Indeed, no one is drunk and only a few of the patrons even have pints. Most drink free coffee owner Dez Nolan provides. It's the early hour, he explains. Nolan, who has been in the States since in the early '80s, has been offering hurling and Gaelic football telecasts, from the season's beginning in May to its conclusion in September, ever since the pub opened in 1994. According to Nolan, the next nearest place to watch the game is Milbrae to the north and Los Angeles to the south.
Patrons are happy to throw their money into the tin passing around at halftime.
Twenty dollars is not that much to watch the game live. Nolan, who buys a season's worth of games at Fibbar Magee's in one package, says that normal games draw about thirty in contrast to today's crowd,which is three time that size. This is a big final. He's expecting at least as large a crowd for the football final on September 26th. Cork, also in that match, is going for the ultimate prestige of winning the All-Ireland hurling and football matches, the mighty Double.