Eager to see his native Mexico play Portugal, Fuertes loaded a television into his van, which he parked next to his food cart at 450 W. 200 South. And, as he expected, the presence of a TV attracted a larger-than-usual group of customers to his cart Wednesday for the 8 a.m. match.

"They were all excited for the game and were screaming, 'Go Mexico Go,' " he said of the 15 or so spectators, most his countrymen, who crammed around the cart and van. "It was sad Mexico lost (2-1, to Portugal), but we're happy they're moving on."

Mexico advanced to the final 16 teams of the World Cup and will play Argentina on Saturday. Fuertes will have his TV back for that game, too. "Saturday will be even better," he said.

The allure of televised soccer also has attracted crowds to Zions Bank's Su Banco branch at 1635 S. Redwood Road.

"It's one thing to watch a game at home. It's a lot more fun to watch it as part of a group," said Zions Bank executive Rob Brough, noting that as many as 200 people have assembled at the bank branch to cheer on their teams.

Although most of the visitors have been Latino, eager to observe the exploits of Mexico or Argentina, Brough said the World Cup has lured a cross-section of nationalities to the branch. He viewed that as testimony to the universal appeal of soccer.

"If that gets more people to know where we are, that's OK, too," Brough added.

mikeg@sltrib.com