www.csua.org/u/gdc -> www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/08/MNG0NJS36R1.DTL
In San Francisco, there's more than one way to watch the World Cup soccer showdown between Italy and France. You could do as the Italians do, and cram into the Steps of Rome Caffe in North Beach to down espresso shots and scream at the big screen as Italian waiters pour red wine and offer back rubs and flowers to pretty girls. The normally raucous North Beach hot spot has been even louder during the past month's soccer matches. "Italian pride is pretty big," said Katharine Rodriguez, who described her job as "administrator of all things" at the Steps. But her loyalty is divided: She's half French and half Italian. She has a gut feeling -- in the French part of her gut -- that France is going to declare victoire. Italians at heart will also be able to enjoy the game at the exclusive San Francisco Italian Athletic Club off Washington Square in North Beach. President Sergio Salvetti has opened the doors for one day to non-Italians and non-Italian Americans in an "unprecedented display of community participation," as the club's press release states. In the heart of San Francisco's French Quarter, waiters are putting the Champagne on ice at Cafe de la Presse, across from the French Consulate on Grant Avenue. "We're holding out some for walk-ins, but it's going to be tight," said manager Roni Freeman. Francophiles who get bounced from Cafe de la Presse could find a home at Alliance Francaise on Bush Street between Polk and Larkin, where fans can watch the game in the Alliance's basement cinema. German-born Jens-Peter Jungclaussen of San Francisco called on the German Consulate and his Burning Man artist friends to help him throw a free screening in the park. "In Germany, there are 200 public screens up where people gather and watch the World Cup," said Jungclaussen, a 37-year-old biology teacher who takes classes on field trips in his bus. "You'd think in a place as European and multicultural as San Francisco there'd be a free public screen up somewhere for the World Cup. When I realized there wasn't, I decided to just do it myself." Jungclaussen invited popular Burning Man DJ Man Cub to play chill music, mixed with "cheesy French and Italian tunes," to entertain the crowd before and after the game. Jungclaussen will sell German sausages and hamburgers so he can recoup the money he spent on permits, security, portable toilets and renting the 9-foot-by-13-foot screen. It's for everyone to come together just like they do in Germany," he said. In the East Bay, fans can catch the game at Ricky's Sports Theatre and Grill in San Leandro (rated second-best sports bar in America by Sports Illustrated magazine), Barclays Restaurant & Pub on College Avenue in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood, or Mr Pickwick's British Pub and Restaurant in Concord. The California Cougars, a Major Indoor Soccer League team, will host a festival Sunday at the Stockton Events Center, including a screening of the World Cup final in the Stockton Arena. Portugal -- Noon today -- ESPN Championship -- France vs.
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