World Cup Diary

The Koreans are great, but their shuttle buses are terrible.

By Andy Mead
Special to SoccerTimes

DAEJON, South Korea (Wednesday, June 12, 2002) -- My photographer Wade Jackson and I survived Daegu. The rampaging crowds, the hooligan riot, the violent anti-American demonstrations.

Oh wait, never mind. In truth, the only negative aspect of the day was the shuttle bus mess that meant it took roughly two hours to get off the stadium grounds after Monday’s United States-South Korea game. The only trouble from the Koreans themselves was that I couldn't seem to walk more than 10-15 feet without being asked to pose in a photograph.

The World Cup, at least in South Korea, is turning out to be a very big world party. Fans from many nations showing up at every game. The concourses afterwards turn into giant swap meets with jerseys, scarves and pins being traded. Eleven games in and I can not recall seeing a single spectator being removed for unruly behavior.

Speaking of Daegu, Wade and I did meet our match. We thought that 10 games in the first 11 days of the tournament was pretty special, but we ran across another Yank, sitting in the cheap seats, who was at his 11th match -- Lamar Hunt, the owner of Major League Soccer’s Columbus, Kansas City and Dallas franchises. I am pretty sure that Lamar did not spend two hours after the game waiting for a bus, but I am still jealous all the same.

Motels -- For the most part, Wade and I are staying at the cheapest places we can find. Many of these are locally known as "love" hotels, but we have only been to one that actually had a condom dispenser in the room. Typically the rates are only $25-40 per night with those rates jacked up for the World Cup. They have all been small, but clean rooms with all the amenities (TV, air conditioning, mini-fridge) of hotels back home. The big difference is that we leave the key at the desk whenever we go out.

Merchandising -- We are most definitely not in America. There is very little in the way of World Cup swag. I have heard that there is larger selection of souvenirs in Japan and I have seen a few Japanese fans with pins that are not anywhere to be found in Korea. The official "scarves" are nothing more than printed terry cloth towels. The biggest selling item in Korea seems to be the "Be the Reds" T-shirts that everyone in the country seems to own.

Les Blues Avais Allez -- Wade and I did witness all three France games. The fans were great, but the French team was dreadful. While it did bang a few shots off of the woodwork during its brief stay, it never really looked like it was in command. Oddly, France seemed to play its most attractive and dangerous soccer when reduced to 10 men against Uruguay. In the end, the defending champion got what it deserved. Au revoir la France.

More observations in a few days.

If you have questions, e-mail me at footy@ibiblio.org and I’ll try to answer them.

Andy Mead is editor of the Emerald City Gazette. Subscription information can be found at http://www.mindspring.com/~andymead/ecg/.