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Hanns-Peter Nagel of Madison (center) and Aldo Meza (right) of Madison react to Euro 2008 being televised at State Street Brats on Wednesday in Madison. - Michelle Stocker/Capital Times

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Anyone who thinks soccer isn't popular in the United States just doesn't know where to find it.

You can look above State Street, you can look on State Street or you can wander into the Catacombs.

In any case, what a big tournament such as Euro 2008 provides is a window into the international side of Madison. And when a team such as Germany is playing in the European soccer championship, a place that serves beer and bratwurst makes it fit together just right.

State Street Brats is often a popular place with the soccer crowd, much like Hawk's farther up State Street. About 75 people filled the upstairs at State Street Brats, certainly a bit more than the usual Wednesday afternoon crowd.

"We could have watched it livestream, or sitting alone in a room, but this is the best place," said Martin Gajewski, in Madison from Germany to attend an international zebrafish conference at UW-Madison.

"I thought a sports bar would be good, but it wasn't clear if they would show the game," Gajewski said. "Other sports are more famous here, baseball, basketball. I'm surprised in a positive sense."

The match made Christian Kloeckner, who is at UW-Madison on a fellowship, a little homesick and made him think of his friends back in Cologne.

"Back home it's such a big thing, everybody is out on the streets, all the bars are showing it outside," he said. "After the game, they'd be celebrating everywhere. It's quite crazy. It's great."

The Germans did get to celebrate, as they won the match 3-2 on two late goals. They advance to play the winner of Thursday's other semifinal between Russia and Spain.

Away from State Street, there was another small gathering of fans at an event dubbed "The Church of Soccer." At Christ Presbyterian Church on East Gorham Street, Jean Rene Watchou, director of international outreach, organized a party to watch Wednesday's match and also plans to do so for Thursday's other semifinal and Sunday's final.

"Soccer is another way to reach out to the internationals in Madison," he said. "Some people don't want to go to a bar."

Because the big screen wasn't working right on Wednesday, Watchou had to direct fans to a room in the church's basement called the Catacombs. It might have been the first time anywhere that signs announcing "Soccer in the Catacombs" have been posted.

Despite the atmosphere of beer and brats downtown, it wasn't just German fans watching. At State Street Brats and Hawk's, the commentary came in all sorts of languages. That was likely necessary as the international feed of the match was lost for the last 15 minutes because of a storms in Austria and Switzerland.

Turkey had many fans, too, as the underdog who had made it this far because of last-minute goals throughout the tournament.

"You just see everybody here," said Roja Ergun, a UW-Madison graduate student from Turkey and a member of the Madison United soccer club. "They're not just here because they support Germany or Turkey. They're here because they love soccer."