World Cup #3 – USA v. Korea

We knew this would be a big game. This, too, was being held in Daegu, where I live, but tickets were impossible to come by. I had tried for weeks to pick up extra tickets, but the availabilty was null. Truthfully, by the time the day arrived, I was glad I didn’t have tickets. I’m sure Ida and I could have trekked over the the stadium and scalped some, but we both decided we would rather be in the comfort of The Pink Palace, and not surrounded by 67,000 screaming Red Devils (the nickname for the Korean fans). The reigning atmosphere was hostility in a friendly way. Sort of. A couple of times walking down the street, school girls or boys would say, “fucking mi-guk” as we walked by. But other than that, and the seemingly friendly taunts of “Who will win? Korea team fighting!” it was life as normal in Daegu.

We had been downtown all morning. Trying to buy silk. We were virtually the only ones not in red t-shirts proclaiming, “Be the Reds!” The schools were closed for the day, so schoolchildren were running through the streets, proudly waving Korean flags, shouting, “Dae – Han – Min – Guk!” We wanted to be in my apartment, with plenty of food and water, by 4, as the game started at 4:30. We left the markets at 2:30. Already the streets were deserted. People were already stationed in front of tvs. Ready for anything. It was the quickest cab ride home since my arrival in Korea. We stopped by DongA, got plenty of food, and hunkered down for the game. Every channel was showing it, we flipped back and forth to see which channel got the best reception, since we understood the commentary on none of them.

Before the game, all channels showed pictures of the stadium, of how many people were there. People had been lined up for two days, waiting to get in (I don’t understand this, as all seats were reserved). They interviewed people who had been camping out. They interviewed the foreigners. They followed a man selling “Be the Reds!” t-shirts, his inventory delpleted almost immediately.

The teams came out. We cheered. Ida whistled. (she whistles really well. really loud.) Sang Jae cheered for the Korean team. The atmosphere was tense. Who would win? How would the game be played? The US team scored first. Ida and I whooped and high fived. She whistled some more. The whole game we added our own commentary, “C’mon, boys, you can do it!” “Run!” “Shoot!” “Watch out!” Sang Jae repeatedly adding, “Dae – Han – Min – Guk!” Then Korea scored. Out of nowhere. One to one.

The game ended in a tie. A tie. No winner. No loser. I had mixed feelings. I was disappointed. But happy, too. I wanted to see the US win. But I didn’t want to see Korea lose. I have to live here and frankly, was concerned about my welfare over the next month. The cameras panned all the crowds – at the stadium, downtown, in the streets – everyone seemed to be happy. As Martha would say, “That’s a good thing.”