MUMBAI, July 12: At long last, after 33 days of tension, thrills, drama and heartbreak, defending champion Brazil, the favourites of millions of Indian soccer fanatics, were playing the final against the host nation. And Mumbai will be there too, in a way, glued to its television sets past midnight.There are several giant screens set up in the city, prominently in Kandivli (West) where Cinimax have set up one and will be serving their patrons with refreshments free of cost. Another one is at MK High school, Borivli. Even The Leela have lived up to fulfil the expectations of their members and guests. They have set up a large screen at the Cyclone Club.Today, being a Sunday, was an advantage for most of the hard-working Mumbaiites as many had their afternoon siesta, hoping to remain alert to watch the Samba rythm of the Brazilians against the French artistry.Even educational institutions were keyed up for the mega event. At the IIT campus in Powai, a huge screen has been installed at the ConvocationHall.The hall has seating arrangements for 1800 people. IIT's PRO Aruna Dixit said: ``All the boys are in a jubilant mood. Luckily, the lectures begin only after mid-July.''As the hour drew closer, the road leading to Three Flights Up, situated near Regal cinema, was choc-a-bloc with disappointed football fans who were refused entry into the club already bursting at its seams. The few lucky ones inside made their way through a corridor spruced up with nets and footballs scattered around.The top brass from the city, alongwith their clients, came together for reasons other than business at The President to mix business with pleasure and football. They tucked into such delicious dishes like the `Hand of God', and the `Baggio Concotion.'In south Mumbai, theatres, restaurants, shops wore a deserted look late in the evening as usual Sunday crowd preferred to stay indoors to watch the final. Urs Haldimann, a station manager with Swiss Air, who has also stayed in Sao Paulo for five years, is an avid Brazilfan. ``For the final, I have asked my deputy to be on the night shift as I want to witness the Brazilian lifting the World Cup second consecutive time,'' he says with a chuckle. With Italy out of contention, Italian electrical engineer Marco Bazzarello has trained his support for Brazil.The Taj Group of Hotels is organising a number of spot competitions for the finals with the prizes sponsored by Philips India Limited. Anil Malhotra, the Shamiana Manager of Taj Hotel, is a harried man for he has to contend with an additional rush of about 1000.
