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World Cup NYC: Brazil v Australia

With temperatures in the 90s in New York by Sunday's noon EST kickoff for Australia's clash with Brazil, it was hard to imagine that a lot of fans would make the trek to Avenue C's Sunburnt Cow. We imagined wrong. The restaurant is--along with Eight Mile Creek--headquarters for all things Aussie during the World Cup, and it was so full that we couldn't get in--there was literally no place to stand where we could see the game.

Undaunted, we spotted Baraza next door. Lo and behold, it turned out to be a Brazilian bar, right next to the Australian one and sharing overflow from the Sunburnt Cow. We saw several Aussie fans dancing to the live samba band inside. We didn't take their pictures so as to preserve their fan anonymity.

Baraza was full by kickoff as well with the band drumming and tooting their disco whistles whenever Brazil got the ball. The audio feed inside the bar was even from Univision, giving it a particularly festive feel. (It's closer to Portuguese than the dumbass ABC announcers, OK?) The bar was also host to the filming of a documentary, World Cup of NYC, following 32 fans--one from each nation--for the duration of the Cup.

The combination of dancing and poor ventilation gave Baraza an approximate tropical feel, close to being inside of an armpit. It was all we could do to keep drinking Brahma in order to stave off fainting while we watched the Brazilians win, 2-0. The Socceroos (we'll never tire of that name) put up a strong fight though.  What's not to like about a team with an insignia on their jersey that has an Ostrich and a Kangaroo?

Ultimately, halftime brought the fans together in a way that even soccer could not: Both the Brazilians and the Aussies were parked on the sidewalk, puffing away on cigarettes and talking on their phones. They may have been competing against each other yesterday, but they were unified in their dislike of Mayor Bloomberg's smoking ban. The beautiful game, indeed.

Related Stories:
·   World Cup Coverage [Jaunted]
·   Germany World Cup [Official Site]