World Cup Viewing

The World Cup starts this Friday in South Africa and NYC is teeming with opportunities to cheer on various national squads. Here are some venues to watch the hopes and dreams of 31 nations die on the pitch (the 32^nd team wins, naturally).

Live games start early, so we recommend taking a few weeks off - no one's gonna miss you...

Germany

LES Biergarten Loreley (7 Rivington Street) serves up beer, sausages and all things German with live showings of the 10am and 2:30pm games (plus early Germany games). Expect rabid German fans and "soccer rolls" featuring the foods of participating nations.

Italy

The Azzurri storm back to defend their title and Scuderia (257 6^th Ave) will share the experience with the world - on an outside screen.

France

Can Les Bleus regain their form sans Zidane? Try Cercle Rouge (241 W. Broadway) or Felix (340 W. Broadway) for all things sacre football. Just don't be surprised if there is a lot of lamenting about how the last Cup went down.

Brazil

Can perennial favorites Brazil pull it off? Esperanto (145 Ave C) has a bonus for the Brazil matches - get shots of cachaca whenever Brazil scores, which should be often enough to get you into trouble, especially when they kick some Kim Jong Il butt on 6/15.

Spain

Boqueria (53 W. 19^th & 171 Spring St) will show the 10am and 2:30pm games live (7:30am games will be aired at Noon, cancel that business lunch). For the first week, get a free order of churros & chocolate or bravas & beer at the 10am games. Cheer on World #2 Spain as they go for their first Cup.

USA

Americans are certainly not discriminating with their sports - cars driving around in circles, overweight men smashing into each other, that sort of thing - but football (aka soccer) has never caught on here. Perhaps this year will be the turning point since the Red, White & Blue got to the finals of a tourney before getting throttled by Brazil. Options include fratty Village Pourhouse with its numerous TV screens and Southern Hospitality with 14 screens and drink specials.

Other Options:

Newbie Sunburnt Calf (226 W. 79^th) will show all games live including the 7:30am matches. $2 buds will help ease the early morning pain. Some of the BR Guest restaurants including Wildwood BBQ (225 Park Ave South) will open 30 minutes prior to the first game and serve special breakfast menus. Double Crown (316 Bowery) will have a do-it-yourself Bloody Mary bar, the ideal way to start a long day in front of the tube. Or just hit up Nevada Smiths (74 Third Ave), the NYC go-to spot for all things football related.