Wimbledon:
At 3 p.m., those who packed the All England Club were forced to confront the ultimate fan quandary. Namely, fully capitalize on impossible to obtain Wimbledon tickets or leave to watch England's crucial World Cup match.
Katrina Marshall and Monica Finlayson, friends from Hampshire, England, created their own solution. They sat inside Cafe Pergola, sipping tea, with one eye on the tennis scoreboards and another on the portable television they tuned to the World Cup.
Already, they had spent half of their time watching Andy Roddick and the other half searching for batteries for the TV. At 3.22, when England scored against Slovenia, Marshall and Finlayson turned to each other, their smiles competing to stretch widest.
"Absolutely, we can do both," Marshall said.
Imagine: the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament and an N.F.L. playoff game, with teams of national importance, held on the same day at the same time. Wimbledon anticipated potential conflicts months ago and decided not to show World Cup matches in public areas, lest rabid fans interrupt play on the outer courts.
Two birds, one stone? Not here. Not here for sports fans.
But Wimbledon could not have anticipated how the World Cup unfolded, with England and the United States playing simultaneously and the outcomes deciding whether either or both would advance.
At 1:45, Roddick lost the first set of his second-round match to Michael Llodra of France. John Isner of the United States and Nicolas Mahut of France took the court for the fifth set of their match, which had been suspended the night before.
"Busy day for the Americans," the cashier in the media cafeteria said.
Shortly before the soccer games started, a steady stream of multitaskers headed toward the Gate 4 exit, extending their wrists for bracelets that would allow re-entry. One guard said the traffic seemed heavier than normal.
This was still Wimbledon, so the departing did not exactly constitute an exodus. Henman Hill was still filled to capacity. All over, the grounds were packed. One fan even read a book.
Not Patrick Keane, 56. He sat with his family, alternately eating lunch and listening to the soccer match on his radio. Despite his low opinion of the national team's play -- he termed it "rubbish" and "disgraceful" before Wednesday -- his decision to attend Wimbledon had been easy.
"I have Centre Court tickets," he said. "I can always watch the highlights later on."
Outside of Wimbledon, the focus shifted sharply. At 3:35, on the walk up Marryat Road toward Wimbledon Village, landscapers listened to soccer from the radio of their truck. A man wearing a Wimbledon work uniform walked down the hill wearing headphones.
In the village, at the Rose and Crown, hundreds gathered around TVs toward the end of the first half. They were framed by giant tennis balls hanging from the ceiling and a fake Wimbledon scoreboard in the courtyard.
Nigel Kennedy and his wife, Maria, used their official Wimbledon seat cushions inside the bar. Nigel Kennedy had worked that morning before watching Roddick and walking up the hill for soccer. He planned to attend Novak Djokovic's match that afternoon. His only issue: Wimbledon's non-World Cup policy.
"It's silly," he said. "They should have put it on somewhere. It doesn't make any sense. Look at the number of people flooding out."
In the courtyard, a pair of well-dressed gentlemen downed lagers with Centre Court tickets hanging on lanyards around their necks. They left the tournament shortly before the soccer started and instructed the taxi driver to take them to the nearest pub -- with a TV. Both declined to give their names because they were supposed to be at work.
"England gets in the World Cup every four years," one said. "We don't have any amazing English tennis players. While it's fantastic to watch tennis and the tradition of it, if you're going to support your country, you watch football, simple as that."
At 4 o'clock, Serena Williams posted complaints about the officiating in the United States soccer game on her Twitter account.
"I have never seen such injustic since I played us open 2004, and 2009... Also Venus Wimbledon 2004," she wrote.
The soccer fans at Fox and Hounds knew little of said injustice. They filled every inch of available space in the pub, tourists with backpacks and businessmen in suits and Wimbledon re-entry bracelets on what seemed like half of the wrists.
At 4:40, England nearly scored again, only to have its goal disallowed. Tension returned. Euphoria disappeared. One fan pushed away his fish and chips.
After his second-round victory, Roddick said, "There's so much stimulus going on right now between the World Cup and Isner's match and everything else."
He was right. England beat back Slovenia's final scoring attempt. Landon Donovan scored an impossibly late goal for the United States to beat Algeria. Both countries advanced to the World Cup's knockout stage.
Paul Halter lives five minutes from the All England Club, and he sat at the base of Henman Hill, listening to soccer, watching the giant scoreboard and finishing a beer. Perfect day, he said. Then he pointed to the scoreboard.
