World Cup fans poised for beer, sleepless nights
Print Edition
RICHARD Ma has got everything ready for the World Cup opening game tomorrow morning — despite the fact it’s at 4am and not even on weekend.
“I don’t care if it’s a workday or not, neither about the time difference,” says the 32-year-old IT specialist. “This (FIFA World Cup) happens only once every four years. How can I miss it?”
The monthlong football carnival has been anticipated by Chinese soccer fans for a long time, and loyal fans like Ma are fully prepared for every single live match. As Ma says, “No replay is forgiven.”
Staying up all night, asking for leave from work, preparing the fancy team shirts, and of course icy beers and snacks are on their to-do list.
“This year is a big year for World Cup. I would love to say England or Australia have a chance to be the final winner, but Brazil with a hometown crowd will also have high energy,” says Steve Tewkesbury, who is based in Shanghai as director of SRG Group Trading (Shanghai) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the sixth-largest Australasian retailer Super Retail Group.
With a busy working schedule, Tewkesbury will be caught up with travel, so he will probably follow the games online.
“I would wear the team colors,” he tells Shanghai Daily. “I am lucky to have both Australian and English passports so it helps switch to the winners.”
Tewkesbury enjoys most sports at a top level, including State of Origin Rugby in Australia, the Hong Kong Sevens, English Premier League football and tennis such as the Australian Open.
“I like the occasional game of tennis,” he says. “I used to play squash. There is no way of winning table tennis against my Chinese teammates — they are just so good!”
At the same time, many local fans cannot wait for the beginning of the World Cup.
“I look forward to hot matches during the Brazilian World Cup,” says Zhi Jiahao, a 32-year-old Shanghainese, a former football player and a big fan.
Zhi first watched the World Cup at the age of 12 with his father. He used to be a football player on campus. Now, besides watching national and international games, he plays football with friends every weekend.
The coming World Cup will be special to him. Several years ago, Zhi, who works in the sales department of a French resort company, worked in Phuket, Thailand, as a game organizer, with lots of international players. He had a Brazilian girlfriend at the time, and the South American football kingdom left a deep impression on him because of the beautiful people.
Zhi collects many team shirts, and the coming tournament will be a chance for him to show them off. Zhi’s favorite team is Spain, but he says the champion may be Argentina. He also likes his refreshments.
“Icy beers, of course, they are the best friend of soccer games,” Zhi says. “I will watch the games at home with friends or at bars.”
Yang Yun plans to party this summer with his friends. He will participate in some parties organized by local fan associates.
Yang, 32, is a full-time real estate consultant and a part-time pop singer, staging at bars and commercial events. Yang used to study in Germany, and he will support his second-hometown team in the World Cup.
The competition between Spain and the Netherlands is a must-watch game on Yang’s schedule.
“This is the replay of the final game of last World Cup, isn’t it?” Yang says. “I also love the Dutch team. Portugal has a big advantage because of Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Besides playing and watching games, Yang is well known among his friends for his accurate predictions.
“Italy will definitely be the dark horse in this World Cup. I am so looking forward to the performances of those new talents,” he says
Yang started to watch the World Cup in 1990. During the 1998 World Cup in France, 16-year-old Yang stayed up all night to watch the semifinal.
“When the game ended, it’s was almost early morning and I had to go to school,” Yang recalls. “I washed my head with icy water to wake myself up, but unfortunately got sunstroke when I walked under sunshine.”
Staying up all night to watch games is not solely what men do. Tracy Luo is ready for her non-sleep month during the World Cup.
“I will watch all the games live instead of the recorded broadcast, accompanied by my ‘king’ at home,” says Luo, a 31-year-old Shanghainese who works as a senior accounting consultant.
Luo’s “king” is her husband, who loves soccer games. Their favorite team is Argentina, so the couple will don their team polo shirts.
“If it enters the semifinal or final, we will hold a party at home to invite friends to watch the game together,” Luo says excitedly.
“My king also expects to see those hot female fans in South America,” Luo adds.
Actually many female “fake fans” don’t even know the game rules or really care about which team will hold the Jules Rimet Cup in the end, for them the World Cup is more like a party.
Luo first watched the World Cup in 1998, in her last year of middle school. But she fell in love with the sport from watching with her husband. The couple used to live in Sydney, and they have traveled a lot and watched live games in Europe.
“Watching a live World Cup game (in person) one day is on our future calendar,” Luo says. “Every time we travel abroad, we visit the stadiums.”
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