Soccer as a cultural phonomenon in Brazil

Soccer really is a cultural phenomenon in Brazil. I teach Brazilian Portuguese and have suggested the following homework to my students: watch at least one Brazil game at a bar or restaurant with a group of festive Brazilians. Whether you like soccer or not, this truly is a cultural experience.
 
I live in San Francisco (Calif, USA) and there are a few bars and restaurants here showing the games to a crowd of Brazilian fans. The game against Portugal was at 7 am local time. You would thing that 7 am is too early for any bar activity, but not during the World Cup. Before 7 this bar was crowded with fans in their yellow jerseys and we even had a band playing Brazilian music live.
 
Do we have problems? Yes, but we also have the art of celebrating :)
 
Here is a good article about the topic:
http://blog.young-germany.de/2010/06/football-a-national-passion-in-brazil/