An Early Morning Cup of Soccer

The World Cup hit Wednesday morning with the full force of a manic crowd, drumbeats and flag-waving--not only in the host country, France, not only in the country of the defending champion, Brazil, but also in a restaurant in West Los Angeles.

About 100 zealous Brazilian expatriates gathered at the small eatery and bar on Venice Boulevard to watch the first game of this year’s World Cup.

Cringing in anticipation in the last minutes of a game too close for comfort, they tugged at their hair, shouted the names of their favorite players with every kick of the ball and pleaded for the referee to speed the end of the game. As the final whistle blew, cementing Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Scotland, they exploded into pandemonium, chanting to the beat of samba drums, “Ole, ole, ole, ole, Brazil, Brazil!”

Then, the workday having begun two hours ago, many rushed out the door and headed for their jobs, waving their flags, content.

“It was muito [very] cool,” said Daniel Gray, 25, who said he ditched work to watch the game. “We got here at 7:15 to get good spots right in front of the TV.”

“Each goal was a party,” added his friend and co-worker Ana Maria, 32.

“Soccer is everything,” said a happy Gisele Queiros, 27, a native of Rio de Janeiro and a waitress at Zabumba, which hosted the early morning event. “We were born for it. We came out of our mothers’ wombs waving a flag and yelling ‘Brazil!’ ”

Brazil, after all, is a country where schoolchildren so desperate for the game crumple notebook paper into balls to play on sidewalks and beaches, where World Cup games featuring Brazil are considered unofficial holidays. For those who showed up as early as 7 a.m. for a game that began at 8:30 PDT, waking early was more than worth it.

“I was beginning to get withdrawals,” said Marcone Oliveira, 28, who complained about the dearth of soccer coverage in this country.

Oliveira came to Los Angeles eight months ago to study English. “I look through the different Spanish channels to see if I can catch a game or surf the Internet for game updates,” he said.

These being Brazilians, there could be no soccer without samba, the heavy drum music of Brazilian Carnaval.

“Soccer and samba is the total combination,” said Lula Almeida, a “mestre de bateria” or drum master, who kept the beat and the energy inside Zabumba throughout the game.

What’s more important than samba and soccer?

“During World Cup?” said Monica Burgos, co-owner of the restaurant. “Not even God.”

From software engineers to businessmen, those in the crowd kept their eyes glued to the screen and their hands on their beers. Defending world champion Brazil was saved from an embarrassing draw with Scotland by scoring a lucky goal in the second half.

“It was the best,” said waitress Queiros, sporting a tight canary yellow jersey and a green, blue and yellow hat. “I didn’t want to go home crying.”

Ironically, the only non-Brazilians present who understood such a passion for the game were a couple of Britons.

“Football for us is like everything,” Justin Risdon, 26, a Los Angeles resident, said.

Risdon’s friend Andy Wright said he is dismayed by the apathy and ignorance about soccer displayed by most Americans.

The two, along with Wright’s wife and son, were having breakfast at a nearby cafe just before the game and watching the World Cup opening ceremonies on television.

“A guy asked, ‘Is that the Dodger Stadium? Are they playing today?”’ Wright said. “It’s unbelievable.”