"I love soccer," he said. "I regret that I do not know what the sport looks like."

Compared to Chen, other soccer fans are lucky, they can use every sense to enjoy the sport.

Mania for men

For soccer fan Qin Jie, the greatest thing about FIFA 2002 is its location. Since it is being held in a neighbouring country, he does not have to stay up late to watch the matches.

When recalling past World Cup competitions, the first thought that comes to his mind is that he had to reverse day and night to enjoy the sport.

"I watched the game with beer and cigarettes late into the night, and went to work with red eyes," the 27-year-old man said. "Now I can even watch the game in the sunshine."

However, the time causes another problem as most of the time he has to watch while at work. So Qin found a website that broadcasts the match all day long.

"My seat is in a corner, so it is difficult to see my computer screen. During these World Cup days, I am envied by most of my colleagues for my golden seat," he said.

But for the three matches involving China, Qin asked for leave. His reason was that no one should miss the China matches, as "it is common sense to love our country". "Even if my boss said that he would fire me, I would still choose the World Cup. I can find another job, but I can't wait another 40 years for China to enter the World Cup."

Working people are looking for anyway to watch the matches. Zhang Yazhu, an engineer at a joint venture, asked his boss for leave with several colleagues. "We gave our boss different excuses such as illness, visiting clients or family affairs," he said, "I hope my boss believes it."

For taxi drivers, they must suffer the economic loss to see the World Cup games. On the days of China's matches, it was difficult to get a taxi even in busy areas like Huaihai Zhonglu and Lujiazui.

"I drove all night yesterday with the aim of watching China play Costa Rica this afternoon," said a taxi driver on the day of the match.

Compared to Jiang Jin'gen, deputy director of the Shanghai Soccer Fan Association, the risks mentioned above are nothing.

As a professional soccer fan, Jiang has risked life and limb, climbing into the house on a water pipe. "Because my wife gets furious when I watch football all day long," the middle-aged man said. "So, she locked me out of the house when I watched the World Cup with friends till midnight."

Women in whirlwind

The traditional problem of the World Cup period is the war between the football-fan man and non-fan woman. But this problem seems less serious these days as more women are becoming fans.

Zhang Xiu, a 48-year-old laid-off worker, never misses a match. She sits in front of the television with her son and husband day and night. When there are no matches, she watches the sports news.

Her 80-year-old plus mother-in-law complained that she has not been cooking meals for the family. "I asked her to cook, but she does not listen. She just sits there without moving," the elder woman exclaimed. "I don't understand why, football is a man's affair."

Qin said the best way to solve the problem between a man and woman is for the woman to become a fan.

"When a woman falls in love with football or with some handsome athlete like Beckham or Nakata, they get more crazy than a man," said Sheng Ming, another young football fan. "They take handsome sportsmen as film stars."

To Sheng, a real football fan should only care about the sport itself, not the personalities of the athletes. They should be able to recite the background of the football team, the history of World Cup, and the achievements of soccer stars.

But not all the women fans are as childish as Sheng thinks. Rio Xie who is set to go to South Korea this week, said she first watched football in 1990 when she was a middle school student.

Xie said she has not missed a World Cup match since 1994. "But China left me with regrets," she said. "When I heard that China would miss the chance to go to the 1994 World Cup, I broke down crying, surprising my mother."

Keep it cool

After some 40 years of waiting, Chinese fans are becoming more calm. Though China lost the first two matches against Costa Rica and Brazil, not one of the hundreds fans in Star Bar - Shanghai's famous football bar - cried.

Among the more than 1,600 soccer fans going to South Korea to support the Chinese team, there has not been one report of misbehaviour. "Everyone knows that China's team is much weaker than the other 31 teams," Qin said. "There is nothing to complain about."

Netizens have created piles of jokes about team China's journey in the World Cup to express their regret.

One joke, how can China beat Brazil, says there are several possibilities for China to win - when a Chinese player gets the ball, he should hide it under his body and move to the goal carefully, the other 10 people should surround him as protection.

"These jokes are interesting," Rio Xie said. "It is a way to relieve some of the embarrassment."

(Shanghai Star June 13, 2002)