Joy Day 11- Hot Mamas Kicking Some Balls

Day 11- Hot Mamas Kicking Some Balls
by Joy Dickson, Tuesday August 19, 2008 at 12:12am

Ok, I know that the title is some what risque but I swear it is relevant.
And what would the Olympics be without a little excitement.

Seven years worth of planning and it is all over in a matter of days. Wow, this feeling is sort of like watching Bolt ( the Jamaican runner) win the Men's 100. All the planning and anticipation, everyone has their opinion as to how it is going to turn out and whoosh in the blink of an eye it is over. I don't know if you were able to see this amazing event, most didn't because it happened so fast.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to go to this event but I was walking home and passed by one of the gazillion restaurants here that have TV screens outside and I just noticed a bunch of black men lined up at the starting line. While, I do get to see black men on a daily basis here in Beijing, the fine, athletically toned ones are few and far between. So I stopped and stood in the middle of the narrow road to watch. Fortunately, a cab driver decided to ignore the government ordinance telling people to lay off the horn during the Olympics or else I would have missed this event too.

No sooner did I move did the referee shoot the starter pistol and they were off. I stood there with my mouth open because I could not believe I saw Bolt lean forward slow up and still beat all of his competitors. And then homey kept running, right into the arms of his sweetie pie. Sorry I am a sucker for romance. Unbelievable. Go Jamaica!

Yesterday, I went to see the Women's Soccer Semi-Finals between the US and Japan. I went with my friend Auria and her parents. We were sitting in the second row. Not bad for a non-soccer fan. Ironically, we were sitting in the same row as two moms from Ivy Academy, my previous job. Flory and Lindsay. Flory just delivered her third child, a girl, 6 weeks ago and Lindsay is raising two boys that are barely a year apart. See there is a connection between the title and my actually story.

I have to admit I was torn between who to cheer for, Japan or US. Ironically, the Chinese were not torn at all. With all of the Jia You's that were filling the stadium not once did I hear Jia You Ri ben ( Let's go Japan). Even the professional government appointed cheerleaders, the one's in red hats and yellow shirts, did not say it. There was one lone foreigner from Norway that yelled it out. The hatred for Japan still runs deep. There were some Nihonjin that did yell out Furei Furei Nihon and a Gambatte every now and again.

The funniest thing was how long it took for us to get the wave going. It took about six times but we finally got it. And it kept going for a while. Because the wave is a new concept here, people were concentrating so hard on the wave that they were missing the action of the game. Hopefully the Chinese fans will eventually get to a point that they can wave and watch a game or match at the same time.

Prior to me going to this event a friend of mine and I had a big discussion about why soccer is not the number one sport in the US. He said that it is about the faking of the injuries. As Americans, punking out is not a option in sports. You slip, you better walk it off. You get sacked, you better get up and walk it off. As Tom Hanks said in "A League of Their Own", "There is no crying in baseball" and that is true, save it for after the game.

But this is not the case in Soccer, I had to stop watching one of the men's games because if one more player fell down and whinned about a hurt leg, I was going to scream. I did feel sorry for the two guys that did run into each other so hard that they bounced off of each other. But come on, get up and move or get off of the field.

And as much crying and whining and faking injuries that I saw in the men's games, it was not a problem in the women's game that I saw. Only one woman from Japan, stayed down on the field for about 15 seconds after falling flat on her face. Mind you this was after she had fallen and gotten up about five times earlier. The grass was damp. But she did not whine, cry or hold up the game, instead she got up, walked it off and kept on playing. Ain't no room for punks in WOMYN'S Soccer.

The game was really intense and the fans were really cool. One of the guys in front of me said, out loud "I feel a goal coming on" and Auria said, "Me too" and next thing we know the ball went in and we were on our feet screaming. The US ended up winning 4-2(two of those goals were from #16 a black woman, I think her last name is Hurchle).

We stuck around for a little after the game and it was worth it. The entire Japanese team came over to our side and despite the fact that they lost, they bowed and acknowledge the section of the Japanese fans in the row above us. Some were crying, which is what is supposed to happen after the game is over. One actually stood out in the crowd, I called her Afro girl. I don't know what kind of perm she had but her afro was as big as mine.

The most touching moment was when, two of the US members chased after their toddlers on the field. #15 and #3's children, who could barely walk and looked about 2 years old, ran on the field in smaller versions of their mothers' jerseys. It was so precious and as much fun to watch as the match.

Prior to the Olympics, I was never a big women's sports fan. Probably because I really suck at any game that involves a ball. From basketball to golf to badmiton to ping pong. If a ball is involved, I am not going to do well, I am more than likely going to injury myself or the person(s) I am playing with. Which is ironic considering I was the only girl on my pee-wee baseball team. Well, anyway I just wasn't but after watching women's fencing, tennis and soccer, I am definitely a fan.