Wolves in the USA: American fan creates old gold and black basement bar

It is enough to make any Wolves fan green with envy, as the city of St. Louis, in Missouri, USA, is now the home of a Wolves-themed pub.

But you will not find it on the city’s nightlife map, as Wolves fanatic Aaron Eversoll has built it in the basement of his home.

“Covid has been tough for us all, but without the fans in the stadiums, and so long distance away from my English friends and fans, it has been especially tough,” the 45-year-old told the Express & Star.

“I’ve spent lots of time watching games by myself and trying to get my American friends and family into the team and sport. It has been a lonely time for a Wolves fan here.

“With the shutdown, trapped in the house, and realising that it may be a long time before I am able to get over and see my friends, my favourite city of Wolverhampton, and my team, I decided to bring Wolves and Wolverhampton to me.

“I dreamed of all my favourite pubs around the Midlands, and tried to take a little bit of each one and put it in ‘The Mick’.”

Of course, the inspiration behind calling his pub ‘The Mick’ was former Wolves boss Mick McCarthy – who was in charge when Aaron first discovered the club.

It was early April 2010 and Aaron had just been dumped by his girlfriend, resulting in an impromptu trip to England for his first ever time leaving America.

He flew to Birmingham and hired a car but after struggling on the roads – and practising on the M6 – he came off at the nearest city, Wolverhampton. “Needless to say I got lost, panicked, and just parked in the car park in the city centre,” he recalled.

“I went to the Duke of York pub to calm my nerves, and ended up meeting a group of lads and made quick friends. I spent the evening pub-hopping and even had a karaoke session at McGhee’s.

“The next day, my new friends invited me to travel down to London to watch Wolves away at Arsenal. I bet £100 on a 0-0 draw, even though everyone told me we would get crushed. Instead we lost 1-0, on a Nicklas Bendtner extra-time header.

“I fell in love with Wolves that day, and never looked back.”

From that moment, Aaron was hooked. He has regularly made a trip once or twice a season to see Wolves in person and even spent his honeymoon watching the side get relegated to League One in 2013.

Now, he has brought Wolves to the USA with his basement pub, where he enjoys watching all of the club’s games until he can make another trip to Molineux.

He said: “The design of the entire pub was stealing little things from all my favourite pubs and locations in the Midlands. The Wolves head and backsplash tile of the back bar was inspired by the tunnel to Molineux and tile art in some of the train stations.

“As for the shirts, my pride and joy is the jersey that George Elokobi sent me and signed. He is my favourite player, and some friends of mine got us in touch with each other and we have become friends.”

Aaron has managed to convince some of his close friends and family to take some interest in Wolves and some joined him in The Mick for the opening game of the Premier League season.

But nothing compares to seeing his club in person and Aaron is hoping to make another 4,091-mile trip soon.

“There is a truly special bond I have to the Midlands, to Wolverhampton, and the people of the area,” he added.

“It is probably that living in the Midwest of the United States my entire life, I have found the people of the Midlands share my values that the coasts of the USA and the south of England just don’t.

“They are an amazingly kind, honest, hard-working – and most important – modest group of fans and people.

“My love for Wolves as a club is as much about my love for the city of Wolverhampton and my friends and the people that love the club there. And I hope building ‘The Mick’ will be a daily nostalgic reminder of my second home.”