What does this place represent for you?
My grandparents came from Italy. This was a destination for them when they felt homesick. This is where they could go live a part of Italy. And of course I love coming here as a kid. But I wanted to bring you here because this is representative of my ethnicity. And since it's the World Cup and Italy didn't make the World Cup, Gary. I had to bring you here.
I wanted to take you to this neighborhood because this is a neighborhood that I used to come to when I was a kid.
This is considered the first pizzeria.
1905, the year of my grandmother's birth.
This place was team is probably 4 million Italian Americans arrived here over a 35-year period of time. And a lot of them had hard times finding jobs. So what they did, Gary, I'm going to take you through the area, is they formed little storefronts.
And it was a way to become entrepreneurs and then to serve each other.
So this place has been owned for 120 years.
I'm expecting a good pizza then.
Yeah, they make a great pie in here. And it's an old-school place. People still love coming from all over the world.
Right. What are we having?
Yes, so we're going to get a margarita.
I'm just get the classic pie.
Little Italy used to be massive. It was about six blocks when I was a kid. It's about 1 and 1/2 blocks today.
People moved out. You know, they assimilated into the culture. They moved out to Long Island. They moved to New Jersey. They moved up to Westchester. And they built their families, but they all started here. Couldn't speak the language. They sort of got together to help each other. I wanted to bring you here because this to me represents the world.
Manhattan was a tractor beam for immigrants. Not just the Italians, but the Irish, the Greeks, the Spaniards, the Chinese. Everybody arrived here with a hope and a dream.
A lot like the World Cup. I want to ask you about how it's been received in America. Has it caught on?
No, it's been super exciting. I think the ratings were through the roof in the United States. You have 50, 60 million people watching certain games. That's a half a Super Bowl. I think it's been phenomenal.
What does it mean to New York to host the final?
I think it means everything. This city, we see it as a global city. We see it as a city of opportunity. You know, I grew up 20 miles outside this city. And my parents used to take me here. Took me to Lombardi's. I'm going to take you over to Umberto's. They took me to all the... Took me to Ferrara's for pastries as a kid.
Are we going to meet any mafia people?
Well, you're already meeting a mafia people. What's wrong with you?
Yeah, you're safe. You don't have to worry. But in all seriousness, I just want you to think about how we grew up. My parents used to say, 'Okay, someday you're going to get a job in New York. Someday you're going to work in Manhattan. And you're going to seek your aspiration here.' And this is the most amazing place. Today, even today, you can come in here hard scrabble with little to no money, Gary. And if you've got industry and passion and enthusiasm, you can find your way in a city like this.
You interviewed the mayor. I loved that interview. What did you think of him? You liked him?
I think he's a very impressive person. He's quite charismatic. He's done a good job.
He's got a real smile, hasn't he? A twinkle in his eye.
Yeah, yeah, he's got the best smile in American politics since Barack Obama. This kid knows what he's doing.
Remember with... Yeah, this is some old school stuff here, so. All right, give me your plate.
This is how they made it back in the day. And remember it here with Mr. Lombardi, if you were poor and you came in, he said what could you afford? Somebody said 2 cents worth back in 1905, he cut him a smaller slice. Somebody said 5 cents worth, they got a bigger slice.
Lombardi. That was a very famous story. Breakfast of champions right here. See that? That is perfect crust. You see that? And look at the top here. It's not overdone, but it's crispy and this is exactly why I'm fat. And this is why we're going to have the rest of his diet at some point for the Golaher people. But not today. Not today. For me, there's a lot of pride coming to a place like this for me. Because I think of my grandparents, I think of them coming here with no money. I think of my grandfather's family was a farming family up in the mountains of southern Italy. Every time I come in here, I think of that struggle, you know, and I think of how hard it was for them and how easy they made it for me. How's it feel? It's classic American stuff, you know.
How good is a pie, though, right?
Call it a pie. Why is it a pie?
No, it's called a pizza pie.
Yeah. When I was a kid, this was a pizza pie. You want a pizza pie.
This was all Italians down here. And in every block and they would rent these apartments and then what would they do for a living? Oh, jeez, we got to do something. And so they would start things, right? And so I'm going to walk you over to Parisi's bakery over here. We'll just take a look.
This is 100 plus years old. When you went to an Italian wedding, you know what the toast was? May your life be like a loaf of Italian bread, long and filled with dough.
I love that. And Sinatra used to call here, he'd fly the bread to Palm Springs. He'd fly the bread to LA.
Oh, thank you. You listen?
Thank you. Say hello to Gary Lineker. He owns the company.
I'm just one of his minions.
I love it too. Thank you.
Thank you. We've made you famous.
Actually, you made yourself infamous. Say hello to Gary Lineker, my brand manager, okay?
I just want you to imagine in the middle of the summer, kids out on the fire escapes, the accordions are playing. The mob had a big influence in this city. There's no question about it. And down here was a protected place. So, no crime in this area.
Did you ever know any of the big dogs in that world?
The big dogs, well, listen, I'm good friends with John Gotti Jr. I actually saw John yesterday. His father was obviously, you know, John Gotti. My father was more like the De Niro character in the Bronx Tale. He kept his nose clean. He paid all of his bills. He made sure that we stayed away from all of that stuff, you know, but this was a place you would come. And here's San Gennaro, patron saint of Little Italy.
They have the Feast of San Gennaro, and they'll close this street down. And they'll be a marketplace out here, and they'll be where you can gamble, you know, play the numbers, all the old-school stuff.
As we get to the ball, this is one of the best Italian delis, food shops. Everything is imported in here.
Of Italian deli. I'm sure.
You can go from the pasta to the deli and you can get your prosciutto and your melon and everything that you possibly need. You're in Little Italy. But if we cross Mott Street, we're in Chinatown.
Okay, so we've got both continents represented on this little block. And for over 100 years the Italians and the Chinese have lived in this area and they've cohabitated.
And they all get on, yeah?
They all get on. Well, that's the beauty of it. That's the message of the World Cup. That's the message of the whole thing. It's a beautiful thing. That's the message of the whole thing.
Football saves the world. When you grew up and you would come to Little Italy, would you sometimes venture into Chinatown?
