Ahead of the World Cup, The Globe Pub Receives Top Sports Bar Honors
Stop by Northcenter landmark The Globe Pub for the next month or so and you’ll see a colorful United Nations’ worth of flags greeting you at the entrance. Chicago’s eminent neighborhood soccer bar is getting ready for the World Cup (the aforementioned flags represent each participating country), and over the next month, will be packed with Americans and expats from all over the globe (see what we did there?) cheering on their teams.
For nearly a decade, The Globe Pub has been a key player among Chicago’s international sports bar scene. Co-owner Stuart Johnston says he began generating traffic to the bar by offering the bar (and its jaw-dropping beer and cider selection) as a matchday home for supporters of popular English soccer clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal. Eventually, they expanded their coverage to include fans of other European leagues.
As the popularity of soccer has increased stateside, The Globe’s customer base has grown with it. Johnston credits some of this to the increased availability of soccer matches on TV outside pay-per-view, as well as to Americans falling in love with the sport while traveling or working abroad. “They have experienced the excitement of soccer,” he says. “There’s a full 90 minutes of action. And there’s the appeal of the traveling fans, too. Other than Bears fans going to Green Bay, you don’t see fans traveling much for away matches. But in soccer, fans really travel with the team, and there’s a real camaraderie.” Johnston cites the Chicago Fire supporters, many of whom are regulars at the pub, as an example.
But professional soccer fans aren’t the only ones who have found a home at The Globe. In addition to soccer and rugby, as well as the other major broadcast sports (NFL, college football, basketball, hockey, etc.), The Globe stays true to its name by opening its doors and broadcasting lesser-known but passionately loved sports. Once a year, the bar is the local home of the World Cyclo-Cross Championships (a sport that combines “cycling and cross-country running,” as Johnston explains), and 60-80 cyclo-cross enthusiasts come to watch. Rowing fans flock to The Globe every year to watch a broadcast of the famed Oxford vs. Cambridge boat race. Last year, when Francis Parker High School made the state finals for soccer, The Globe streamed the match so students and parents who couldn’t travel to watch could still cheer on their team.
“We’ve always tried to deliver the best service that we can,” Johnston says. “If there’s a sporting event someone wants, we’ll do our best to find it.” It’s that kind of commitment to giving sports fans from around the world a little piece of home in Northcenter that gave The Globe the honor of being named the Best Sports Bar in America by Nightclub & Bar Magazine, the industry publication perhaps best known as the producers of the hit TV show, Bar Rescue.
"The Globe Pub is first and foremost a neighborhood destination, but there is a difference," writes Mary-Kate Dunphy. "They want their guests to feel at home whether they live on the same block or are tourists visiting from out of town looking to keep up with their favorite sports team." We couldn’t agree more, and are thrilled to see The Globe get the national recognition it deserves!
The World Cup begins Thursday, June 12th, and Johnston advises footy-mad fans to get to the bar at least an hour before kickoff, with some supporters’ groups already staking out the place for big matches. BrazilChicago.com, the resource for Brazilian visitors and expats in the Windy City, named The Globe as its headquarters for World Cup watch parties. But fans of all teams are welcome, and the team will be trying something new this year. Johnston calls it the “Mom Cam”: a security camera set up in each bar whose footage will be streamed all over the world. This way, supporters at the bar can use the cameras to connect with family and friends abroad and cheer on their teams together. A big wide world, coming together in a bar right here in our neighborhood.
