An Interview with Jack Keane, Owner of Nevada Smith’s Bar
Any list of soccer meccas in the United States would have to include Nevada Smith’s. The bar, located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, has bringing in the soccer faithful of New York since 1994. Today, on any given weekend day, the bar shows games from morning till night. Matches from England, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the United States and beyond (catering to a group of supporters of SK Brann, Nevada Smith’s even shows Norwegian league) fill the bar’s many televisions spread over two floors. Weekends are “a constant coming and going of people,” Nevada Smith’s owner Jack Keane told me recently. “On a busy Saturday, there’s no doubt that we have between 2000 and 3000 fans that come through the doors.”
Fans at Nevada Smith’s (photo: New York Daily News)
Keane, a jovial Irishman has been running the bar for 15 years. He recalls the days in the mid-1990s when he could only get one game a day from the Premier League to show in the bar. German and Italian games became available around that time too and he would show them as well. But it was really with the advent of Fox Soccer Channel (then known as Fox Sports World) in 1997 that the number of games he could show exploded. As the number of games shown at Nevada Smith’s increased, so too did its clientele.
Looking back on 15 years in business, Keane points to the 2002 World Cup as a turning point for his bar. “If there ever a time that we really captured something,” he says, “it was during that tournament.” With games kicking off at 2:00 AM, 5:00 AM, and 7:00 AM, it was not ideal for New York audiences. “A lot of bars felt there was no business to be done during Korea/Japan. I had the opposite attitude. I thought it was going to be the biggest party of all time, and I was right.” Indeed, fans packed the bar throughout the month of the tournament.
One reason that Nevada Smith’s has had sustained success is because it has become a meeting place for supporters clubs of various European teams. Most notable are those for English teams, many of which have supporters clubs at the bar. These clubs are often made up of expats living in New York for a time, some of whom have told Keane how important they are to them. “There is absolutely no doubt that the pride in which they take in gathering under their club banners. Many of them over the years have said to me that coming here is the most important part of their week. I’ve heard that story many, many times.”
The New York Gooners at Nevada Smith’s (photo: flickr/Jonathan_Hawkins)
British clubs are not the only ones to have supporters clubs at Nevada Smith’s. There are clubs that support teams from across Europe, and those clubs have often received favorable responses when they have contacted the European teams. Keane told me, “We’ve had lads in here who have made contact with the clubs in Europe and have gotten immediate response. I remember the Barcelona peña was formed 6 years ago. Within 2 years, Joan Laporta was here in the bar. Laporta has visited the bar twice this year.”
While many European expats make up the membership of the supporters clubs, their ranks are filled by many Americans as well. This mirrors a shift in the clientele at Nevada Smith’s, which has gone from 90% expats to a 50/50 split between expats and American fans. Keane notes that several clubs, especially Arsenal’s, have a high percentage of Americans. Wherever they come from, members of the supporters clubs who congregate at Nevada Smith’s often go on to become close friends. “People who met in here under football banners absolutely have become friends outside our walls,” Keane says. “There has been friendships born here that have been life-long for a lot of these lads.”
In his 15 years running Nevada Smith’s, Jack Keane has seen many changes in the American soccer scene. He notes the tremendous growth in interest in the game in the US, and is particularly impressed with the knowledge that many American fans possess. “Soccer fans in this country are very knowledgeable. I’m always amazed. Let’s say they’re a fan of Arsenal. They also know what’s going on with other teams, they know what’s going on in Germany.” Of course, Keane notes, soccer fans in the US are a “tiny, tiny percentage” of the population. Despite this, he has been mystified that the American sports media has not put a larger emphasis on the game, and the national team in particular. “I’ve never understood why the media have not gotten behind the US national team. … They get little respect from the media in general. They could have a wonderful result earlier in the day and that night get little attention.”
But Keane sees things changing. ESPN in particular has changed its tune, doing what Keane calls a “360” on soccer. Keane sees the sport behemoth muscling in on rights to the English Premier League because, while the audience for soccer may be dwarfed by that for baseball, basketball, and American football, it is significant enough for the network to see value in catering to those fans. Indeed, ESPN executives need only take a trip to Nevada Smith’s on any given weekend to see proof of the passion that soccer in the United States can generate. But they had better go soon: Jack Keane says that Nevada Smith’s has nearly outgrown its current Lower East Side location. “We don’t expect to be at this location very much longer. We’re looking forward to expanding. We have a group of investors who want to take us nationwide.”
November 18th, 2009 21:29
Great read. Except the last sentence : (