Soccer fans to sacrifice sleep
Print Edition
THE 2014 FIFA World Cup got under way in Brazil in the early hours of this morning, and for soccer fans it marked the start of a month of sleepless nights.
In the runup to the opening match — between Brazil and Croatia at 4am Beijing time — lovers of the beautiful game were planning their strategies.
Beijinger Zeng Tao said he is used to staying up, but will have to adjust his schedule if he is to survive a month of late nights.
“I’ll go to bed at 10pm and get up for the 4am kick-offs, though I’m not sure I’ll be able to fall asleep that early,” the 45-year-old sales manager said.
“Still, my timetable has to change if I am to see the games,” he said. “So I’ll either go to sleep early, or not sleep at all.”
With the exception of the Group C clash between the Ivory Coast and Japan — which gets under way at 9am on Sunday — all of the games in this year’s tournament kick-off at between midnight and 6am local time.
Aware of the difficult choices faced by its staff, Guangzhou-based web browser developer UCWeb has allowed each of its employees to take up to three days off during the World Cup.
Workers can claim the days to catch up on sleep after staying up to see their favorite teams, the company said in a note posted on the bulletin board.
It said it will also broadcast the games live on a big screen in the staff canteen, and provide beer, soft drinks and snacks.
Though China failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup Finals, local soccer fans are as passionate as anyone. The tournament was first televised in China in 1978, when the contest was held in Argentina.
“I remember watching the final between Argentina and the Netherlands (Argentina won 3-1 after extra time) on a small black-and-white TV at my neighbor’s home,” said Zhang Feng, a retiree from Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province.
“I was amazed at how crazy the players could be over a ball,” he said.
More than two decades later, when China made its debut at the World Cup Finals in 2002, Beijinger Cao Yi was a high school student.
“While I was in class I’d listen stealthily to the games through my radio earphones,” he said.
“At one point, I go so excited I cried out, and my classmates all laughed. Thankfully the teacher was good about it. After finishing writing on the blackboard, he turned to me and asked: ‘What’s the score?’”
As it turned out, China failed to score a single goal in the tournament and was eliminated at the group stage.
Not that that worried Cao too much. Just being part of the 2002 World Cup was enough.
“It was a memorable event, and I hope China will one day return with a stronger team.”
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