World Cup fever grips many

It felt like midnight on New Year’s Eve in the Italian section of Corona. The bullhorns went off, the ecstatic and joyful chants began, and the cigar smoke passed through the air outside Tony’s Bar and Restaurant on 104th Street and 46th Avenue in the middle of the afternoon Monday, June 12th.
Italy, indeed, had made their long-awaited return to World Cup competition, and had gone ahead. Hugs and kisses followed a celebration that lasted several minutes. “This is the year we win the cup,” Gregorio Gigliotti crowed. “We’ve got a good team.”
In preparation for the tournament, the restaurant owner, Tony Laucellia, bought a 64-inch plasma television for soccer enthusiasts and invited anyone from the neighborhood to come by. With help from nearby Mama’s Deli and the construction company, G & F Homes, they offered free barbecue from Franco’s Fresh Meat & Deli & Catering, and provided al fresco seating.
“You try to get everyone back together again,” said Gigliotti, who helped organize the gathering. “We all came together to organize this.”
Countless friends joined together to watch Italy top Ghana, 2-0, donning Italian shirts, jerseys and jackets, with one wearing a sleeveless shirt that read “Not only am I perfect, I’m Italian.”
Many even skipped their jobs. “I would be working, but I took off,” Gigliotti said. “Everyone took off today.”
“It’s a tradition for us Italians,” said Oronzo Lamorgese. “Soccer [in Italy] is like baseball in the United States. Italy lives for soccer.”
Earlier in the day in Bayside, at the Byzantio Caf/ on Bell Boulevard, fans watched USA drop their debut, crumbling to the Czech Republic, 3-0, on an eight-foot wide projector. The Greek caf/’s owner, John Kotrozos, said the World Cup has produced an increase in customers; for the last game of each afternoon so far during the first week, they’ve gotten over 100 customers, more than double their average intake. “It helps business, of course,” he said.
“I’m happy there are a lot of people in here today.”
The electric atmosphere was similar to that of several other diverse neighborhoods in Queens that celebrated the return of the World Cup with festive gatherings. Fans flooded the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria, Breffni Inn Bar in Sunnyside, The Starting Gate in Woodside, Zum Stammtisch in Glendale, D’Antigua in Jackson Heights and several others.