Denver has an official bar for Iceland World Cup supporters
Calling all Icelanders: Per agreement with the consulate of your tiny country — the smallest ever to qualify for soccer’s FIFA World Cup — the Celtic Tavern in LoDo has been named the official Denver bar for Iceland supporters during the quadrennial spectacle, which begins next week in Russia.
Also welcome are the countless fans of other nationalities who have adopted the Iceland team out of admiration for its underdog emergence in the world’s most popular game. Iceland is the size of Kentucky and has a population slightly larger than Aurora.
The Celtic Tavern, one of Denver’s top soccer pubs at 1400 Market St., will be stocking Reyka, an Icelandic vodka, for the occasion.
Iceland captured the hearts of soccer fans worldwide in 2016 when the team went to the Euro pean Championships — having never participated in a major tournament before — and
survived group play to reach the knockout phase. Then they ousted mighty England 2-1 in the Round of 16, prompting England manager Roy Hodgson to quit on the spot.
Iceland lost to France in the quarterfinals but qualified for the World Cup last October. Celtic Tavern general manager Noel Hickey quickly reached out to the consulate.
“The main thing was, in the European Championships when they beat England, there was such a huge following for them,” Hickey said. “Even C38, the Rapids’ supporters group, have adopted their Viking Clap every time there’s a corner (kick). A lot of teams have kind of fell in love with them, and I was one of them.
“These guys, they were out fishing two years ago, and now they’re in the World Cup. It’s absolutely an incredible story.”
The U.S. didn’t qualify this time for the world’s biggest sporting event, which begins June 14 and ends July 15. Also on the outs are perennial soccer powers Italy and The Netherlands.