Hope everyone has their jerseys and face paint on, and are ready to get futbol-crazy! Ahh, the World Cup~~ I remember being a little kid in Ghana and watching Brazil win the 1994 games (ever since then, I've been a big Brazil fan). All the Ghanaians would try to catch the games on their busted TV or radio sets, and whenever there was a goal, we could hear shouts and cheers go up in the village. hehe. Good memories~ And then when the 2002 World Cup was co-hosted here in Korea, I was actually visiting for my summer vacation, and my sister and I got to see Brazil vs. Costa Rica, live and in person! It was awesomeee~ And ofcourse, that was also the epic World Cup where Korea went to the Semi-Finals. I'll never forget the time we went to City Hall to watch the Korea vs. Italy game. I thought I was gonna die because of the heat and crowds. But we won and mad celebrations ensued. :) So, it's been 8 years since those glory days, and Korea is hoping to make history once again.
Last night, a bunch of friends and I had a glorious night at Gangnam, watching S. Korea beat Greece, 2-0. Yay! Can everyone just agree that Park Ji Sung's goal was sweetness?! Last night's victory once again brought out the firery passion of Korean soccer fans. After the win, the streets of Gangnam went berserk. Everyone came out from all the restaurants and bars, and poured into the main street, cheering, chanting, blocking the traffic, banging on cars, climbing up bus stops... I shot some pics of the insanity:
This is was the main Gangnam street...
That car ain't going nowhere.
People on top of the bus stop. Dae Han Min Gook!
Red all around~
Seriously, all the cars and buses were at a complete standstill. All they could do was wait for the po'lice and security men in neon jumpsuits to rush in and push everyone back off from the streets. And this was only the first game of the first round!
Order is restored.
Here's a video clip I shot:
Phew! What a night. Korea plays the formidable Argentina next... it's gonna be intense! At least they're off to a good start! Let's hope they can keep up this momentum. Some other countries that I'm rooting for are Ghana (Go Black Stars!!!!!), Cote D'Ivoire, England, and Brazil. Hehe, they're all countries that I have a personal connection to. The next two months are gonna be awesome! (And sleepless).