It’s that time of the decade again for the media to question why Americans are disinterested in a sport the rest of the world is so passionate about. But while you all back at home get to see that tired story be recycled through the American news stream, I’m busy catching every game at any restaurant, shop, gym, or store that has a TV because, more likely than not, they’ll be showing it. You see, China—the country that hasn’t even had a team in the World Cup since 2002—is crazy for the world’s biggest soccer football event.
So who is China supporting? Drumroll, please … Argentina (“Āgēntíng“). And overwhelmingly so. On Saturday, I went to a local restaurant here in Beijing that’s very popular with Chinese college students and it was completely packed for the Argentina-Nigeria game. The restaurant-goers cheered in unison whenever the game went in Argentina’s favor and collectively laughed when any Nigerian players writhed in pain on the pitch. They love coach Diego Maradona and all-star striker Lionel Messi. It helps, too, that their names are easy to pronounce in Chinese (“mǎlāduōnà” and “méixī“). And the minute that game ended, nearly the entire restaurant emptied. Not many stuck around to see the USA-England game (which, to be fair, aired at 2:30 in the morning here).
It’s pretty exciting to be living abroad during World Cup season, though I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like in more traditionally football-crazy territories like Europe or South America right now.
UPDATE (6/16/10): From Reuters—a Chinese “volunteer army” arrived in South Africa to support North Korea’s team. While I don’t doubt the existence of these supporters, this article is a little misleading. By leaving out the fact that most people back on the mainland are actually supporting Argentina, the article paints the picture that China is throwing it all its support behind the North Korean squad. Having seen Messi in endorsement ads for Chinese products and spoken to many Chinese coworkers who have all confirmed that the majority of people here are rooting for Argentina, I know this couldn’t be further from the truth.
I think it’s important to make this clarification because the article seems to imply that, in supporting the team, China is also supporting the country. I can’t comment on the political relationship between the two countries because, quite frankly, I still don’t understand it. But I think it’s dangerous and, to repeat a word, misleading to make that implication.
Bridget O'Donnell is a designer for