World Soccer Cup: China's ardor wanes

With his usual efficiency, Paul Simon has answered our request for information about the Chinese reaction to the defeat by Costa Rica. Please note that Paul is speaking with WAISly humor. The world takes soccer so seriously that jokes are viewed by fans as politically incorrect. Paul says: "Well, the news of China's defeat to Costa Rica is just being discussed this minute by my Chinese friends (it is Thursday morning here). They are pretty hang-dog although they think their team acquitted itself well. Clearly interest in waning. Jiang Hankun, who runs the betting pool and office tracking, was clearly crestfallen. I asked him if he had lost interest. His reply "Wo xianzai hao bu zai hu" could figuratively but somewhat more politely be translated as "Now I don't give a darn"

I share his sentiment. If the US team loses, I'm sure most Americans won't care and most others will attribute this to our inability to play a sport that stresses co-operation and teamwork. If America's team does well, our Latin American friends will probably ascribe the success to a CIA plot or the evils of globalization, Europeans will sniff that it is just another example of insufferable US hegemony and unilateralism, and most Asians to a conspiracy to deny them their rightful place in the sun. I'm saying this tounge-in-cheek, of course (for those WAISers who don't know I have a sense of humor) but I really was serious before when I said "wake me when the whole thing is over" I'll watch a couple minutes on sports-new highlights, and consider myself adequately informed........"

Ronald Hilton - 6/6/02