Holy Crap

They did it again. Korea defeated Spain. Okay, I’ll admit. There were some questionable calls. Such as disallowing *two* of Spain’s goals. But, my god. What action. What hunger. What suspense. I have no nails left. On my fingers or toes.

I was watching the game from school (yes, we still had classes scheduled, though no students showed up, doh!). As soon as it was over, I ran down the four flights of stairs out into the street. Red shirts raced from every direction. All going towards DongA. Yes, the department store. Even in victory, it is the pillar of the community. Fireworks were set off. Boys with drums beat the rhythm, “DAE – HA – MIN – GUK!” Cars with people hanging out the windows crept by. Bodies piled onto flatbed trucks stopped at intersections. Flags waved. People cheered.

It was awesome. For almost an hour I stood and watched. I climbed onto a wall so I could get a better view. Drunk old men and impressionable children walked by shouting, “Korea FI-teeng! High five!” and would slap my outstretched hands.

The high schoolers actually showed up for class after the game. While the rest of the country was in the streets, whooping loudly. My first question of class was, “Why are you here?”

After classes ended, I headed downtown. A sea of red greeted me. I wore a red shirt and a Korean flag was draped around my waist as if a skirt. Pictures were snapped. I think I was on the evening news. “Wel-come to Korea!” “Korea fighting!” “Pil-sung Korea!” were shouted as I walked by. Everyone was happy. Impromptu dances were held in the street. Cars slowly inched their way through the crowd, stopping to honk their horn in the rhythm of “DAE – HA – MIN – GUK!”

In the US, there are so many factions, so many teams, so many “rights.” I’ve never seen such unity. Deserved or not, it’s something I will never forget.