We’ve read the book , and visited Finn McCool’s pub in New Orleans. Now TOW sits down with the author himself of ”Finn McCool’s Football Team: The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of a Pub Football Team in the City of the Dead”, Mr Stephen Rea.
Stephen talks about his journey to the States from Belfast, finding a place “where everybody knows your name”, surviving Katrina, his passion for Chelsea, and writing a book about his adventures. Plus, he shares his perspective on the growth of the sport in this country and even breaks down the upcoming World Cup clash between the USA and England on June 12th.
What is the book “Finn McCool’s Football Team” about?
It’s about me coming to live in the States in my mid-thirties with my American wife. I have to adapt to life on a different continent and it’s about the differences between life in the UK and life here. Then I find a bar to watch football games called Finn McCool’s, and soon we form a team. The book follows our progress trying to get the team going and is fairly lighthearted, then halfway through Hurricane Katrina hits. The second half deals with Katrina and our struggle in its aftermath, while recounting what it was like living in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Your passion for the sport is a huge part of the book, how did you discover football as a kid?
I got my love of football from my dad. I grew up with the game, though my mum says my dad was really worried because it took a few years before I would even look at a football! Probably from seven or eight I remember being a big fan, playing all the time and watching whenever I could. Belfast was pretty grim in the 70s and 80s but growing up it was what we were used to. I spent literally all day some times just kicking the ball in the street against a wall with friends, a crack in the wall and the gatepost was the goal, I don’t think The Troubles affected us, though many international matches were in the afternoon even on Wednesdays during The Troubles for some reason. And Scotland refused to play in Belfast, but that was no great loss!
How did you come to support Chelsea?
I got a Chelsea kit for Christmas about 1977, although it didn’t have a badge on it and was just a plain blue jersey. I asked my dad who played in blue and he said Chelsea and that was it, cursed for years, though I’m reaping the benefits now! What is strange is that he is a Manchester United fan because of George Best, so it’s a bit strange that he bought me a Chelsea strip in the first place. If my daughter ever came home with anything other than a Chelsea shirt on I’d rip it off her back and lock her underneath the stairs. I would take my chances with the American judicial system – I’d rather go to jail than have her support United or Arsenal.
How did you end up coming to America and settling in New Orleans?
I met Julie from North Carolina and married her in 2000, we lived in Belfast but after about six years she wanted to come back to the States, specifically the South. We had both been to New Orleans and liked it so we moved here intending to stay for a year – nearly six later and we are still here. I spent a lot of time in the US before we moved, in fact I’d visited all 50 states, so I knew it pretty well, but you never really know a country properly until you have lived in it.
Why did Finn McCool’s pub become such an important place for you?
Without Finn’s I wouldn’t be anywhere near as happy here, no question. I’m a major football fan and Finn’s lets me watch the sport. But it’s not just seeing the matches – it’s also getting to watch them with other fans. Our pub team is great fun as well, and though I’m sure I would have been playing somewhere I’m sure it would not have been as much fun. Nearly all my friends and social life revolve around the pub.
These days I still go to Finns, probably more so than before Katrina, and I think the bar is busier than before the storm but that’s not because of the book. I think it was because the owners returned quickly and made the statement that they would rebuild, and locals respect and appreciate that. They have also worked very hard to promote the pub. As far as the book goes, the barmaids tell me that sometimes someone will come in and say they read the book, occasionally someone will come up and speak to me or even ask me to sign a copy, but I’m not in the Stephen King or Anne Rice league yet!
What is your strongest feeling about Katrina, and how did the hurricane change the people of New Orleans?
Disbelief. Just not being able to believe how in the space of a couple of days we went from living our lives to becoming refugees, driving around the country trying to find out what had happened. I think it’s made the people of New Orleans more resilient, almost battle-hardened. It’s the five-year anniversary in seven months and there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Why did you decide to write a book, and was the creative process difficult?
I always thought our story might make a book, but in the football fan genre with a very specific and narrow market. Once Katrina hit however I knew there was a book in the team’s story. Also, on a practical level, my wife was at work every day and I was marooned in Houston with nothing to do when we evacuated there for three months, so I thought I may as well write. There was not too much of a creative process as it was a straight forward story with only a couple of adjustments to the narrative.
How has the book tour gone, and what have been some of the reactions to the book, and where might this all lead?
I’ve really enjoyed getting around the country and meeting football fans. There are some committed and knowledgeable supporters out there and I’ve made new friends. I had some great trips and discovered great bars like The Pug in DC and Madra Rua in Charleston. I’ve been very lucky, the reviews have been great, far better than I could ever have hoped, and I’ve had some kind words from people like FourFourTwo, the Washington Post, the BBC and important football media here like Fox Football Fone-in (interview below) and World Football Daily. I don’t know if it’s going anywhere! I’ve had interest from a documentary crew and a movie producer, but we are a long way from anything actually happening. I just wanted to tell our story.
Do you follow the US National Team?
I do. I became an American citizen a couple of years ago so they are my second international team after Northern Ireland. Trust me, if they can beat England at the World Cup I’ll be cheering louder than any Yank!
What are you thoughts of the growth of the sport in the US and where do you see things going?
Up, up and up. Even in the time I’ve been here I’ve noticed a big difference in the appreciation and awareness of the game in this country, and since I first started coming here in the eighties it is a different world. I doubt it will ever take over from American football but I think the USA is catching onto the game seriously and it will enter the sports mainstream in my lifetime.
What do US fans need to know about Northern Ireland’s National Team, if the US plays them in a friendly?
We have the best team we’ve had in about 20 years, but that’s not saying a lot! I would be very interested if the rumored friendly takes place to see how they fair against the US, depending of course if we have our full team as English clubs are always reluctant to release players for friendlies. We have no outstanding players but – cliché alert! – a solid, workmanlike team. Healy was on fire a couple of years ago – a hat-trick against Spain in the Euros – but has hardly scored recently. Johnny Evans is going to be a monster for Manchester United one day, Aaron Hughes from Fulham has been outstanding for us, in the middle we have Steven Davis at Rangers and Damian Johnson from Birmingham, upfront Kyle Lafferty also at Rangers and Burnley’s Martin Paterson. For the last two qualifying competitions, the World Cup and Euro 2008, we took it down to the last game so we are definitely much improved from a few years ago when we went a whole campaign without even scoring a goal! Actually I hear we may be going to South America instead of playing the US now, which would be a pity.
Where can people get your book?
Everywhere! You can order it at any bookstore – some Barnes and Noble shops across the country stock it actually – or online from people like Amazon. You can also get it direct from my website:
If you want a signed, dedicated copy. I’m hoping to get to cities like Philadelphia, New York and Boston this year, while South Africa is not completely out of the question but I think its unlikely I will make it, unless I can ride the coattails of some US Soccer organization!
I’ve got to ask – when the USA plays England on June 12th in the World Cup – how do you think it will go down?
1-1 draw. I think the States have a decent team who will work hard and close down the English. England undoubedtly have some good players – Lampard, Gerard, Rooney – but they are nowhere near as good as they think they are and I fancy the US. If Northern Ireland can beat them then the Yanks can too!
Images via Stephen Rea and Yimg, WorldSoccerReader, Ajbmediaworks, Flickr
