Quite a night

Koreans set an example for the world to follow

Terry Baddoo is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN International. He will regularly contribute Postcards from South Korea to CNNSI.com during the World Cup.

SEOUL -- The World Cup finally took off Tuesday with the entry of the co-hosts, South Korea and Japan.

A couple of credible performances that netted Japan its first-ever World Cup point after a draw with Belgium and South Korea its first win in six finals -- courtesy of a stylish 2-0 victory over Poland -- not only signaled the arrival of Asian football on the world stage, but also of Asian support.

And, at least as far as my experience here is concerned, what an example their fans were to the rest of the soccer-playing world.

Earlier in the week, I wrote that it was time for the Asians to get rowdy. On Tuesday evening, the South Koreans did, inside the stadium and out. The Seoul city-center was turned into a sea of red and white, as countless thousands of supporters gathered in front of the many big screens carrying the match live to the masses.

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That spectacle I’ve seen before, if perhaps not in the huge numbers witnessed in Seoul. What I haven’t seen before at any major tournament is a crowd that big and that passionate that’s so ordered and without a hint of menace. The intimidation factor, that’s so much a part of soccer crowds in Europe and South America, was simply not present, as the Koreans united behind their team, while showing no ill feeling towards the Poles.

This was football fanaticism the way it’s supposed to be, pure and without malice. In fact, the only parallel I can draw is with the way groups of day-tripping kids support their teams at schoolboy internationals -- an impression helped by the higher pitch of the Korean chants as compared to the macho growl I’m used to in Europe.

By likening Korean support to that of children, I’m not being patronizing, by the way. It’s just that, like kids, there was nothing aggressive about their enthusiasm -- and that’s a good thing.

Because it’s all too easy to forget, in these days when football support has become so tribal, that what we’re all here for is a game, not a war. So all credit to the South Koreans for reminding us.

 

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