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U.S. football fans issue warning to Japan: 'It's our time'

By Robert Chiarito CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scores of football fans, waving the American flag and wearing red, white and blue normally worn during July 4 cookouts, attended viewing parties across the nation for the women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan on Sunday. The game in Vancouver is a grudge match of sorts, since Japan won the 2011 World Cup over the Americans on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw. "It's our time. Payback," snapped Karla Mejia, 42, who was attending a public party at Chicago's Lincoln Park, preparing to watch the match on a 19-by-33 foot, high-definition screen. Fans dressed in patriotic colours, some with face paint, others with American flags worn like capes, filled the park. Some kicked footballs around and played Frisbee, while Chicagoans like Cameron Smith, 30, and Cody Schraf, 31, reserved their spot with blankets laid out in the grass, while they waited for 15 friends to arrive. Some 5,000 people were expected to watch the game under sun-drenched skies at the park but parties around the nation were being held in museums, bars, and private homes. Fans in the soccer-mad city of Portland, Oregon, were expected to pack the beer bar Bazi Bierbrasserie, likely the most popular place for serious devotees of the beautiful game to watch. It is one of dozens of viewing parties in the city. Owner Hilda Stevens said the bar's dining area had been booked a week in advance for every match leading up to the finals. "We've seen standing room only for every soccer match," she said, adding that she was expecting over 100 people to pack the bar, and at least 300 more for the outdoor beer garden. In the days leading up to the game, Stevens said she had seen a lot of World Cup fans, from North Carolina to Los Angeles, stopping by her bar on their way to Vancouver. In Seattle, pubs everywhere were staging viewing parties. This year's World Cup is especially meaningful for fans of the National Women's Soccer League's Seattle Reign, home club of the national team's star goalkeeper Hope Solo and midfielder Megan Rapinoe. At the Atlantic Crossing, a well-known Seattle football pub, fans donning red, white, and blue scarves trickled into the bar several hours before kickoff. "It's huge for this city," said Joy Routh, who travelled an hour from her home in Woodinville, Washington, to watch the game. The game begins at 7 p.m. EDT. (Additional reporting by Bryan Cohen in Seattle and Shelby Sebens in Portland; Writing by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Eric Walsh)