PHOTOS: Local fans take in World Cup game

Some media watchers expect this year's World Cup to be the most watched sporting event in history.  If you judge by the crowd at the Londoner, records could fall.

“This is pretty good, I've been here three days and this is the first place that's got the atmosphere and this is probably the best place I've been to,” said Jon Boultby, 21, from England.

Boultby was one of more than a dozen Brits on hand to watch the game at the Eastern Iowa bar.  They were expectedly outnumbered by USA fans.

The World Cup soccer tournament has a strong following – flags tied around shoulders strong.

“It gives you to opportunity to root for your country, as opposed to just within your country,” said Ryan Schroeder, 20, Cedar Rapids.

Amanda Jilek wasn't just rooting for team USA, she was also rooting for the sport.  She's played soccer since she was young.

“If we do really well, younger kids are going to want to jump on the bandwagon and play more and I think that's what happened in Europe.  They play really well and everyone is like, oh my gosh, I want to play too,” said Jilek, 21, Marion.

Soccer is widely considered the biggest sport in the world.  Even with the international appeal and intrigue, Iowa gets mentioned.

“They said Uruaguay has the same population as the state of Iowa.  I was like yeah, Iowa, we're on the map,” said Jilek.

The tournament happens once every four years.  the last time the USA played England in the World Cup was in 1950.  Back then, the USA team handed England an unexpected 1-0 defeat – making Saturday's game even more exciting.

In a twist of irony, the owner of the bar is Doug Graham.  He's from England and is a devoted soccer fan and the head coach of the Xavier girls soccer team.  He wasn't able to watch the World Cup game because the Xavier team was playing for the state 1A championship in Muscatine.

Xavier won.  The U.S. tied.

Photos by Jim Slosiarek

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