Ah, frailty, thy name is soccer player....especially the English ones who tend to tear a lot!
Many soccer fans I know beg to differ, arguing that most of these players are overrated and grossly overpaid blokes who only train with their teammates a few months leading up to the big international event! Otherwise, most of the big names are busy making a living playing in the league games...and gettin' paid for them!
I've actually watched the Germans play live in the last FIFA World Cup held on 21 June 2002! I was in Korea for a working trip and told me MD, "hey, if you don't need me after this meeting, I'm outta here! Gotta get meself a ticket to the Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, pronto."
Needless to say, I was headed for the Germany vs USA game, which saw Germany's defeat over the USA 1-0 - which was also their ticket to advance to the semi-finals. I wasn't a big German or USA fan, but just wanted for once in my lifetime to attend a World Cup game live, and this was my big chance!
Our Korean clients were pleased that I showed such interest in soccer in their homeland, and assisted me in finding my "black market" ticket in the last hour! Couldn't remember how much they were, but I knew they definitely weren't cheap!!! Was it worth it? Every KWon of it!
Given my pathetic knowledge about the who's who in the soccer fraternity (shocking for an avid soccer player), the only German players that I kinda knew were Michael Ballack, who celebrated his 39th minute goal, and the German captain and keeper Oliver Kahn! Didn't even know the US were such strong opponents, even though I believe soccer is a game which most American junior and high school students play before they migrate to more lucrative sports like American Football, baseball etc. etc.
Anywayz, I checked out of the hotel, lugged my Samsonite suitcase with me, hopped onto the local bus, which took me from Seoul to Ulsan. I was going to catch the next bus or train back the next morning after the game to catch the early morning flight back to Singapore.
On the bus, I realised there was a group of Korean men who were travelling together. No prizes for guessing that they were headed for the soccer game in Ulsan! I tried chatting with the gentleman who sat next to me in broken English. He later introduced himself as a professor. Oh, educated one! Another spoke good American English, so I started chatting with he who later became the translator. I was told they were colleagues working at a finance company. And I left it at that. In the photo above, that's me with the Professiore on my right, and the English-expert on my left.
Being in a foreign country, where two other foreign countries are playing, I guess it just didn't have that "kick" as opposed to if I had been there when the hometeam from South Korea was playing against a foreign team. But the supportive US and German fans made up for it....all those fancy costumes, face painting and country flags! Brilliant! Would I have painted my face with the Singaporean flag if it were Singapore playing xxx? Lemme revisit that question if it happens! :P
My new Korean friends kept asking me where I was sitting, if they could help me carry my suitcase, where I was from, what I was doing there all by meself etc....and I thought, "hey, what a buncha caring folk!" When we entered the stadium, I realised they knew many of the security guards who were on duty. I asked where they were seated, and they couldn't tell me, so I made my way to my seat and waited for the game to start.
Lo and behold, the Korean contingent appeared and took their seats next to me! "What a coincidence", I thought to meself. But I was glad to see familiar faces.
The game was all that I'd expected! It was a blast! Just wished that I had my soccer friends with me for the ultimate experience! Part of the enjoyment of watching sports for me is to enjoy the moment with those who share the same passion for the sport. Well, these Korean folk who have been kind made up for it!
I took the same train back to Seoul with one of the Korean dudes. That was when he disclosed to me that he and his friends were from "internal security" and that attending the game was just part of their duty! And my fellow busmate was a professor of "criminology", who was probably psycho-analyzing me and wondering what the heck was a single Singaporean girl doing going to watch a soccer game all by herself, with that suspicious looking bag! Hmmm.....
Apparently, the South Koreans decided to upgrade their security arrangements for the 2002 World Cup following September 11th. "International terrorists may use the world’s biggest festival as an opportunity for committing terror to make demands and achieve their goals," a KOWOC spokesperson said.
The new measures were to include no-fly zones over its stadia, increased monitoring of the coastline, beefed-up security at industrial facilities and airports, reinforced cooperation with American, British and Japanese intelligence, as well as the banning of known or suspected terrorists. It was reported that security will also be stepped up inside and outside all World Cup venues with the deployment of special anti-terrorist squads!
I never found out whether I was on their list of "suspicious characters" but hey, at least I can say I've rubbed shoulders with Korean internal security while watching one of the greatest competitions on earth live! I didn't see any of the Germans or Americans cry though from where I was sitting! Perhaps the Samsung LCD screen advert really does speak the truth! Stay home, and you won't miss a thing on TV!
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