wbc

march 21-23, 2009

back in 2002, my mom asked me if i wanted to go to korea since they were hosting the world cup that year. i’m not sure what i was up to that year, or what i was thinking… but i brushed it off thinking it wouldn’t be such a big deal. wrong… for anybody that followed the world cup that year, i think we can safely conclude that my decision was a big mistake… they STILL show highlights from that period in korea… there are movies that reference that time period… and every korean can mentally replay every goal by korea during the tourny. from this and a few other experiences in my life, i’ve come to learn that when there is an opportunity to be part of something, you best do it whether it turns out awesome or not.

hence, i immediately jumped on the opportunity to watch korea play venezuela in the semi finals of the world baseball classic in LA. i must say, it was as awesome as i imagined it to be.

there is something different… maybe it’s emotion or pride… but definitely something that comes right from your gut when cheering for your home country, especially when everybody in the stadium seems unified and as excited as you. koreans have always been good at becoming a tight group during troublesome or exciting times. maybe it’s the eastern collectivistic mindset or just because we’re a relatively small country, but i noticed this during the late 1990′s economic crisis where everybody sold their gold for the country and refrained from buying anything non-korean, and in2002 when the country gathered to cheer our team during the world cup.

(awesome view of downtown from dodger stadium)

(sweet…)

due to a few circumstances, i was able to make the finals game where korea played japan. despite the finals being the fifth or sixth game between these two countries in this tournament, it was the match up all the koreans were hoping for. although we lost at the end, it was an amazing game. japan’s offense was tearing it apart throughout most of he game, but korea’s defense came through inning after inning to keep the game close and eventually push it into extra innings.