It begins

And so, after lots of posts on the subject on Phillyist and a ridiculous amount of hype across the planet, the World Cup begins today. The first game kicks off today at noon Eastern, with hosts Germany taking on Costa Rica. Every match will be broadcast in high definition on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC, with Spanish-language (but standard definition) telecasts of each game on Univision or Telefutura.

For most of the group stage, games will kick off at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Eastern Time -- and they do so right on the hour, so pregame coverage will start a few minutes before the hour. The last set of group games, from June 20-23, will kick off at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; knockout round games are at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m; and the final is at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 9.

We here at Phillyist suspect that most Center City bars, especially those of Irish and other European persuasions, will have the games on their TVs. Having said that, we have three favorite viewing places that we know will get most of the business from area soccer fans.

-- Tir Na Nog, 16th and Arch Streets in the ground floor of the Phoenix Apartments: The food can be expensive, but the fish and chips and shepherd's pie really are top notch. With lots of tables and a projection TV right near the entrance, there will be plenty of space for soccer fans of all persuasions. And the location, right on top of Suburban Station, can't be beat.

-- The Dark Horse Pub, 2nd and Lombard Streets: For years, the Dark Horse has been the best place to watch soccer, especially English soccer on weekends. It was open for every game of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, even though the games were broadcast in the States in the middle of the night, and it will no doubt be jammed again this year.

-- Fadó Philadelphia, 15th and Locust Streets: Anyone who's ever been to a Fadó knows that the place is a classic Irish pub. Soccer fans out there shouldn't be surprised to hear that the Philadelphia branch is the official meeting place for the Philadelphia branch of the fan club of famous Scottish club Glasgow Celtic, which is second only to the religion itself in terms of importance to Glasgow's Catholic population.

Wherever you watch the World Cup, enjoy it -- you're part of an audience that includes billions of people across the world. And of course, go USA!

Photo of the Munich World Cup Stadium (known most of the time as the Allianz Arena, but not during the World Cup because Allianz isn't a World Cup sponsor, and that's just the way it is) taken by Anja Niedringhaus of the Associated Press.