Cup of Good Cheer

At Durty Nelly’s, a sports bar in Costa Mesa, early morning patrons washed their eggs and potatoes down with ales and stouts, transfixed on television sets for the cardinal moment in the life of a soccer fan: the opening game of the World Cup.

More than 6,000 miles away, manic, flag-waving, face-painting, ole!-singing counterparts in Saint-Denis, France, partied before the kickoff game between defending world champion Brazil and Scotland.

Decidedly pro-Scottish, the group at Durty Nelly’s groaned, drank, cheered, high-fived, groaned and drank some more as the Brazilians held off Scotland for 90 minutes.

“We love Brazil,” said John Letham, 42, of Corona del Mar. “There’s an affinity between the crazy Brazilians and the crazy Scots. We like to think we’re just as crazy.”

For these fans and thousands of others around Southern California, the World Cup is a quadrennial feast of sport and culture, 64 blissful contests sprinkled throughout five weeks. For them, Wednesday’s start of the World Cup can compare only to the magic many feel at the beginning of the holiday season, fresh and full with the promise of wonderful times ahead.

“It’s better than New Year’s,” said Jesse Altamirano, 32, of San Juan Capistrano as he watched Wednesday’s match between Morocco and Norway at Booster’s Sports Grill in Mission Viejo. “People have parties and barbecues, they have their families over, their friends.

“All Hispanics love soccer--when we watch games, we have 30 to 40 guys watching, talking about teams, talking about games, about players, about coaches,” he said.

It’s like a stay-at-home vacation, where workaday cares are set aside, worries are allowed to fade and the mind and spirit are surrendered to this 1,700-year-old sport.

“They have some games that are on at 5:30 in the morning, and I don’t care what time it is,” said Michael Elfman, a 32-year-old soccer coach from Aliso Viejo. “It’s the World Cup--I’d get up at 3:30.”

There will be some early risers in Southern California on Saturday when the Mexican national team plays its first game against South Korea. A win by the fourth-ranked Mexican team would give overjoyed fans a whole weekend to party, stalwart fan Altamirano said.

But others question the Mexican team’s prospects in France.

In fact, the Mexican team never has won a World Cup game in Europe, but that will be of little import to fans across California, where the Cup provides the opportunity to be a nationalist and internationalist at the same time.

Among U.S. fans, evidence that soccer is holding a thread of the nation’s interest is encouraging, after years in which soccer was shrugged off as too slow-moving and low-scoring for Americans. At Durty Nelly’s, confirmed soccer lovers said they like the fact that it is a low-scoring, uninterrupted game of stamina.

“I like the fact it’s not high scoring. It’s a struggle back and forth,” said Glenn Gallacher, 29, of Costa Mesa. “It’s the only sport the entire world plays.”

Top soccer players, like other professional athletes, sign lucrative contracts to play for teams around the globe. But every four years, the World Cup summons them all home to play for their national teams.

“It’s almost like the Olympics in a way,” said Carlo Vapor, 29, of Costa Mesa. “The players are doing it for country and honor. It’s deeper than just sponsorship.”

Each of the 64 matches will be on network television in the U.S., with broadcasts split between ESPN and ABC, with the larger network carrying U.S. team games that start at noon Monday against Germany.

“It’s getting good coverage on TV this year,” said Brian Ingram, manager and bartender at Booster’s and a former club soccer player. “A lot of times, you have to watch the Spanish-language stations just to see soccer.”

Some fans, such as Elfman, are lucky enough to be planning European trips to watch some of the action in person. For the rest, enjoying the company of friends and watching games in halls, family rooms and taverns will suffice quite nicely.

Said Charlie Kenny, 34, of Costa Mesa: “Every four years it gives you something to look forward to.”