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Thirty-two of the world's best football teams are now competing for the
iconic golden World Cuptrophy -- but the planet's most populous nation is not
among them.
Team China failed to qualify for the "beautiful game's" showpiece event in
Brazil. In fact China's World Cup dream turned into a nightmare as early as
2011, when it was eliminated in a regional qualifying round.
But for all the interest in football in this country of more than one
billion people, it is a huge source of frustration that they can't field a
competitive national team.
China reached the finals only once back in 2002. I remember that heady
year. There was a heroes' welcome for the national team, many of whom became
icons with fat commercial endorsements. There was deleterious display of
national pride accompanied by soaring expectations for Team China.
But their debut turned out to be an embarrassing dud: they were knocked out
after the group stage without scoring a single goal.
Still, these setbacks have not deflated the football fever here.
Chinese football fans have been enjoying the action in Brazil despite
matches taking place after midnight, Beijing time.
By hook or by crook, local fans are finding ways to stay up late for the
games. Some took paid leave, others found excuses to stay home, such as getting
doctors to sign sick-leave certificates. A man asked to take the day off
ostensibly to attend a teacher-parent conference.
Some managers say work place productivity has dropped lately. A few
companies have simply conceded defeat, agreeing to a staggered work schedule to
allow for some employees to stay in late, and come in late.
Enthusiasm for the game brings commercial windfalls.
The World Cup advertising revenue for Leshi, one of China's largest video
websites is estimated to reach RMB100 million yuan ($16 million), said its top
executive Qiang Wei.
This summer alone CCTV, the state television network, could rake in as much
as RMB1.5 billion yuan ($240 million) in advertising revenue -- 50% more than
their earnings from the 2010 World Cup.
Coca Cola has used its sponsorship with a World Cup Trophy Tour, where they
took the trophy to over 90 countries and held consumer events.
McDonald's ran point of sale promotions, which offered World Cup tickets to
winners.
Other brands created various content, featuring international and national
team players to connect the brand to the event.
Since the month-long competition opened in Brazil, legions of Chinese
sports fans have been gathering for viewing parties in their living rooms, in
factory and school dormitories, and in restaurants and bars, many of which have
opened late for the fans to watch matches live on Chinese television.
Of course, not all of these sleep-deprived folks are bona fide football
fans. A posting on Baidu, China's largest search engine, noted that the Chinese
have recently coined the word "wei qiumi," or "fake soccer fans," referring to
people who watch the game only once in a while, who care more about the final
scores rather than enjoying the actual games, and who think celebrity players
play a more important role in matches than the coaches.
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发表于 2016-7-10 18:05:47
