⚽ Boston makes room for more fútbol

It's Monday, Boston.

🚇 Heads up: The MBTA just rolled out their winter service changes yesterday, so make sure you’re up to date on the latest T and bus schedules here.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Harvard’s first Black president

• Not quite an Olympic Stadium

• Dunkin’ trash to treasure

Up first…

SPORTS

Sunday morning fútbol

Your friends might worry if they caught you drinking Guinness and eating chicken wings at a bar at 10 a.m. on a Sunday. But when you’re watching the World Cup final at The Phoenix Landing in Cambridge, there are no rules.

“This is the best soccer bar in Boston, so we had to make an early appearance and set the alarms to come out and root for Argentina,” said Alex Stevanovic, a South End resident. He and his buddy Petar Ojdrovic were one of hundreds waiting in line to get into the Irish pub at 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning.

“Outside of an airport or on vacation, this is the earliest I’ve ever been to a bar,” said Ojdrovic, drinking what was his second beer around 10:30 a.m.

For the next 120-plus minutes, fans exchanged primal screams ranging from joy to despair, and Argentina bested France in a shootout. You’d think the Patriots were in overtime at the Super Bowl based on decibels alone.

“It’s so electric to see so many people so passionate about the game, especially in America where soccer isn’t such a big deal,” Ojdrovic said.

And while Americans (especially those of us in Massachusetts) love their pigskin, this World Cup made it clear that there may be room in our hearts for another kind of football.

“Every four years, Americans start to admit that they love soccer,” said Joseph McCabe, the owner of The Phoenix Landing. “For the American fans to show up in the numbers that they have proves that the next World Cup is going to be even bigger.”

And with Gillette Stadium hosting several games in the 2026 World Cup, it’s hard to imagine a sports-obsessed state like Massachusetts not falling in love hard and fast.

CITY

Quick & Dirty Headlines

🎓 Harvard names its first Black president. Claudine Gay, the current dean of the school’s faculty of arts and sciences, will be the university’s 30th president, a historic appointment that will give the nation’s oldest college its first Black leader. Many students of color were thrilled hearing the news. Gay will face many challenges in the role, as Harvard is dealing with a Supreme Court case regarding their handling of affirmative action in admissions, confronting its own ties to slavery, and completing a multibillion-dollar expansion of its campus into Allston.

🚂 An MBTA rail yard is where Boston’s Olympic dreams will be buried. Widett Circle, a concrete slab hidden by the Southeast Expressway, was once positioned as the place where an Olympic stadium would go. Now, the vision is an MBTA rail yard, with the agency’s board authorizing the purchase of the space last week. The land will likely be used as a layover yard for trains, with the hopes of improving service on the lines that rely on South Station.

🍟 Stopping food delivery drivers from clogging the streets is easier said than done. The lunchtime rush of drivers around the Chick-fil-A on Boylston Street was creating bad congestion, so to reduce traffic, the city replaced parking meters with free 5- and 10-minute food pickup zones. Chick-fil-A and Uber even tried to help by setting up a pickup shelf on the sidewalk and limiting orders during certain hours. But when time = money, obeying the rules isn’t always the priority for drivers. One potential solution? Incentivizing delivery drivers to bike instead.

12 DAYS OF THE B-SIDE

Holiday fun before you head home

💪 Celebrate Festivus (for the rest of us) at Cambridge Festivus, a variety show with stand-up, treats, and $4 drinks. Early bird tickets start at $15; regular admission is $20. | Friday, Dec. 23, 8 to 11 p.m.

🎤 Sing loud for all to hear at Ugly Sweater Carol-oke at The Painted Burro. FREE | Tuesday, Dec. 20, 9 p.m. to 12:45 a.m.

🐟 Eat your heart out with the Feast of the Seven Fishes at Prezza in the North End. Try any fish dish (or all seven) until Dec. 24. Book your rez here.

🍸 Drink and celebrate with Menorahs and Martinis, a Hanukkah housewarming party featuring sushi, latkes, sufganiyot, music, and of course, drinks. | Tickets are $25. | Tuesday, Dec. 20, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

🎄 Get ugly and win big at the ugly sweater party at Howl at the Moon. Ugliest sweater wins $200, and the $10 cover charge is waived if you’re on theme. | Friday, Dec. 23, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

ONE LAST THING

From Dunkin’ trash to treasure

This woman is turning her old Dunkin’ cups into holiday decor treasures.

Southborough native Karen Connell started drinking a daily large hot coffee from Dunks when she was 10 years old. And since all those coffees create lots of garbage, she started making what she calls “trash art” shortly after the pandemic began. She made a holly-leaf garland for her office by deconstructing and painting the iconic cups.

Connell also uses stockpiled cardboard packaging from shipments in an effort to make art out of materials that would otherwise be thrown away or recycled. She hopes that her art will bring viewers joy and help them “be more mindful of trash.”

📚 Thanks for reading! The Boston Globe published their list of best books of 2022 and I’ve already added three to my list. These would also make great last-minute gifts if you’re feeling stumped.

💃 Keep up with other B-Side tomfoolery on IG, TikTok, and Twitter @BostonBSide. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected].