At the beer garden behind Rowdy Hall in Amagansett, fans lined up for cold drafts and packed around sunlit picnic tables, eyes fixed on the big screen. For the last five weeks, a FIFA World Cup frenzy has taken over. Americans — many of whom would normally be watching baseball or no sports at all — have been glued to televisions and packing into stadiums, enraptured by soccer. There were initial concerns that the United States wouldn’t be a suitable host country alongside Canada and Mexico, but the enthusiasm across the country this summer, culminating in the final game between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium, the FIFA name for MetLife stadium, put those concerns to rest once and for all.
In Amagansett on Sunday, there was an electric, yet sad, energy in the air. No one was quite ready for the World Cup to be over.
Cintia Parsons, originally from Buenos Aires, and her daughters Kyli and Lexi were dressed head to toe in blue and white.
“It’s so much fun to watch the whole country come together to watch these teams. It’s so great,” she said. “We’ve had some incredible, incredible last-minute wins, which have been insane.”
“I love the World Cup. It’s my favorite sporting event in the world. I’m sad it’s over,” added Kyli.
On the beer line, Gaby Plata, who was raised in Madrid, was the only fan wearing a red Spain soccer shirt. She was shaking with nerves, but also had a feeling they might win. She wore her lucky red and yellow beaded Spain bracelet to be sure.
“I feel very confident in the Spain team. If they focus and don’t let the noise get to them, they’ll make it,” she said. “I love soccer. I grew up watching this, so it’s been very nostalgic for me as well.”
Farther east at Montauk Brewing Company, fans huddled around two screens outside, while others watched on a laptop and cellphone at the bar inside. The Brew Barn has been decorated for the World Cup since day one, with a bracket on the wall to show teams’ progress. Behind the taps, Jonathan Jamet, whose parents are from Brittany in France, was still wearing a French soccer jersey, even though the team lost to Spain in the semifinals and to England in the bronze-medal match. He and Derek Barbanti, a Spain fan, have had a friendly rivalry going since June.
“I texted J, ‘France looks too good for the World Cup. They need another tournament, a different tournament. France looks TOO good.’ And then Spain’s midfield shut them down,” Mr. Barbanti said. “It was a dominating performance. I did not expect them to dominate France as well as they did.”
Mr. Barbanti was practically in tears when Spain won it all, having enjoyed every second of the tournament.
“This has been the best World Cup ever,” he said. “I’m having a lot of fun. I’ve watched more soccer in the past month — and I watch a lot — but I’ve watched more soccer in the past month than I have in forever, ever, ever!”
In East Hampton, Scott Gordon and his business partner, John Mazarakis, sat at one of the small round tables in Cittanuova, their attention turned toward the TV mounted above the bar.
Both of them had initially rooted for the United States team, but after the U.S. was knocked out in the Round of 16, they began rooting for Norway, then England, before finally settling on Argentina.
In 1978, the first time that Argentina won the World Cup, Mr. Gordon was in the country studying abroad. He got to experience firsthand the community and hope that that win created.
“That was a big eye opener of how big this thing is. I remember somebody described it as like, take the Super Bowl, take the World Series, take the Stanley Cup, roll it all into one game and multiply by a hundred and that’s the World Cup final,” Mr. Gordon said.
“I think that sports benefit by legacy. And myth. In Argentina, because they continue to propagate that myth, I can’t think of a better team today,” Mr. Mazarakis added.
At the Blue Parrot, the Mexican place just around the corner, the environment was more jittery. The multi-generational crowd emitted groans, yelps, and cheers as Spain failed again and again to turn their possession into a goal.
Alexandra Bruno, a lifelong Argentina fan, was wearing a Messi jersey and Argentina sweatpants.
She always watches the game. She always wears that exact jersey. And she always makes sure to put her hands together, pointer to pointer, pinkies sticking out, to ward off unwanted goals.
“If I see anyone in all the games, any time they’re getting a little too close for comfort, I hold up my ‘choofy’ and it fully works, it always works,” Ms. Bruno said.
Over in Sag Harbor, Kidd Squid Brewing Company had two TVs running at once in its beer garden. Some people anxiously walked from one to the other. Others were still, their eyes glued to the screen.
Shelly Keogh and her daughter, Robyn Keogh, New York City residents from Ireland, wanted Spain to win. Ireland didn’t make the World Cup, and at the behest of Robyn, they went all in on rooting for Spain and Lamine Yamal, the team’s 19-year-old breakout star.
For most of the second half, like much of the game, Spain had possession, although the score remained 0-0. After two disallowed goals, Spain finally scored at the 106-minute mark. That goal would be enough to secure the World Cup.
With three minutes left in the game, Yorleny Lizano, a Southampton resident, stood and crowed, “Adios Argentina,” at the TV. People around her laughed and clapped.
As a mother of three, she has seen the way the World Cup has planted a love of soccer in her children. She has seen how it has changed the country’s perception of the sport.
“This is the first time that I can see more North American people into soccer,” she said.
The Rios family and their niece Chloe Raptis were all wearing Spain jerseys and cheering loudly. After Adriana Rios went to Spain and became a fan of the team, she converted the rest of her family.
When Spain won, the family screamed and jumped up and down, forming a little circle to hug and dance with each other.
“I was low-key about to pass out,” said Ms. Raptis.
The family is already planning to attend the next World Cup, which will be in Spain. They are hoping for a home-team win.
“We decided to start a World Cup fund for the next one,” said Ms. Rios. “And we’re all going to go.”