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Letter from Boston

World Cup Fever Stateside

By MASAKO YAMADA


ワールドカップの熱狂ぶり

世界中を熱狂させたサッカーのワールドカップが12日、フランスの優勝で幕を閉じました。日本チーム初出場とあって、日本ではサッカー熱が盛り上がりましたが、アメリカはどうだったのでしょうか? 雅子さんがワールドカップ期間中の様子を紹介してくれます。

After the Fourth of July weekend ended, I somewhat guiltily went back to work. I had had a wonderful time relaxing with my friends, but even when I was relaxing, I couldn't help remembering my colleagues toiling away in the lab. I was a bit worried that they had noticed my absence.

After I took a seat at one of the computers, I started chatting with the guy who was working next to me. He asked me about my weekend, and I told him that I had had a great time, but that I didn't get any work done. He replied, "Me too! With all those good football games going on, it's crazy to go to work!" It helped me remember that most of my colleagues are good-natured people who know the value of a good vacation. And it made me realize the extent to which the World Cup has colored my surroundings.

I've heard that the Japan-Argentina match drew record-breaking TV ratings in Japan, but I haven't had the impression that World Cup fever has hit the States in the same way. Although the World Cup is held only once every four years, the annual World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA playoffs or the Stanley Cup seem to get a lot more coverage by the print and broadcast media. I think most Americans view the riots that often erupt during international soccer matches with bemused detachment: It's hard to understand why so many people get so excited over a ball game.

That said, I've seen pockets of World Cup excitement in my immediate surroundings and I think I've gotten a flavor of the passion and patriotism that goes into being a proper spectator. The excitement even hit my academically focused peers.

This is probably because most of the people in my lab are from countries where soccer is treated with great respect. We have quite a few Brazilians, Germans and Italians in our group, and they were each very proud of their country's performance. However, I've seen that even people from weaker soccer-playing countries were keenly interested in the way the tournament progressed. I saw many of my colleagues checking out the World Cup score updates on the Web during normal research hours. I even heard some of them enter into rhapsodic conversations over specific plays that they had seen in the games.

My neighborhood has a large number of Brazilian immigrants, and during the World Cup, I saw Brazilian flags all around me. My cousin and I were standing on a sidewalk for about 20 minutes on the day before the final when we counted three cars pass by with Brazilian flags flapping out of the windows. After the semifinal, I saw a small parade of Brazilians drive by while joyfully honking their horns. I've seen a large Brazilian flag in the window of a neighborhood store that sells Brazilian sweets. I've even seen a woman in a T-shirt with a large Brazilian flag printed on the front.

Although I didn't watch the final game on TV, I might have guessed that France had won. Namely, I didn't see any Brazilians honking their horns and dancing around in the streets after the game was over. My cousin and her friend and I passed by a large French flag in the evening of the final game, but we weren't quite sure whether it was related to the World Cup. Our doubts quickly went away when we got in a taxi. The taxi driver asked us whether we'd heard about the World Cup, and then told us the results. He added that, had the Brazilians won, they'd be having a street party. He recalled the one that was held after they won four years ago.

I didn't see much French-centered action, either before or after the final game. This led me to believe that France wasn't a soccer-worshipping country. But I've read that even ordinarily cynical citizens were (surprisingly) enthusiastic about the tournament. Indeed, I did hear some feeble honking after the final and I noticed that the honkers had French flags. I even saw a guy walking down the street with a French flag wrapped around him. It was nothing like the Carnival-like party that I would have expected from the Brazilians, but I thought it was touching to see their pride and enthusiasm unfold.


Shukan ST: July 24, 1998

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