The Republic of Ireland’s questionable elimination from this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament doesn’t appear to be hurting local sales of rashers and eggs too badly. Special correspondent Alex Burchfield reports from Fado Irish Pub in Chinatown, where more than a dozen people had gathered even before today’s 7:30 a.m. kick-off between Honduras and Chile:

6th minute-Decent mix of fans. Mostly families with some kids and a couple of die-hard Chile fans sitting right in front of the huge flat-screen. With the exception of two people in front of me, everyone is speaking in Spanish. Group of six Honduran women have some of those noise-making balloons. I’m having the $7 breakfast sandwich and coffee deal. Not bad. For $10, you can upgrade to a sandwich and beer. 

11th minute-Near miss by Chile. Hardcore Chilean fans sitting right in front of the screen shout, “Vamos! Vamos!” Then one says “concha,” which I believe is the equivalent of “pussy” in English. Chilean fans stomp in frustration.

19th minute-Non-Spanish speakers appear to have started on some Irish coffee. A toddler wearing a Honduras jersey is wandering around the bar.

29th minute-The first beer is served, but still no score.

34th minute- Gooool! Chile! Honduras supporters sit silently while Chile fans sitting up front bang on the table, screaming “Gooooool!”

38th minute-There seems to be more Honduras fans who are women. One of them covers her face with her hair and rocks back and forth after a near miss.

46th minute-Honduras fans shout all kinds of expletives after a foul by Chile.

55th minute-Honduras fans seem exceedingly concerned. One man hasn’t sat down in the last half hour. A woman behind me asks, “Why can’t we pass the ball?”

66th minute-All the men supporting Honduras are drinking now. The Honduran goalkeeper is keeping them alive.

78th minute-Woman behind me gripes, “We’re not looking good here. Vamos, hombres!” Kids are beating those damn noise-making balloons.

Final whistle-Honduras fans seem distraught, but no raucous celebration for Chile supporters. Place mostly clears out. Couple of guys stick around at the bar, but that’s about it.

A far sparser crowd (if you can call it that) turned out for the next match, starting around 10 a.m., pitting tourney favorite Spain against long-shot Switzerland:

1st minute-Only a couple Spain jerseys floating around. One guy is sitting right up front with his Guinness and Irish breakfast.

11th minute-Still a light crowd. Very quiet. Couple of older guys at the bar are having beers.

23rd minute-Near miss by Spain. Guy with the Guinness bangs both fists on the table. His buddy then shows up in a suit and asks, “Where’s your jersey?”

37th minute-Business crowd starting to roll in, but still not a whole lot happenin’.

 44th minute-Older guys at the bar groan as Spain blows a good opportunity.

 51st minute-Gooool! Swiss! Guy with the Guinness is pissed. Apparently, his friend in the suit is a Switzerland fan. He stands and shouts while clapping. He’s also drinking coffee. Far less alcohol consumption overall during this match.

69th minute-Spain’s shot shanks off the crossbar, eliciting synchronized ooohs from the spectators in the bar. Guy in the suit can’t sit down the game is so exciting.

Final whistle-Spainish fans look horrified. Others clap for a tremendous match.

Games resume at 7:30 a.m. Drinks at 8 a.m. Where to go? Consult our trusty guide: Where to Watch the World Cup.

Photo by Ludraman/Creative Commons Attribution License