Thursday, June 08,

World Cup Mania: Get the Real Flavor, and Get Ready for Italy v USA

The ANNOTICO Report

 

If you are a Fan of World Soccer, and of a Particular Country, you don't want to watch it on your couch, you want to find a place that caters to felllow fans.

 

And if you are rooting for Italy, and you live in San Francisco, you are probably going to: -- Steps of Rome Caffe.        348 Columbus Ave., one block north of Broadway. Ambiance: Upscale Italian soccer devotees and wannabes.

During the last World Cup, the fans were five deep on the sidewalk.

If you go, you'll want to: Get there early. The Steps will open at 5 a.m. each game day, and while everyone will say they're there for the games, as general manager Gianluca Corso says, "It is not about the soccer. It is about being there."

Be there for: Italy vs. the United States on June 17, at 3PM Eastern Time, A no-brainer, slam-dunk, must-attend match. When Italy won the Cup in 1982, North Beach was nearly shut down by flag-waving, horn-honking Italian motorists. Now, if the Americans were to beat them, well, let's just say this would be the place to see it.

As a side note, that I thought was laugh aloud funny was:  -- "The Abbey". 5th Avenue and Geary, is a gathering place for  Old Sod Irishmen, Although Ireland is NOT in the World Cup,  Irishmen will be there for any English game, BUT  their favorite team -- will be whichever one is playing England.!!!! :)

 

ITALY  and USA SCHEDULE: (Both are in Group  E, of A thru H); First Round; 32 Teams; 4 Teams in 8 Groups;  

            2 of 4 teams in Each Group  proceed to Round of 16

ITALY and CZECH Republic are favored to advance, BUT the USA and Ghana could Surprise

 

TIME

HOME

 

AWAY

MATCH

VENUE

12:00 ET

United States

 v 

Czech Republic

Match 10

Gelsenkirchen

15:00 ET

Italy

 v 

Ghana

Match 9

Hanover

15:00 ET

Italy

 v 

United States

Match 25

Kaiserslautern

10:00 ET

Italy

 v 

Czech Republic

Match 41

Hamburg

10:00 ET

  United States

  v 

Ghana

Match 42

Nuremburg

 

PICK A PUB TO GET THE REAL FLAVOR OF WORLD CUP MANIA

 

San Francisco Chronicle

C.W. Nevius

Thursday, June 8, 2006  

So, you've decided World Cup soccer is worth viewing. Great. So where will you be watching?

On your couch?

Wrong answer.

Of course, you can see all the games on your living room TV. The entire monthlong tournament will be shown on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. But that's missing the point. To truly appreciate world-class soccer if you can't actually be there, the best place to be is in a pub. Just ask Dermot Coll, manager of the Abbey Tavern on 5th Avenue in San Francisco.

"We've had people drive all the way down from Santa Rosa," Coll says. "They could watch it at home, but they wanted that pub atmosphere."

But it won't do to find any old sports bar. Aficionados go to the pubs and neighborhoods where the true believers will be living and dying with every kick. You'll find them all over the Bay Area, but here's a sampling from San Francisco:

-- Mad Dog in the Fog: Haight and Fillmore.

Ambiance: Hardcore English soccer blokes viewing games on 10 TVs while bemoaning striker (goal scorer) Wayne Rooney's broken foot. Asking about Rooney's foot -- or mentioning that you've visited www.healrooney.com to send "healing thoughts" -- is a sure-fire conversation starter.

If you go, you'll want to: Be ready to sing. Owner Cyril Hackett, says: "the English ex-pats will be singing their identifying (soccer) songs."

Be there for: England vs. Paraguay, 6 a.m. Saturday. England, with its maddening history of flopping in the big ones, may get all it can handle from the Paraguans. If "the lads" come a'cropper -- in other words, if the game goes south for the Brits -- there will be tears in the ale.

Don't miss: The scarves on the wall representing English League teams. Bartender Steven Pritchard can tell you who's who. This is the first World Cup in years that he hasn't attended.

-- El Farolito: 24th and Mission.

Ambiance: Hole-in-the-wall Mission District taqueria for Latin soccer fanatics. Check out the photos and trophies on the wall. It's the kind of place where you take a deep breath when you yank open the screen door and head into the darkness.

If you go, you'll want to: Speak some Spanish, although "Uno mas cerveza, por favor" is probably enough. The clientele and the furnishings look a little rough, but people are friendly, if you give them a chance. That's not to say that you shouldn't keep your eyes open. And whatever you do, don't mention Mexico's stunning defeat to the Americans in the last World Cup.

Be there for: Portugal vs. Mexico, June 21, 7 a.m. Fourth-ranked Mexico will be fired up for seventh-ranked Portugal.

Don't miss: The food. El Farolito (the little lantern) may look like a dive, but the tacos, burritos and quesadillas get rave reviews. If Mexico wins, they may throw in the chips for free.

-- Bacchus Kirk. Taylor and Bush streets.

Ambiance: Well-to-do Euro ex-pats sipping wine and rubbing shoulders with the eclectic group from the international youth hostel around the corner.

If you go, you'll want to: Say hello to Scottish owner Sharon Lindley. The place is named for Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, and "kirk," the Scottish word for "church." So Lindley says this is the "temple of wine."

Be there for: Serbia-Montenegro vs. the Netherlands on Sunday. For some reason, there's a Dutch crowd on Nob Hill.

Don't miss: Happy hour. Bacchus Kirk will serve drinks themed to every nationality, depending on who is playing that day. "I am hoping to get some Americans," Lindley says. "That would be nice."

-- Steps of Rome Caffe. 348 Columbus Ave., one block north of Broadway.

Ambiance: Upscale Italian soccer devotees and wannabes. During the last World Cup, the fans were five deep on the sidewalk.

If you go, you'll want to: Get there early. The Steps will open at 5 a.m. each game day, and while everyone will say they're there for the games, as general manager Gianluca Corso says, "It is not about the soccer. It is about being there."

Be there for: Italy vs. the United States on June 17. A no-brainer, slam-dunk, must-attend match. When Italy won the Cup in 1982, North Beach was nearly shut down by flag-waving, horn-honking Italian motorists. Now, if the Americans were to beat them, well, let's just say this would be the place to see it.

-- The Abbey. 5th Avenue and Geary.

Ambiance: Old Sod Irishmen who can recite Glasgow team stats going back 10 years.

If you go, you'll want to: Check out the Glasgow corner, where posters, banners and pins celebrate the team. Coll says visiting Irishmen regularly stop by to have their photos taken for the folks back home.

Be there for: Any English game. Ireland didn't make the Cup this year, but the Irish still have a favorite team -- whichever one is playing England. Any loss by England could find you enjoying free drinks.

Or at least fantastic memories of the World Cup.


http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file

=/c/a/2006/06/08/NEVIUS.TMP

 

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