Thursday 20th June 2002
 With confidence high, the
Japanese piled into the pub for their Turkey game, the
support was quite fantastic, with most of the foreigners also
siding with the samurai.
Again, the country had come
to a virtual standstill, as the long-awaited rainy
season finally kicked in. Even the Roppongi kebab van
had closed for the afternoon, the stage was set for another
gigantic night of celebration. But, alas, it wasn't to be, by
the time the final whistle blew, the Japanese were as
miserable as the weather. All credit to them though, just
a few minutes after the initial shock, the  sound of "Nippon, cha cha
cha, Nippon cha cha cha!" could be heard resounding around
the bar. They'd had a good run, and I think they were more
than satisfied with what they'd achieved.
Call me a sado-masochist, but I took the wife to an
Italian restaurant in Roppongi during the Italy game! Most of
the diners were, of course, supporting the azzuri, but I was
silently cheering on the Asians! The place was partying most
of the game, but when the Koreans equalised, the place went
deadly silent, and I almost choked on my carbonara!
Fortunately, I got out before the Italian job was
completed. Probably a very wise move.
Wednesday was a rest
day, thank god. This World Cup is really hard work, it's okay
for Owen and the like, being mollycoddled 24 hours a day, but
we on the other side of the advertising boards are having to
skip work, spend endless hours trying to hunt down
tickets, sit in cramped pubs day after day, suffer
endless hangovers, and endure hundreds of miles of
booze infused train journeys - even Michael Palin
never had it this bad! And what thanks do we get? The
occasional applause from Becks and co. and a
disapproving glare from the boss!
Coming right up to date, I've now arrived in Busan,
Korea. I'll be meeting up with Ronnie McJock and
Plastic Paddy Parwez very soon, then  tomorrow we'll all trot off to
support opposing sides in The Hun v The Yanks. The
local people are looking at me a little oddly, wondering why
an England fan has come to Korea.
Just to reiterate, I
couldn't find England v Brazil tickets that matched up
with my credit rating!
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