Friday, June 30, 2006
Since It's World Cup Time
Man pulls TV from house fire to watch soccer 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.
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I loved following the World Cup and was able to see 63 of the 64 games and was especially fortunate to see the semis and 3rd place game with Mark and his good Reno friend Travis in front of a giant screen at Bully's pub. With such good company, and a little Foster's oiling, it a real treat.
The only game I missed was the final and after hearing of the redcarding headbutt by my hero, French team skipper and "Player of the Cup " to me, the Great Zidane, I'm glad I did. Like Rooney for England earlier in the tournament, with his blatant groin-crunching foul, Zidane not only failed himself miserably, let his team down disgracefully when he was most needed, but appaled millions of his fans in his swansong game.
I should forgive him? Are we not all so human. Who would not respond in anger to admitted insult provocation by the Italian player? As we excused Pres Clinton for his lapse, likewise now, how dare we, who have similarily also under pressure and in anger lost our cool, judge Zidane ?
No, I can't excuse him now. And probably never.
See The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page Opinion Journal article by French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy on "Zidane- The French Hero who was, ultimately, just a man."
www.opinionjournal.com of July 11th.
Has very interesting historical and literature references to e.g. Achilles and the book " Ecce Homo", with somewhat of a forgiving, exculpatory analysis of this French soccer hero.
Kipling would say from his poem "If" that Zinedine Zidane had failed to 'keep his head when all around him were losing theirs'.
Then , it depends on what the meaning of "A Man" is? And Kipling's expectation of high integrity and moral standards of a "Man" would be antiquated, Victorian claptrap to many today.
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The only game I missed was the final and after hearing of the redcarding headbutt by my hero, French team skipper and "Player of the Cup " to me, the Great Zidane, I'm glad I did. Like Rooney for England earlier in the tournament, with his blatant groin-crunching foul, Zidane not only failed himself miserably, let his team down disgracefully when he was most needed, but appaled millions of his fans in his swansong game.
I should forgive him? Are we not all so human. Who would not respond in anger to admitted insult provocation by the Italian player? As we excused Pres Clinton for his lapse, likewise now, how dare we, who have similarily also under pressure and in anger lost our cool, judge Zidane ?
No, I can't excuse him now. And probably never.
See The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page Opinion Journal article by French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy on "Zidane- The French Hero who was, ultimately, just a man."
www.opinionjournal.com of July 11th.
Has very interesting historical and literature references to e.g. Achilles and the book " Ecce Homo", with somewhat of a forgiving, exculpatory analysis of this French soccer hero.
Kipling would say from his poem "If" that Zinedine Zidane had failed to 'keep his head when all around him were losing theirs'.
Then , it depends on what the meaning of "A Man" is? And Kipling's expectation of high integrity and moral standards of a "Man" would be antiquated, Victorian claptrap to many today.
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