Posted on 06/29/2006 11:18:10 AM PDT by BJClinton
Thu Jun 29, 7:31 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Beijing soccer fan refused to let the small matter of his house burning down disturb his enjoyment of Tuesday's World Cup match between France and Spain.
A fire broke out in a hutong in the center of the Chinese capital at 3am local time Wednesday -- kickoff time in Hanover -- and gutted the traditional courtyard dwelling, the Beijing Daily Messenger reported.
"When the neighbors shouted 'fire!', I took my little baby and ran out in my nightclothes," the man's wife told the paper.
"My husband paid no attention to the danger, just grabbed the television and put it under his arm.
"After getting out of the house, he then set about finding an electric socket to plug in and continue watching his game."
The anti-social timing of the matches broadcast from Germany, which is six hours behind China, has forced some Chinese fans to go to great lengths to follow the action.
One man quit his job in Beijing to return to his hometown Chongqing so he could watch the whole tournament uninterrupted.
State news agency Xinhua reported that the 23-year-old's boss at the IT company had offered him a pay rise, but he turned it down flat, saying the World Cup was more important than his job.
The Guangzhou Daily reported that local police were forced to release a thief arrested for stealing a mobile phone when the victim refused to press charges because he did not want to miss the start of a match.
Although there are also many female World Cup fans in China, one man in the southeastern city had to sign a contract with his wife agreeing to do all the housework during the month of the finals so he could watch the matches at night.
Another from Putian, Fujian province, took a less diplomatic approach, Xinhua reported.
When his cheers during the Argentina-Ivory Coast match woke his wife and she switched off the television, he locked her in their bedroom and settled back down to watch the game ignoring her loud protests.
JRios. Paging Mr. Rios. JRios1968, would you please pick up the white courtesy phone...
So many people play soccer, the world over, because they can't stand to watch it.
succor?
I think the title is misspelled. It should be "sucker".
he was a sucker for soccer
soccor?
Ah. There we go. I was confused there so I just started playing with spellings.
The games were on largely between 10PM and 3AM in China. Don't think he needed to quit over it.
probably sick of his job at the gubmint broom factory anyway.
How much of a sport could it be if the French are good at it?
The soccer sucker seeks succor.
It's not that bad after a dozen pints.
Exactly. And here in the US it is very popular with the most vile of Americans: the Soccer Mom!
A Creature who can't bear the thought of her son playing any of those "dangerous American sports." ....and one who fancies itself cultured, sophisticated, and internationale.
And drives 10 mph under the speed limit in her monster SUV while chatting on the cellphone...in the passing lane.
One of these days I'll finish my roof-mounted rocket-launcher...
And then there are some who tailgate two inches behind you in those same SUVs while alternately yapping on their cells and yelling at nearly everyone on the road.
Soccer moms also love the fact that such a large percentage of soccer games are ties. (55% of all pro soccer games, I read somewhere recently). Ties, they figure, don't hurt the precious "self esteem" of their little ones as much as losses do.
Ties are about as un-American as it gets, of course.
Sorry...been busy with work. Something soccerfans seem to be willing to ignore.
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