‘It’s coming home’ chants could be heard during a live music set in Dallas Fort Worth on Monday evening.
England fans have been enthusiastically welcomed by Texans ahead of the Three Lions’ World Cup opener, despite being branded “a little loud”.
Supporters were out in force in Dallas Fort Worth on Monday night, particularly at the White Elephant Saloon at the Stockyards, which saw popular “It’s coming home” chants sung during a live music set.
“They’re here to drink, we can’t be perfect, we didn’t have to call 911 so we’ll call it a good night,” bar manager Jessica Lara told the Press Association.
She said the influx of England fans had been unlike anything the venue had experienced before.
“It’s definitely different,” she told PA.
“We usually have people from out of town but we’ve never seen it to this point.
“They were together at Love Shack because we also run that place, and once they shut down, they all came here together and were singing the same songs.
“We’ve never seen that many people together all at once, so it’s definitely a first – it was amazing.”
She said Three Lions supporters had been well behaved despite the late-night singing attracting complaints from regular customers.
“They’ve been good for the most part,” she said.
“I know they had a little bit of problems last night but for the most part they were good.”
Asked what the problems were, she said: “They were just a little loud and our customers were complaining about it but that’s really it – nothing besides that.”
Ms Lara said she had enjoyed watching England fans immerse themselves in the city’s cowboy heritage.
“We’re seeing them with the cowboy hats and singing the songs and two-stepping so that’s also been really nice to see,” she said.
Commenting on what has surprised her the most about the travelling English fans, Ms Lara said: “Just how much they are all together – that’s amazing.
“You will see people here from out of town but not in a big group travelling from bar to bar.
“Even if they don’t know each other they’re just adding on to the group – that was really amazing to see because you do not see that.”
Meanwhile, Mark Dunlap, manager at western wear store ML Leddy’s, said cowboy hats and boots had been among the most popular purchases for visiting supporters.
He told PA: “Hats have certainly been a big thing.
“Everybody comes in and they expect to see cowboy hats so they want a cowboy hat.
“I was noticing on the TV yesterday a lot of people wearing hats – that’s not their norm so you can see that they’ve bought them since they’ve been in the area.
“Cowboy boots – that’s big. We sell a lot of cowboy boots here too.
“So hats and boots are a big thing, especially for tourism.”
Mr Dunlap said visitors wanted to experience the American West lifestyle.
He continued: “Everybody who was a small kid in our part of the world grew up wanting to be a cowboy so it’s still an image people have seen on TV through John Wayne or the show Dallas.
“Those things still resonate with people from other parts of the world, so they come here and they want to get that experience.”
He predicted England fans would embrace Texas culture more enthusiastically than supporters from the other World Cup nations.
Mr Dunlap said: “I think the English, always when they come here, they want a flavour of what we do and I think they will probably be the ones.”
Performer Pacos Slim, who appears in comedy gun shows staged after Fort Worth’s popular cattle drives, said England supporters had enthusiastically embraced Texas life despite struggling with the weather.
“We have a blast and meet people from all over the world all year round, and now that the football is here in town, there are even more,” he said.
“All the English fans, I’ve met probably 30 this morning and it’s early – we love to have you all here.”
Asked whether they were embracing Texas culture, he replied: “Except for the heat, everybody loves it.
“It’s been really hot and it’s humid – it’s not usually this humid here.
“That’s been a little hard on some maybe but it’s been really beautiful weather.”
