatriate crowd.
Many Jamaicans come here but it's probably 60-40 in favour of expatriates," she said.
She added: "We did breakfast matches and showed the FA Cup earlier this year. Gary is English so we do a lot of English food - fish and chips and steak and kidney pie. We are known as an English place."
