the shouts of reds

For the first time in my life, I watched and actually cared about soccer. It's been strange. I went out two weeks ago to watch the Korea-Greece game. Not because I particularly cared, but because it was something to do. No one wants to stay in on a Saturday night. As soon as I emerged from the subway, the energy and enthusiasm of the people all around was contagious. We walked down the sidewalk, stopping into bars, looking for somewhere with enough room for us. It was a few hours before the game, but already the bars were packed. Everyone was wearing red tshirts, devil horns, Korean flag tattoos on their faces, etc. I could feel the excitement. And despite still not really caring about soccer, I felt like I was part of the excitement. In the days following their victory, the excitement grew. It was not uncommon to walk into a shop and see every employee wearing red tshirts. I opened my bank account with a banker wearing glowing red devil horns.

For the second game, I watched with some coworkers. A giant screen was set up in front of a shopping center. I sat with thousands of people, on what is any other night a very busy street. This is actually a picture from my friend, who was watching at another location (my pictures from that night are still on my camera), but the feeling is the same.

Korea lost that game. Sad. But cute story, while we were sitting on the ground watching, there was a couple and their toddler son sitting two rows in front of us. The toddler, wearing his red tshirt, was dancing around his parents. We were laughing, saying how adorable he was. As we stood up to stretch our legs during half time, the mother of the toddler gave him 3 cookies and whispered something to him. He shyly walked over to us, handed a cookie to me and the two other foreigners I was sitting with, and ran back to his mom.

The excitement continued growing, especially after Korea made it to the second round. My kids would routinely interrupt class to sing soccer chants. I heard this song ALL THE TIME (but secretly I think it is catchy) in stores, playing in speakers walking down the street, etc.

Needless to say, after last night's loss, the atmosphere in Seoul was very different. And sometime in the last two weeks, I started caring. I am genuinely disappointed that it has ended for Korea.

With the help of a 6:30 PM coffee and a 7:00 PM Dr. Pepper, I managed to stay awake for the US game. So I found myself drinking beer and eating nachos at 6:00 this morning, watching the US lose. Of the 15 people that we started the evening with, only 5 made it see to the US game. By the end of that game, 2 of those 5 people were sleeping in the bar. I didn't feel the same disappointment by USA's defeat. I was momentarily saddened by my lack of really caring about their loss. I was worried that I had lost some emotional attachment to my country. Then I realized it was after 6, and my lack of emotion over USA's defeat was not because I am losing attachment to my country. It was because I was just too tired to care.