World Cup No-Vuvuzelas Zones – Flights to Best Sports Bar Cities in U.S.
- Update June 23, 2010 – USA advances, beats Algeria – final score, 1-0
Been watching USA play in the World Cup? Good – some fascinating games, for the U.S. and all the teams involved (especially if you love controversy — and who doesn’t). But tell me: are you one of those people still wondering what the heck a vuvuzela is?
Vuvuzelas – A Soccer Tradition
Just ask any World Cup soccer fan: vuvuzelas are brightly colored, plastic trumpets that are favorite accessories at South African football (soccer) matches – fun “instruments” that the website SouthAfrica.info refer to as, “a beautiful noise”.
This is What a Vuvuzela Sounds Like:
Judge for yourself – this is the sound of the vuvuzela.
Beautiful? Well, I suppose there is beauty in the sound of a swarm of angry bees. However, vuvuzelas are also loud.
Our CEO’s daughter downloaded the Iphone App much to his chagrin evidently after 18 seconds …
Vuvuzelas can be Clinically Painful
Audio tests have demonstrated that the vuvuzela is an ear-blasting 127 decibels. So how loud is I ? Here’s a quick decibel comparison chart:
Decibels of Everyday Noise
- Motorcycle: 100 decibels
- Loud Rock Concert: 115 decibels
- Pneumatic Riveter: 125 decibels
- [Pain Begins]: 125 decibels
- Vuvuzela: 127 decibels
- Jet Engine: 140 decibels
Maybe now you’re not feeling too bad about not scoring those tickets to see some of the matches – but where can you go to see your favorites play?
Where is the Quietest Place on Earth?
According to the Guinness people, the “Quietest Place on Earth” (as of 2004) is an anechoic chamber at Orfield Labs in Minneapolis. However, since this is an acoustics research facility, they probably won’t let you bring in a TV to watch World Cup soccer there, so we came up with alternatives. Like, sports bars. Okay, they’re not all that quiet, but chances are you won’t find many vuvuzelas in them.
Easy-to-Find Sports Bars
Please note: there are many fine sports bars all over the country – we are just mentioning a few favorites since you’d need a book to list them all (in fact there is a book: “America’s Best Sports Bars“).
Anyway, if you fly to any of these cities, you’ll have no trouble finding the sports bar for you, with plenty of vuvuzela-free World Cup action, simply by googling “best sports bar world cup” and the city of your choice.
Flights to the Best Sports Bars in Chicago
- Sports Bar: Try Fado’s Irish Pub in River North for all 64 games
- Sample Flight: Memphis to Chicago, $215 roundtrip total in early July
- Find More Flights: FareCompare’s “When to Fly” Getaway Maps featuring deals from your airport
Flights to the Best Sports Bars in Dallas
- Sports Bar: Frankie’s Sports Bar (Hint: try the Carnivore pizza)
- Sample Flight: Atlanta to Dallas, $189 roundtrip total in early July
- Find More Flights: FareCompare’s “When to Fly” Getaway Maps featuring deals from your airport
Flights to the Best Sports Bars in Los Angeles
- Sports Bar: Longtime local favorite, Ye Olde King’s Head Tavern in Santa Monica
- Sample Flight: Kansas City to LA, $260 roundtrip total in early July
- Find More Flights: FareCompare’s “When to Fly” Getaway Maps featuring deals from your airport
Flights to the Best Sports Bars in Minneapolis
- Sports Bar: More than 70 sports bars in the Twin Cities offer “World Cup Specials” and here’s the list (Hint: look for bars with English or Irish names)
- Sample Flight: Indianapolis to Minneapolis, $259 roundtrip total in early July
- Find More Flights: FareCompare’s “When to Fly” Getaway Maps featuring deals from your airport
Flights to the Best Sports Bars in New York
- Sports Bar: Try Nevada Smiths in the East Village or Patrick Kavanagh’s on 3rd Avenue
- Sample Flight: Milwaukee to New York, $169 roundtrip total in early July
- Find More Flights: FareCompare’s “When to Fly” Getaway Maps featuring deals from your airport
World Cup play won’t last forever, so check out some flights and watch the games surrounded by fellow sports fans. And, if someone should happen to pull out a vuvuzela or two, there are always noise-canceling headphones.
