I met up with KS and his friend HH. It had been raining off and on all day. KS said they went back and forth 5 or 6 times whether to watch the game outside at City Hall or go to a pub. They finally decided we should just go to city hall and get rain slickers. We got there about 6pm for an 8:30pm game. The subway station was full of screaming people selling all kinds of Red Devil souvenirs (horns, thundersticks, etc.) and police were lined up to watch the hooligans.
Not sure exactly how many people were there but the next day they said about 70,000. We pushed our way in and found some space on the soggy grass. Before the game, it was like a concert and several popular bands played.
HH went to get some food and supplies. He came back with rain slickers and mat to put on the ground. I followed their lead as they took their shoes off and put them under the mat. After not too long I found myself standing in a puddle of water, and after another few minutes of getting jostled around I found myself standing in beer.. Later that evening KS would say to me “Oh, where are my socks?”. They are laying somewhere out near City Hall.
HH and KS. And HH and me.
I like this shot because you can see the glowing devil horns.
The atmosphere was really unbelievable, everyone was so excited. And the game started off great with Korea scoring just a few minutes in. I was high fiving KS when the guy in front of us, who we had made friends with, blindsided me with a bear hug that almost knocked me down. It was great game that Korea finished off with another goal in the 2nd half which led to a whole lot of screaming and singing. I found this youtube video showing the reaction to the first goal:
We walked down to a pub after the game and the streets were full of people singing, dancing, climbing up on sign posts, etc. I can’t image what it would be like if they won the world cup. Next game is Thursday night against Argentina, I can’t wait.
Joel
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