Beijing sports fans are second to none
By Murray Greig (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-28 06:15

We're only into Week 2 of the Asian Cup soccer tournament and there's already been more diving than we'll see at the Athens Olympics.

Come on, guys - if you're gonna fold like cheap lawn chairs every time you hear footsteps, at least do it with a little panache. Indonesia and Bahrain have been the two worst offenders, with Qatar only slightly less theatrical.

In China's 2-2 draw with Bahrain in the tournament opener, I counted 11 obvious dives and a half-dozen "maybes" - only three of which were by Chinese players. In the host team's 5-0 drubbing of Indonesia the visitors went into their swan act early, drawing a round of well-deserved jeers after just two minutes when a fallen striker rolled for a good five yards after barely being brushed by Shao Jiayi.

And what's with the over-zealous medical personnel? I've never seen such unabashed enthusiasm for hauling away "mortally wounded" players on stretchers. Are these guys being paid by the pound?

Routine injury stoppages in the China-Qatar match looked more like out-takes from MASH, with packs of trainers and stretcher-bearers swarming onto the field even before being signalled by the officials.

On the plus side, the fans surrounding me in Section 17, Row 2 at Workers' Stadium weren't buying into the nonsense. The leather-lunged guy in the seat next to me launched into a steady patter of trash talk every time a player flailed away on the turf, grimacing in exaggerated agony. There was even a chorus of boos when the English-challenged scoreboard programmer finally corrected "Niodsenia" to "Indonesia" - a sure sign that Beijing fans can be just as sarcastic - and sophisticated - as their counterparts in New York or Toronto.

Unfortunately, the game atmosphere didn't match the crowd's enthusiasm.

As great a facility as Workers' Stadium is, I was disappointed to discover the inventory for the roving refreshment vendors consisted solely of lukewarm Coke. And the fact there was no souvenir programme available was inexcusable. Don't the tournament organizers realize there's money to be made on these things? If just one in 10 of the 60,000-plus fans shelled out 25 yuan for a programme, that's roughly US$30,000 in pure profit. Factor in advertising revenue and the figure is even higher.

The other thing that struck me was how little thought went into transforming the game into an "event." Would it have been a big deal to show slow-motion replays of the goals on the giant video screen? Was it too much to expect the organizers to arrange something interesting for half-time entertainment? Anything would have been better than watching second-stringers from the two teams lamely practice headers for 15 minutes.

Still, annoying dives and intrusive trainers not withstanding, my initial immersion in Chinese crowd culture was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. And by the time the Olympics come to Beijing in 2008, I'm sure fans here will have further honed their refreshing take-no-prisoners attitude.

China's sports fans will be able to get a pretty good feel for the way we do things in North America when the planet's best written, best photographed monthly sports publication debuts here in the fall.

ESPN - The Magazine will publish a Chinese-language edition for distribution in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR. It will offer a mix of original content tailored specifically for the Chinese market, along with material from the North American edition.

Regular coverage will include international, European and Chinese soccer; international and Asian basketball, as well as the NBA; professional golf, motorsports and track and field; and action sports like pro boxing, the National Football League and National Hockey League.

"There's an enormous demand for sports information in China, fueled by Beijing's role as host of the 2008 Olympics," says Georff Reiss, ESPN's publication vice-president.

"Fans in China are extremely enthusiastic about the teams and sports they follow, and we believe our editorial mission of looking ahead to what's next will serve that growing fan base very well."

Who knows? Maybe one day Beijing fans might even learn to boo those stretcher-bearers...

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