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Go, team go! A young fan leads a growing group of cheerleaders
By Lu Xiaofeng and Xu Wei |
December 27, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
EVERY time the Shanghai Shenhua soccer team competes on its home turf - the Hongkou Football Stadium - there's always a loud and loyal group of about 200 cheerleaders sitting in the south stand, wearing blue uniforms and beating drums to rev up enthusiasm for a victory.
The Shengshi Football Fan Club is led by a 22-year-old sports enthusiast from Jiading District - Zhao Jiajue.
Zhao was first introduced to the thrills of soccer during her primary school years, at the urging of a cousin who supported Shenhua. Every weekend during a game, her eyes were glued to the TV set. But watching was not enough. Zhao decided she needed to learn more about the team and its players.
In her first year of senior high school, Zhao attended her first live football match at the stadium, accompanied by her cousin. She loved the atmosphere of intense enthusiasm and became a regular attendee whenever the team was playing in town.
Just as she was so exhilarated by the sport, many other people were equally enthusiastic, why not form a fan club, she thought to herself.
"At that time there were already other such clubs, such as the Blue Devils, but their members were at different ages and from all walks of life," Zhao said. "I simply wanted to gather together my friends and other young people passionate about Shenhua."
In September 2007, Zhao, then a university freshman set about founding the fan club. But for a girl of her age, she didn't exactly know how to go about it.
Where else to turn for help but Shenhua Football Club!
To the club, she seemed just like an eccentric fan, and although her application for a fan club was approved, no one expected it to amount to much.
They were in for a big surprise. Zhao recruited more than 90 members in only two months and the fan club began to show real staying power.
The initial recruitment drive still dwells vividly in Zhao's memory. It was a chilly February day. There she was, standing outside the Hongkou Football Stadium, handing out leaflets to passers-by. There were few people about. She might have felt discouraged, but that team spirit inside her burned bright and drove her on.
When it came to giving her new fan club a name, Zhao first thought of the Chinese word for "triumph." But later she decided to change it to Shengshi, which literally means "prosperity." It was a way of wishing the Shenhua football team a long stretch of prosperity during the intense competition of the Chinese Super League season. Shenhua played the third in last year's Chinese Super League.
Different from many other football fan clubs, Zhao worked hard to set up a big female contingent within the club.
"I wanted to show people that female fans are enthusiastic about the sport and not just ga-ga about handsome football players," Zhao said.
As leader of the club, Zhao has to sacrifice a lot of her leisure time because of organizing details. Although she lives quite a distance from the Hongkou Football Stadium, she is always the first one to arrive and the last one to leave when a match is on.
Zhao has also organized for members to travel when the team plays outside Shanghai. Their journey to Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, was one cheerleading trip she would never forget.
During the game, when the players of Shenhua football team made a goal that evened the score at 1-1, some unruly Hangzhou football fans began to throw bottles and stones at the football fans from Shanghai, including Zhao's club.
Not concerned about her own safety, Zhao immediately jumped up and told her club members to retreat back to their bus. When she finally got on the bus herself, a beer bottle landed alongside her into pieces, giving her quite a fright.
Zhao said her club is as united and harmonious as one big family.
Recently, a collection was taken up to help a member's mother, who was suffering from a brain disorder.
Zhao suffered a big disappointment when she fell four points shy of passing the entrance exam to study journalism at the Shanghai University of Sport. She had hoped to become a sports journalist.
"I envy female sports journalists because their job is challenging and tough," Zhao said. "It is a great regret in my life, but I still have the fan club and will try my best to make it even better."
The Shengshi Football Fan Club is led by a 22-year-old sports enthusiast from Jiading District - Zhao Jiajue.
Zhao was first introduced to the thrills of soccer during her primary school years, at the urging of a cousin who supported Shenhua. Every weekend during a game, her eyes were glued to the TV set. But watching was not enough. Zhao decided she needed to learn more about the team and its players.
In her first year of senior high school, Zhao attended her first live football match at the stadium, accompanied by her cousin. She loved the atmosphere of intense enthusiasm and became a regular attendee whenever the team was playing in town.
Just as she was so exhilarated by the sport, many other people were equally enthusiastic, why not form a fan club, she thought to herself.
"At that time there were already other such clubs, such as the Blue Devils, but their members were at different ages and from all walks of life," Zhao said. "I simply wanted to gather together my friends and other young people passionate about Shenhua."
In September 2007, Zhao, then a university freshman set about founding the fan club. But for a girl of her age, she didn't exactly know how to go about it.
Where else to turn for help but Shenhua Football Club!
To the club, she seemed just like an eccentric fan, and although her application for a fan club was approved, no one expected it to amount to much.
They were in for a big surprise. Zhao recruited more than 90 members in only two months and the fan club began to show real staying power.
The initial recruitment drive still dwells vividly in Zhao's memory. It was a chilly February day. There she was, standing outside the Hongkou Football Stadium, handing out leaflets to passers-by. There were few people about. She might have felt discouraged, but that team spirit inside her burned bright and drove her on.
When it came to giving her new fan club a name, Zhao first thought of the Chinese word for "triumph." But later she decided to change it to Shengshi, which literally means "prosperity." It was a way of wishing the Shenhua football team a long stretch of prosperity during the intense competition of the Chinese Super League season. Shenhua played the third in last year's Chinese Super League.
Different from many other football fan clubs, Zhao worked hard to set up a big female contingent within the club.
"I wanted to show people that female fans are enthusiastic about the sport and not just ga-ga about handsome football players," Zhao said.
As leader of the club, Zhao has to sacrifice a lot of her leisure time because of organizing details. Although she lives quite a distance from the Hongkou Football Stadium, she is always the first one to arrive and the last one to leave when a match is on.
Zhao has also organized for members to travel when the team plays outside Shanghai. Their journey to Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, was one cheerleading trip she would never forget.
During the game, when the players of Shenhua football team made a goal that evened the score at 1-1, some unruly Hangzhou football fans began to throw bottles and stones at the football fans from Shanghai, including Zhao's club.
Not concerned about her own safety, Zhao immediately jumped up and told her club members to retreat back to their bus. When she finally got on the bus herself, a beer bottle landed alongside her into pieces, giving her quite a fright.
Zhao said her club is as united and harmonious as one big family.
Recently, a collection was taken up to help a member's mother, who was suffering from a brain disorder.
Zhao suffered a big disappointment when she fell four points shy of passing the entrance exam to study journalism at the Shanghai University of Sport. She had hoped to become a sports journalist.
"I envy female sports journalists because their job is challenging and tough," Zhao said. "It is a great regret in my life, but I still have the fan club and will try my best to make it even better."
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