Football in China - The Good and the Bad

The Chinese love football (of course I am talking about what Americans refer to as soccer, the Chinese could not tell you 2 things about American Football), and I love football - which makes for a great combination. 

 Let's start with the good:

Beijing has a large international population.  The internationals in China love to play football.  I played in an international league this spring.  I also dabbled in some 5 v. 5 football with some friends.  I have also played some open field football the Chinese.  In case you were wondering, I still have it - for the most part.  My mind is now about a step and a half ahead of my feet but the competition is not what it once was either so it evens out.  To date, I have played football in China with at least one person from 21 countries (USA, Mexico, Canada, Columbia, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Romania, Germany, Italy, Uganda, Benin, Nigeria, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines - and I coached Keegan's team which had players from Sweden and Korea).  

And here is the bad:

The Confederations, and also next summer's World Cup, is in South Africa.  That, in and of itself, is not bad.  If you are a South African or if you will be going to South Africa next summer I'm sure you think it is a great thing.  If you live in China it is quite an inconvenience.  The USA v. Brazil (round 1) was a 10:30 pm kickoff which was actually perfect for me.  All other games were a 2:30 kickoff.  I stayed up for Spain and the championship match vs. Brazil - both school nights (I opted not to watch the Egypt match because after watching Brazil pt. 1 I thought it would be a lost cause - I'm glad I was wrong).  It was manageable for the Confederations Cup - only 8 teams and not too many matches.  I am going to have to seriously adjust my lifestyle come next July.  This is nothing new for me.  When I was 16 I quite my job when the World Cup started.  Last time around we bought cable which we had not had for the previous (you guessed it) 4 years.  

I am encouraged by the way the boys finished the tourney, and by how they are performing in qualifying.  China did not even make the final round of qualifying for Asia.  No matter, they (both internationals and Chinese) are football mad, as am I.  Not to mention how many doors have been opened in my life through the beautiful game.  May that continue here in this country which loves the game but plays it horribly.