WORLD CUP USA ’94 / ROUND OF 16 : SPOTLIGHT : CALM, BUT PREPARING FOR A BRAZILIAN STORM

Not that they are unpatriotic in suggesting that Brazil might beat the United States today at Palo Alto, but the citizens of Los Gatos, Calif., have to be prepared.

Mayor Randy Attaway, whose city has played host to Brazil’s team and many of its followers during the World Cup, has brought in 175 law enforcement officers from surrounding areas in anticipation of a victory celebration.

Revelers, Attaway said, are expected to outnumber the city’s population of 28,000.

“We’re going to be blocking off streets to take what crowd we can handle,” Attaway said. “We can’t draw 40,000 people. We just don’t have the space for it. We know there’s going to be some form of celebration, but our town will only be able to handle so much.”