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日韓共催のW杯は、日本で多くのサッカーファンを生んだ。中には「にわかサポーター」やW杯の興奮に悪乗りして川に飛び込む人もいたが…。
World Cup etiquette
"Did you see that lousy offside call late in the first half? Absolutely disgraceful." "It's like this, see? The source of Japan's strength is in the 'Flat Three.' It keeps the other teams' players all boxed in!"
Amid the usual clamoring before and after classes, I could hear my students talking about the FIFA World Cup. And they were speaking with surprising authority for people who just weeks before had shown very little interest in the event.
It seems that this phenomenon was by no means limited to my classroom. As far as I can tell, folks from all across Japan have suddenly become amazingly soccer-literate. One of my journalist colleagues in Japan remarked with a grin that even her grandmother, an octogenarian, had suddenly developed a deep understanding of both the sport and the tournament — and the ability to speak with conviction that goes with it. "No doubt about it. Things would have been completely different for France if only they could have played Zidane one game earlier," the elderly woman mused knowingly. "Such a pity."
On the other hand, there has been a bit of a public outcry against the bad behavior of "overnight supporters." On a mid-June television talk show, I was shown video clips of young people throwing themselves into Osaka's Dotonbori River, and then asked to comment on the poor manners of the Japanese fans.
What can one say? These looked less like soccer enthusiasts and more like people who had jumped on the World Cup bandwagon simply in order to jump off a bridge — sometimes naked — on live television. Why some people like to jump and why others like to watch are perhaps interesting social questions, but they have very little to do with soccer.
"But four years ago, during the last World Cup, Japanese fans received accolades for picking garbage up off the French streets and otherwise having fine manners," one of the talk show guests said. "That reputation has been tarnished."
Well, let's think about this just a bit more. While I don't intend to condone bad behavior, especially that which is illegal and harmful to others, I do think it is important to give people plenty of freedom to react to something as elemental as victory and defeat in soccer. While some will choose to howl at the referee, others may very well wish to howl at the moon. Still others may decide to get away from the insanity.
The World Cup experience made it clear that definitions for both laudable and punishable behavior in public need to be spelled out more plainly, the former encouraged and the latter clamped down on. Those who would destroy public property, steal or incite rioting should be swiftly brought to justice. And people who are acting strangely or even outrageously but are not actually harming anything should be allowed to have a good time.
As for diving into the Dotonbori, well, this has become something of a local tradition. Maybe the city could harness that energy and organize diving sessions whenever the Japanese national team (or the local baseball club) wins an important game. Of course they'd have to clean up the river. And full nudity in central Osaka probably won't cut it. How about if the divers wear traditional Japanese loincloths and the like, instead?
Shukan ST: July 12, 2002
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- lousy offside call
- ひどいオフサイドの判定
- late in the first half
- 前半の最後の方
- disgraceful
- 許せない
- Flat Three
- 3人のディフェンダーが横一列に並んで守るスタイル
- keeps 〜 all boxed in
- 〜を封じ込める
- clamoring
- 騒ぎ
- authority
- 重み
- phenomenon
- 現象
- by no means 〜
- 決して〜ではない
- folks
- 人々
- 〜 -literate
- 〜の基本知識を身に付けている
- colleagues
- 仲間
- remarked with a grin
- ニヤリとしながら言った
- octogenarian
- 80代の人
- 〜(had developed)the ability to speak with conviction that goes with it
- それに見合った確信を込めて話ができるようになった
- mused knowingly
- 心得顔で思いを口にした
- Such a pity
- 本当に残念だわ
- outcry
- 反対の声
- overnight supporters
- にわかサポーター
- enthusiasts
- 熱狂的ファン
- had jumped on 〜 bandwagon
- 〜に便乗した
- accolades
- 称賛
- has been tarnished
- 汚された
- condone
- 許す
- elemental
- 根元的な
- howl at the referee
- 審判に向かってわめきちらす
- howl at the moon
- 月に向かって遠吠えする
- insanity
- 狂ったような大騒ぎ
- laudable
- 称賛に値する
- be spelled out
- もっと細かく規定される
- the former
- 前者
- the latter
- 後者
- clamped down on
- 取り締まりを受ける
- incite rioting
- 暴動を扇動する
- be swiftly brought to justice
- 早急に裁かれる
- (are acting)outrageously
- 大それたことをする
- harness
- 利用する
- full nudity
- 全裸になること
- won't cut it
- 許されない
- loincloths
- ふんどし
- and the like 〜
- 〜など