Isner was still playing.
Katrina Marshall and Monica Finlayson, friends from Hampshire, England, created their own solution. They sat inside Cafe Pergola, sipping tea, with one eye on the tennis scoreboards and another on the portable television they tuned to the World Cup.
Already, they had spent half of their time watching Andy Roddick and the other half searching for batteries for the TV. At 3.22, when England scored against Slovenia, Marshall and Finlayson turned to each other, their smiles competing to stretch widest.
"Absolutely, we can do both," Marshall said.
Imagine: the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament and an N.F.L. playoff game, with teams of national importance, held on the same day at the same time. Wimbledon anticipated potential conflicts months ago and decided not to show World Cup matches in public areas, lest rabid fans interrupt play on the outer courts.
Two birds, one stone? Not here. Not here for sports fans.
But Wimbledon could not have anticipated how the World Cup unfolded, with England and the United States playing simultaneously and the outcomes deciding whether either or both would advance.
At 1:45, Roddick lost the first set of his second-round match to Michael Llodra of France. John Isner of the United States and Nicolas Mahut of France took the court for the fifth set of their match, which had been suspended the night before.
"Busy day for the Americans," the cashier in the media cafeteria said.
Shortly before the soccer games started, a steady stream of multitaskers headed toward the Gate 4 exit, extending their wrists for bracelets that would allow re-entry. One guard said the traffic seemed heavier than normal.
This was still Wimbledon, so the departing did not exactly constitute an exodus. Henman Hill was still filled to capacity. All over, the grounds were packed. One fan even read a book.
Not Patrick Keane, 56. He sat with his family, alternately eating lunch and listening to the soccer match on his radio. Despite his low opinion of the national team's play -- he termed it "rubbish" and "disgraceful" before Wednesday -- his decision to attend Wimbledon had been easy.
"I have Centre Court tickets," he said. "I can always watch the highlights later on."
Outside of Wimbledon, the focus shifted sharply. At 3:35, on the walk up Marryat Road toward Wimbledon Village, landscapers listened to soccer from the radio of their truck. A man wearing a Wimbledon work uniform walked down the hill wearing headphones.
In the village, at the Rose and Crown, hundreds gathered around TVs toward the end of the first half. They were framed by giant tennis balls hanging from the ceiling and a fake Wimbledon scoreboard in the courtyard.
Nigel Kennedy and his wife, Maria, used their official Wimbledon seat cushions inside the bar. Nigel Kennedy had worked that morning before watching Roddick and walking up the hill for soccer. He planned to attend Novak Djokovic's match that afternoon. His only issue: Wimbledon's non-World Cup policy.
"It's silly," he said. "They should have put it on somewhere. It doesn't make any sense. Look at the number of people flooding out."
In the courtyard, a pair of well-dressed gentlemen downed lagers with Centre Court tickets hanging on lanyards around their necks. They left the tournament shortly before the soccer started and instructed the taxi driver to take them to the nearest pub -- with a TV. Both declined to give their names because they were supposed to be at work.
"England gets in the World Cup every four years," one said. "We don't have any amazing English tennis players. While it's fantastic to watch tennis and the tradition of it, if you're going to support your country, you watch football, simple as that."
At 4 o'clock, Serena Williams posted complaints about the officiating in the United States soccer game on her Twitter account.
"I have never seen such injustic since I played us open 2004, and 2009... Also Venus Wimbledon 2004," she wrote.
The soccer fans at Fox and Hounds knew little of said injustice. They filled every inch of available space in the pub, tourists with backpacks and businessmen in suits and Wimbledon re-entry bracelets on what seemed like half of the wrists.
At 4:40, England nearly scored again, only to have its goal disallowed. Tension returned. Euphoria disappeared. One fan pushed away his fish and chips.
After his second-round victory, Roddick said, "There's so much stimulus going on right now between the World Cup and Isner's match and everything else."
He was right. England beat back Slovenia's final scoring attempt. Landon Donovan scored an impossibly late goal for the United States to beat Algeria. Both countries advanced to the World Cup's knockout stage.
Paul Halter lives five minutes from the All England Club, and he sat at the base of Henman Hill, listening to soccer, watching the giant scoreboard and finishing a beer. Perfect day, he said. Then he pointed to the scoreboard.
Isner was still playing.
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