<strong>Beijing Guo An vs. Henan Jian Ye</strong>

A football game in Beijing starts with what all good things in Beijing start with: 羊肉串儿 (yáng ròu chuàn ér – lamb skewers) and 燕京 (yàn jīng) beer on gongtibeilu next to the Beijing Guo An Home Stadium: 工人体育场 (gōng rén tǐ yù chǎng – the Workers Stadium).

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The waitress must have been the only person not wearing a green Guo An shirt and there was certainly no one who dared to wear anything blue (that would be Henan Jian Ye’s colour). As a foreigner wearing a green shirt with the Guo An logo, I was given a free pack of cigarettes and plenty of affection. Having tickets for stand Number 5, where season ticket holders and hard core fans assemble did seem to give me plenty of street credit too. Arriving in the stadium early is important, as every ticket does have a seat assigned to it, although actually trying to take this is considered very bad style.

Once inside, the atmosphere is quite heated and everyone seems to be  老北京 (lǎo běi jīng – an old Beijinger). As the stadium fills, signs with how to swear at the Henanese are held up: 骗子 (piàn zǐ – liars/cheaters) comes up a lot, but the overriding theme of the night is : 偷井盖儿的贼 (tōu jǐng gài ér de zéi  – stealing manhole covers thieves). I am told there have been some recent reports in Beijing about gangs from Henan stealing manhole covers and selling them as scrap metal – a not very popular activity with the local Beijing population that should not go unpunished.

Before the game the national anthem is played, probably the only two minutes of the evening where a person from Henan would have felt comfortable in the stadium. Despite the manhole cover issue they are still Chinese after all. The game starts on time at 19:30 and Guo An quickly scores the first goal, after which for the first and only time I actually heard a cheer I would be used to from Europe: 国安必胜 (guó ān bì shèng  – Guo An must win).

Then it’s straight back to swearing at the Henanese：抓贼抓贼，偷井盖儿的贼 (zhuā zéi zhuā zéi ，tōu jǐng gài ér de zéi  – catch the thief, catch the thief, the manhole cover stealing thief). After about 10 minutes three people wearing black shirts were identified as probably being from Henan and suddenly found 30,000 people pointing and screaming at them – they left the stadium in a rather hurried manner.

By halftime Beijing is still up 1:0 and the mood is good. In general the fans seem to be slightly less concerned with the game though and more preoccupied with having their own fun. People coming up with imaginative ways of shouting abuse at the Henanese (there don’t seem to actually be in the stadium) seem to get as much appreciation as the goalkeeper for making a good save.

Beijing wins the game 3:0 and remains second after Guangzhou in the league. With some 40,000 people leaving the stadium, one can hear the best songs and swearwords of the evening being sung throughout the Sanlitun area. Despite all the swearing and abuse, it was interesting to see that Beijing football fans appear much less physically aggressive than in most other countries. There were no fights and even the most hardcore supporters seemed to actually be mainly university students or recent graduates, working as doctors and lawyers during the daytime and letting off a bit of steam on a Saturday evening.

While walking home I start to think it may not have only been about the Henanese and lost manhole covers after all, but just as much about a few other issues that one is not allowed to scream about as loudly in China.

[This story was contributed by LTL Director Andreas Laimboeck]