I hate to admit it, but in Hong Kong, like many other Asian regions, including Singapore and Malaysia may I say, are full of bandwagon fans. I do not mean there ain't no hardcore fans in those places. I've met hardcore fans from all these places but to say there're no "gloryhunters" or "player chasers" there is naive. I even have to admit that the average Liverpool fan in Hong Kong are of superior quality than the average claim-to-be United fan in HK in terms of understanding the history of their club, stading by the team and so on. This of course, does not mean that as a person they are all fucking losers like any other scousers.
Nigel Christopher SJ Ong wrote: > As an Asian soccer fan, I must say that I have never understood where > all this crap comes from. Maybe I am just ignorant, but all the > football fans I know support ONE club passionately. > > I think that in the countries with a colonial history, the passion for > CLUBS prevails, but maybe in newer markets like China and Japan, > passion for players might rule. > > But certainly in Singapore (the dateline of the article), most football > fans support a club, not a player. Fervently. > > I think this 'Asians support players, not clubs' is a myth created by > Western journalists who don't know better, to try and create reasons to > justify stories about players moving that would otherwise make no sense. > > On Friday, June 13, 2003, at 11:00 pm, Terry Dale wrote: > > > Here's one of particular interest to anyone on the list from the Far > > East. > > SINGAPORE, June 13 (Reuters) - In China, millions of European football > > devotees know him as "Little Bei". In Japan and South Korea, he's a pop > > icon, revered like a rock star. > > > > If David Beckham, soccer megastar and Manchester United midfielder, > > moves to > > Spain or Italy the allegiance of millions of Asian fans -- and their > > spending habits -- are likely to move with him. Such is his > > extraordinary > > celebrity in the region. > > > > In China, the Beckham sweepstakes headed the list of bulletin board > > topics > > on the popular Internet portal sina.com, and many fans criticised > > Manchester > > United for appearing willing to put their prize player on the auction > > block. > > > > "I'll never watch Manchester United games again," one vowed. > > > > Beckham, one of the biggest sports names in marketing with a brand > > worth an > > estimated 200 million pounds ($334.5 million), is the face of English > > soccer > > in Asia -- his looks sell motor oil in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, > > and > > his ever-changing hair helps market beauty products in Japan. > > > > His fans are critical to negotiations to lure the 28-year-old England > > captain away from Manchester United to European clubs Barcelona and > > Real > > Madrid, his celebrity treasured nearly as much as his passes. > > > > The two clubs lag their British rivals in developing business in Asia. > > Landing a player who can generate a Beatles-like reception in Japan -- > > the > > world's second-richest economy -- would be a quick-fix way of reversing > > that. > > > > ENTRY TO ASIA > > > > Beckham looks certain to leave Manchester United before next season and > > Barcelona are the front runners to sign him after the English champions > > conditionally accepted a 30 million pound ($48.9 million) bid this > > week. > > > > But the deal is far from complete, and Real Madrid remain a contender > > and > > possibly Beckham's favourites. > > > > For either club, Beckham is an entry to Asia, where Manchester United > > have > > an estimated 16 million supporters. Of those, a third support the > > player > > rather than the club, according to branding agency FutureBrand. > > > > "Many fans in Asia watch a team because of the individual star > > players. When > > those players are transferred, quite often they will swap allegiances > > to a > > club and they will follow the player," said FutureBrand consultant > > Samantha > > McCollum. > > > > "It's certainly very different to how things work in the UK, where you > > are > > committed to a club," she told Reuters. > > > > It's easy to find evidence of Beckham fever. > > > > In Thailand, a Buddhist temple near Bangkok has statuettes of him at > > the > > base of a Buddha image, and thousands mobbed him at Bangkok airport on > > a > > visit two years ago. > > > > Hang, a saleswoman at Hanoi's Manchester United shop, says Beckham's > > image > > sells paraphernalia -- from key chains to jackets. "Kids don't think > > twice > > about paying $100 for a shirt." > > > > For 25-year-old Indonesian lawyer Kusumawardhani the appeal is simple. > > "He's > > drop-dead gorgeous," she gushed. > > > > But some in Malaysia and Singapore felt more loyalty to Manchester > > United. > > "Only the girls like him," snorted John Wong, who manages a Manchester > > United boutique in Kuala Lumpur. > > > > Laurence How, secretary of Manchester United's first official fan club > > in > > Southeast Asia, agreed. "If Beckham wants to go, he can go," he said. > > > > In Japan, where Beckham begins an Asian tour next Wednesday, fans were > > divided. > > > > Yasuhiro Kumada of Tokyo's Manchester United Fan Club says some members > > would quit if Beckham went. "We at the club put more emphasis on > > Manchester > > United as a team than David Beckham. But if Beckham moves to a > > different > > team, there are certainly a number of members who would quit." > > > > On a Japanese Web site devoted to Beckham, or Bekkamu as he is known > > there, > > fans pondered his fate. "Will he still be able to wear number 7?" one > > asked. > > "Oh come on," another replied, "Beckham IS number 7!" > > > > > > > <image.tiff> > > > > > > Subscription info WWW http://red11.org/list > > > > Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] = subscribe to the list. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] = unsubscribe from the list. > > Post message [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > Yahoo! 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