Prior to the World Cup, the North Korean government decided not to allow live broadcasts of any games in their country. I don't know why.
However, after their team's impressive near-not-loss against the Brazilians in their opening match, the leaders at whatever Soviet-style bureau decides these things allowed their second match to go on the air live.
I had found a ticket to the match because I met a guy from London (who's from Mozambique and subsequently Portugal) at my hostel who had an extra ticket he sold me at face value. We were soon fast friends.
My expectations for the game were tempered, as the first one I went to (England-Algeria) was so unsatisfying.
But I was wrong to have worried about boredom, and the North Korean officials were wrong to have chosen this game for their first national broadcast.
I am never for censorship, but it might have been prudent in this case, because North Korea received a near-historic level of shameful defeat at the hands of Portugal.
7-0.
Shame.
It was great fun to watch, and being there with Portuguese fans, it was a party in the stands. Although the goals came so fast at one point that I missed two when I went for beer in the second half. The Chinese fans cheering for North Korea seemed less thrilled about the whole ordeal, but I guess having been paid to be there, it would have been impolite to act otherwise.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
UK vs. Algeria
I flew to Cape Town on a whim. I had watched the opening week of games while in Zanzibar, and decided that if a plane ticket didn't cost too much, I was going to South Africa.
It didn't, so I did.
My first day in South Africa, the England/Algeria game was being held in Cape Town. The U.S. played Slovenia the same day in Johannesburg, so I walked down to Long Street, scalped a ticket to the England match and sat at a pub to watch Germany strangely lose to Slovakia, with the U.S. game coming on afterward. For those of you who watched the Slovenia game, you know how exciting and heart breaking it was. The atmosphere in the pub was mostly embarrassment for the first half, with all the English fans making fun of us for losing to fucking Slovenia. But the second half was exhilarating. The comeback the team made had strangers kissing, hugging and lifting each other on to tables to scream at the TV and each other.
Incredible fun; and we were all a bit drunk.
The third goal came at a time of perfect emotional culmination - and then was a mind-shattering disappointment when it was disallowed. I crawled under a table and sat there with my head in my hands for the better part of a minute after it happened.
With the emotional charge of that experience still lingering in synapse.s, I walked to Green Point Stadium (which is beautiful) that night hoping for more excitement. But the first World Cup match of my life was dreadful. A listless, poorly played 0-0 draw that neither the English nor the Algerians should have had any pride in. And the English fans certainly didn't. They booed their team off the field and even went into the locker room to tell them they were shit. Or at least to let David Beckham know.
I was disappointed with the game, and by the second half was starting to feel an early hangover developing from the afternoon of drinking. I almost fell asleep at one point - and my seat wasn't that bad.
It was an awful game, almost every one that I saw after it was better than the last.
Except one.
It didn't, so I did.
My first day in South Africa, the England/Algeria game was being held in Cape Town. The U.S. played Slovenia the same day in Johannesburg, so I walked down to Long Street, scalped a ticket to the England match and sat at a pub to watch Germany strangely lose to Slovakia, with the U.S. game coming on afterward. For those of you who watched the Slovenia game, you know how exciting and heart breaking it was. The atmosphere in the pub was mostly embarrassment for the first half, with all the English fans making fun of us for losing to fucking Slovenia. But the second half was exhilarating. The comeback the team made had strangers kissing, hugging and lifting each other on to tables to scream at the TV and each other.
Incredible fun; and we were all a bit drunk.
The third goal came at a time of perfect emotional culmination - and then was a mind-shattering disappointment when it was disallowed. I crawled under a table and sat there with my head in my hands for the better part of a minute after it happened.
With the emotional charge of that experience still lingering in synapse.s, I walked to Green Point Stadium (which is beautiful) that night hoping for more excitement. But the first World Cup match of my life was dreadful. A listless, poorly played 0-0 draw that neither the English nor the Algerians should have had any pride in. And the English fans certainly didn't. They booed their team off the field and even went into the locker room to tell them they were shit. Or at least to let David Beckham know.
I was disappointed with the game, and by the second half was starting to feel an early hangover developing from the afternoon of drinking. I almost fell asleep at one point - and my seat wasn't that bad.
It was an awful game, almost every one that I saw after it was better than the last.
Except one.
Monday, July 12, 2010
You're still here?
Man. Sorry. I totally forgot about you. I was doing things. Would you like to hear about them? Good. Just stick around a little longer and I'll update you on everything that happened in the last 20 days.
As a quick teaser: Surfing, World Cup games, Hiking, Sea World, World Cup Games, and the world's highest bungy jump.
I'll tell you about it just as soon as I get out of Mozambique and find Internet faster than dial-up speed.
What's that? Mozambique? Yeah. Kind of ended up here somehow. But the diving is spectacular, so I might have a bit of trouble leaving.
Oh, and put diving with humpback whales and whale sharks on that list up there.
I promise I'll tell you all about it someday. Someday soon. Promise.
Until then, just hang in there.
- Jon.
As a quick teaser: Surfing, World Cup games, Hiking, Sea World, World Cup Games, and the world's highest bungy jump.
I'll tell you about it just as soon as I get out of Mozambique and find Internet faster than dial-up speed.
What's that? Mozambique? Yeah. Kind of ended up here somehow. But the diving is spectacular, so I might have a bit of trouble leaving.
Oh, and put diving with humpback whales and whale sharks on that list up there.
I promise I'll tell you all about it someday. Someday soon. Promise.
Until then, just hang in there.
- Jon.
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