Saturday, June 12, 6 a.m.The bar is dark and quiet — on any other occasion it wouldn’t even be open.Still, even at this early hour, 60 or so eager-eyed patrons sit fixated in front of several HD TVs, enjoying beverages not typically enjoyed so early in the day.It’s the second day of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the bar is Finn McCool’s Irish Pub in New Orleans, an unofficial soccer headquarters for people of all creeds and countries.Finn McCool’s will be open for every early game during the month-long tournament and today will be perhaps its busiest of the year, as the United States will play England in one of the World Cup’s most anticipated games.The Bayou Militia has arrived at Finn McCool’s.Armed with American flags and support banners, the Bayou Militia is a New Orleans-area U.S. national team support club.Some national support groups have chapters across the country, but the Bayou Militia is purely local.”We didn’t see what the national federations had to offer,” said John Lamkin, one of the club’s co-founders. “In New Orleans we’re our own animal.”Lamkin arrived early with fellow founders Jeremy Corbett and Jonathan Walsh to set up for today’s clash. They got the idea “about two years ago” as a way of unifying American fans who frequented the bar. All three are regulars — Walsh is even the coach of the bar’s rec soccer team.”Supporters’ clubs have always been a part of soccer,” Corbett said. “Our goal is eventually go to a USA game live.”Lamkin hangs Bayou Militia banners to stake his territory directly in front of the bar’s gigantic projector. He said U.S. fans need all the numbers they can get to stave off the English fans, who are arriving later.”International fans pushed us to unite,” Lamkin said. “They’re not the most modest people — they like to think we can’t compete.”PregameThe crowd has endured two hours of soccer-less television while waiting.People are five-deep at the bar waiting on beer orders. The building itself, which was restored after  Katrina, is a sauna. The air conditioner long ago stopped keeping up with the humidity, and everyone in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd drips with sweat.”This is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” Lamkin said.Very few seem to care about the hot, cramped conditions, however.A locals news camera crew has arrived to film the fun, and chants of “USA! USA!” break out frequently.Anticipation doesn’t adequately describe the buzz in the air as the teams take the field. Fans, many of which have had this date circled since the game was announced in December, cheer every American player shown and boo any mention of England.One fan sports a shirt that reads “I’d rather support BP than England.”It all builds to a crescendo as the entire bar sings “The Star Spangled Banner.”As England sings its own anthem, “God Save the Queen,” the Americans give it a much harsher treatment. Boos rings out, and some more creative fans begin an unflattering cheer about Her Majesty.”[The fans] were a bit mean. They booed our anthem, which was disrespectful,” said Sarah Eldon, an England native working an internship in New Orleans. “Of course, we probably would have done that too.”It’s not easy being GreenAmerican midfielder Clint Dempsey stuns the English when his half-hearted shot on goal trickles through the hands of England goalkeeper Robert Green to tie the game.Finn McCool’s reacts similarly to Tiger Stadium’s student section — beer sprays across the crowd, fans jump into each other’s arms and cheer, and the bar breaks into a cacophony of boos and laughter when the TV cuts to a shot of a disappointed David Beckham.”That’s [Green’s] last game for England — you can’t do that,” says Andy Smith, a New Orleans transplant from Grimsby, England. Smith is hardly fazed by the Americans’ surprising goal — he still expects an England win,                    hopefully “by two or three goals.”His friend, Scotland native June Roe, has far more confidence in the Americans’ chances of hanging with her country’s long-standing rival.”I knew America would come through because they have the hearts of Bravehearts,” Roe said.Call it a drawThe game ends as a 1-1 draw, but that doesn’t do justice to the stress and emotion felt by the fans, who are fixed to the TVs.The crowd groans each time England nears the U.S. goal, and it cheers each time American goalkeeper Tim Howard makes a save.”You get nervous,” Lamkin said. “We never gave up the attack until the last five minutes.”The final whistle sounds, and U.S. players celebrate while the English team slumps off the field. The scene in the bar is similar, as Americans high-five and celebrate the draw, which gives them one point of a possible nine. English fans, whose team was widely regarded as the favorite, are satisfied with the result, if not entirely happy.Charles Brittingham, a University alumnus whose family is from England, is relieved to get a draw as a fan of both teams.”The key is getting both teams out of the group,” he said.Both teams must now play Slovenia and Algeria, the other two members of their first-round group. The two teams with the most points after three games advance to the tournament’s second round. Up next for the U.S. is Slovenia, the tournament’s smallest country.Kick off is 9 a.m. on Friday, and even after such a draining day, the Bayou Militia and soccer fans all over will be ready to go again.”We’ll all be here in full numbers on Friday,” Lamkin said.–Contact David Helman at [email protected]