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In a liquor store parking lot, the Cass Corridor watches the World Cup
In Detroit, there’s always a lot of action in liquor store parking lots.
Fender benders. Loitering. Impromptu barbecue pop-ups. Arguments and negotiations. Entrepreneurs hustling their wares. You name it.
This is the first time, however, I’ve witnessed one hosting a World Cup watch party.
Most of the World Cup games so far have been broadcast on a TV or projection screen in the parking lot of Marcus Market, a small liquor and grocery store near Wayne State’s campus.
They sell everything from tacos out of a counter in the back to beer and fresh produce and cigarettes and kayaks (they technically haven’t sold one yet but they are for sale).
It’s a popular spot with college kids and people from the neighborhood; a major community hub of commerce and social interaction in the city’s Cass Corridor.
And now it’s a de facto sports hub for the initiated or those just passing by and curious what the shouting is all about.
Under a pop-up tent in a corner of the parking lot, there’s a loyal band of soccer fans each with their own rooting interests. The crowds have swelled to nearly 90 people for the U.S. men’s soccer matches. Brands and sponsors noticed, dropping off swag for fans.
Other times, often for day games victimized by the sun and heat, it’s just a handful of diehards. 
Some are sitting in camping chairs they brought. Some are sitting on milk crates pulled from the back of Marcus Market and provided by cashier Sishir Cherry Buddharaju, who started this whole thing.
“It’s the best way to watch the World Cup,” says Buddharaju, who’s known around the neighborhood simply as Cherry.
Fans are more than welcome to head into Marcus Market and buy a snack or a drink, but it’s really not a sales tactic for the store, he says.
“Most World Cup viewing parties are in bars or you have to RSVP,” says Buddharaju. “There’s not many that are free, that you can stay as long as you want and you don’t have to spend any money.”
In fact, at a lot of these parking lot games, there’s not much drinking at all. It’s become a lazy cliche mostly plastered on sports advertisements, but these watch parties have become bigger than the game itself.
It ended up being more about strangers in the neighborhood getting to know each other and hanging out outside the structure of a bar.
Buddharaju says at least a few regulars have become friends since the watch parties started back in June, showing up together and making plans after the games. Another watch party regular said he’s worried he won’t see his friends as much when the games end. It’s the most time he’s spent with them in a while.
“It almost feels like a summer camp sort of thing because it’s essentially the same group of strangers that show up every day,” says Buddharaju. “They all became friends from just being at the same place every day together for two hours for 30 straight days.”
There’s been some trials and tribulations along the way. A heavy rain forced them to take the television inside the nearby Bronx Bar to watch the rest of the England versus Mexico match. During Argentina versus Cape Verde, a powerful storm popped up quickly and ravaged their set up within seconds, sending the pop-up tent flying and the TV crashing to the ground.
The screen is cracked and partially blacked out now, but the group watches on.
After Spain beat Belgium 2-1 in the quarter-finals, a handful of fans watching the game thank Buddharaju for setting up once again and start stacking milk crates and put away the 10×10 tent they’ve been watching under. They ask Buddharaju when the next game is and if he’ll be grilling hot dogs again.
“It’s a weird feeling,” laughs Buddharaju, “because I was going to do this even if nobody showed up. It was just going to be me outside watching the World Cup in the parking lot.”
But there hasn’t been a game that he’s watched alone yet. There’s always someone from the neighborhood walking up, sitting down, and watching with him – and the rest of the neighborhood.
There’s still a handful of World Cup watch parties being hosted in the Marcus Market parking lot. They are free and open to the public.
• Tuesday, July 14 – at 3 p.m. for France versus Spain
• Wednesday, July 15 – at 3 p.m. (teams to be determined)
• Saturday, July 19 – at 3 p.m. (World Cup Final)
This story was originally published on Midbrow.
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