The World Cup starts today.<br /> <br /> But tomorrow means everything.<br /> <br /> Today's email is a simple reminder that tomorrow at 8:30pm in South Africa (that's 2:30pm EST), the upstart American cleat-wearers will stare down the barrel of history, without blinking. It was 60 years ago that the US team last faced off against the Brits in the World Cup and toppled a giant.<br /> <br /> So if there is but one day this year to give full license to your quiet lust for overflowing bars, instant comradery and internationally sanctioned frivolity, tomorrow would be the day. Herewith, the few spots you may not have yet considered in the 11th hour. Because the city is large. And the game is long.
The legendary 1950 win was so unexpected it was never even recorded. But they did make a movie. City Winery will get you up to speed by screening The Game of Their Lives right before the game. And yes, Captain Jean-Luc Picard makes a cameo.
The pork-happy, soccer-loving chefs at Cabrito are planning to make liberal use of their tequila supply by pouring comp shots for you and every other starred and striped fan whenever the US team scores a goal.
Seeing as this is prime brunching hour, you may be in need of the proven restorative powers of tomato juice and vodka. Which means you'll be frequenting the make-your-own Bloody Mary bar at Double Crown, where tomato and olive staples give way to pickled cauliflower, curry sauce and... fish juice.
If there is another nation as rabid about football as England, it's Germany. And Italy. Or Brazil. And Ghana. But getting back to Germany. Loreley is a little Munich on the LES, with 12 German beers on tap and open-air outdoor seating for your sun-soaked soccer enjoyment. Also: pretzels. Never overlook pretzels.
If you're going to watch in Brooklyn, you should at least go somewhere that will let you bring 60 friends, head behind the kitchen and kick back in an actual movie theater with backseats pulled out of minivans and a personal bartender. An accessory rarely included with minivan seating.
Among the World Cup's many local benefits, you'll find the Spotted Pig, for the first time ever, waking up early to cook you a breakfast of sausage rolls and frittatas, with five-dollar Porkslap Ales to wash it all down. Beer with breakfast being one of England's finer contributions to global culture.
Should you find yourself in the Hamptons tomorrow (and we hope you do), you'll want to head east to Navy Beach in Montauk. After all, there are so few places you can dive directly from bar to the sea in celebration of the US victory.
