Soccer–sport or religon?
(Written by Mike L., originally posted on adventurasia.freezope.org around 2003~2004)
I’ve never really been one to go out of my way to see a soccer game. Heck, along with Baseball, it’s on Japanese TV practically 24 hours a day anyway. Up until recently, I’ve thought that soccer is a sport that is much for fun to watch than to play.
Last weekend, I saw my first soccer game, the Urawa Reds versus some team from Kobe. I’ve heard that Urawa is known as quite a soccer town…those rumors were confirmed as soon as I stepped into the arena! People were going absolutely crazy for their hometown heroes, dressed in team colors and waving huge homemade flags. It was completely packed and we had no chance of finding a place to sit.
So we stood in the big pit where people were screaming chants at the top of their lungs. Prime location! After being there five minutes I couldn’t help but to join in and start yelling myself. I could have been at a billiards or darts match, but I didn’t care, because I, along with the masses, were just having fun cheering for our team and heckling the opponents.
It was then that I realized that a large part of going to a soccer match is just to get involved in the whole experience.
Give it a try if you’ve never been to a soccer game! You might be reawrded with a kick-ass time. And as icing the team you are cheering for might win!
Filed under: Japan
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