tinyurl.com/lov2g -> www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/08/BAG46JAKE01.DTL&hw=pubs&sn=002&sc=591
Email This Article So, you've decided World Cup soccer is worth viewing. 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. 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." 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.
com to send "healing thoughts" -- is a sure-fire conversation starter. Owner Cyril Hackett, who also owns Kezar, says "the English ex-pats will be singing their identifying (soccer) songs." 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. This is the first World Cup in years that he hasn't attended. Ambiance: Hole-in-the-wall Mission District taqueria for Latin soccer fanatics. 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. Mexico, June 21, 7 am Fourth-ranked Mexico will be fired up for seventh-ranked Portugal. El Farolito (the little lantern) may look like a dive, but the tacos, burritos and quesadillas get rave reviews. 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." Bacchus Kirk will serve drinks themed to every nationality, depending on who is playing that day. During the last World Cup, the fans were five deep on the sidewalk. The Steps will open at 5 am 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. 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. 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. 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. CW Nevius' column appears Thursdays and Saturdays in the Bay Area section.
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