Soccer culture has arrived in Bay Area: Sports bars jammed

[Kire]

The World Cup bandwagon revved and raring to go
Soccer culture has arrived in Bay Area: Sports bars jammed

C.W. Nevius
Thursday, May 18, 2006

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Oh sure, Americans tuned in when Alexi Lalas and the U.S. squad made it to the World Cup in 1994 and everyone went nuts when Mia Hamm and the U.S. women's team won the world title in 1999. But a lot of people still wonder when soccer will truly arrive on this side of the pond.

The truth is, it is already here. And with the World Cup starting in three weeks, you can either jump on the bandwagon or get run over. But if you're going to hop on, be there early.

"We'll be open at 5:30 in the morning,'' says Peter McVeigh, who is co-owner of the Chieftain Irish sports bar on Fifth Street and was born in County Clare. "We will be so chock-a-block with all sorts of fans that sometimes we have to move the tables out.''

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But what was surprising was the number of Giants jerseys and the strange, unexpected accent of some of those at the bar.

They sounded positively American.

More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/18/BAGHTITS0M1.DTL