| © theres >>>SPORTS continued from page 25 the crowd is treated to an exciting, emotional half of soccer. Even #9 from Uruguay has stopped diving, but at one point, he is basically body-checked, and the referee chooses to look away. The player is mad, and complains. Oops, yellow card. The Uruguayan coach, realizing what is happening, subs him out of the game, just to be on the safe side. Smart move. ~~ 40:20:p.m: My first live World Cup game comes to a close. 0-0 draw. Figures. My first game, and nobody scores a goal. Still, the consensus is that for a scoreless game, it was a good match. The French goalie, Barthez, receives Player of the Match, but France is in a lot of trouble. Meanwhile, everyone files out of the stadium, rather quietly. I’m still not sold on the Koreans and soccer. Will they be able to get excited if their team gets knocked out? Of course, Korea ends up advancing all the way to the semi-finals, and by the end of the tournament, South Korea has officially gone soccer mad. It's anyone’s guess how they might have reacted if Korea had fallen early on, considering how easy it was to purchase tickets for games in their country. Still, their team performed well beyond expectations, and the future for Korean soccer looks incredibly bright. Japan: Japan loves a good party. They have a reputation of filling stadiums, no matter what is coming to town. The 1998 Olympics in Nagano were a perfect example. This could be one of the reasons why finding tickets to any games in Japan, never mind Japanese home games, was impossible. Another strange Japanese phenomenon is the fact that despite their fear of hooligans, they were obviously cheering for both England and Ireland. Rumour has it that Japanese people simply love Beckham, which would explain their love for England, but Ireland? Keeping the focus on Japan, first off, a quick recap of the more interesting events, and maybe even a peek into Japanese culture? Well OK, it’s only soccer, but ... Friday, May 31, opening day: Tokyo Station, 1p.m. I'm in line, picking up my tickets. A large group of Mexicans, clad in their national colours, have just entered, and a guy named Jose notices that Japanese newscasters are filming people in line. He immediately offers his services for an interview, but barely a minute in, he says, “OK, now it's my turn to interview you,” and grabs the microphone right out of the reporter's hand! The reporter is stunned, and unsure what to do, as Jose asks him, “Do you think Japan will beat Russia?” After a brief hesitation, the reporter answers “Yes.” Satisfied, Jose hands him back the microphone, and leads the Mexican fans into song. | find myself wondering what a North American reporter might have done in that situation. Fight back? Turn the camera off? Threaten to sue the guy? June 2, Shibuya (Tokyo): 9:45p.m. Hooliganism. This word seems to strike fear into the heart of all Japanese police officers. They’re probably getting ready for the war of all wars in Sapporo when England plays Argentina on June 7, but on this night, they decided to follow a group of Irish fans to a nearby pub. We'll let Tommy tell the story: “We come out of the station, and the police ask us, ‘Are you hooligans?’ (Gee | wonder what he answered?) Then, they asked us where we’re going,and followed us here. Now they’re outside. What, they think we’re from England or something?” Ah yes, spoken like a true Irishman. Some things just never change ... June 4, Nagoya: 6p.m. Sometimes, it’s better to watch a game in a city that’s not hosting any games, and tonight, that’s what I’m doing. For some reason, Japan didn’t bother to build a stadium in their fourth largest city, but | think half the city’s population is inside this tiny English pub watching Japan play Belgium. The atmosphere is electric, as the country is wondering how they will do in their first home game. TAS ' pm: Japan scores! The bar erupts, and Japanese people go crazy, cheering, hugging, and trying to dance. Somehow, a Japanese man, clad in a Suzuki jersey (the player who scored the goal) manages to climb up on a table, dancing excitedly. Someone hands him a Japanese flag, which he waves fran- tically. Only when the English bartender threatens to throw him out does he actually climb down. Japan’s party will be short-lived, however, with the game ending up in a 2-2 tie. 9 p.m. The bar is now half-empty, with South Korea, the other co-host, playing their first game against Poland. Strange scheduling, to have both hosts play on the same night. A handful of leftover Japanese fans appear to be cheering Korea on, albeit, reluctantly. | ask a Japanese man who he wants to win, and he replies, “Well, we would like an Asian team to win, but we don’t want Korea to win first.” When | look confused, he smiles, and says, “It’s very complicated.” Well, Korea wins 2-0. Korea: 1 win. Japan: 1 tie. The battle continues. Saturday, June 8, shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo: 10 a.m. Well, last night the biggest game of the first round, and quite possibly the tournament, took place in Sapporo, with England knocking off Argentina 1-0. And now it appears that the consensus is that because England beat Argentina, they’re convinced they will win the World Cup. What | want to know is whether or not Sapporo is burning, but the newspapers are very quiet. No riots? Where have all the hooligans gone? Later on, an Irish guy informs me, “That's because they won. Just wait until they lose.” What, losers riot? Oh wait a minute. Vancouver 1994. It all makes sense to me now ... Sunday, June 9, ShinYokohama: 4p.m. Ah yes, | had to be here for this one. Yes, Japan vs. Russia today. I’m bare- ly two blocks from the stadium. | had thought of buying a ticket, but forget it. There are at least 1000 Japanese fans around the station, looking for tickets, but no one appears to be selling. Japanese people are already singing and dancing, and kick-off is still over 4 hours away. 6:30 p.m. An English fan and | settle down inside a small bar, barely a block from the stadium. By 7p.m., the bar is packed. Everyone is Japanese ... except us, of course. This is (and will be) the biggest game in Japanese soccer history. Around 8p.m., when the English guy goes to the bar to order a round of drinks continued on page 27 Femara .