Made in China
If you just listened to our respective governments, you might think that the United States and China want nothing to do with each other, or that its people have nothing in common. Fortunately, the government can't speak for all of its people. I'm here to tell you all about the day an American soccer fan went to Tianjin in search of an interesting Tianjin TEDA match, and came home with a love for both Chinese soccer culture and Chinese culture in general. That American was me, and that day was one of the best of my life.
Background:
I visited Tianjin on May 7th of this year. I knew about the club because they had one of the best Iranian players, Morteza Pouraliganji, the season before last, which gave me a great reason to follow and support. This support was escalated about 18 months ago when I met a man who is now one of my best friends - his name is Samuel Wang, and he is an international student from Tianjin, studying at a school in Maryland. I was at a D.C. United match when I saw a guy wearing a Tianjin TEDA scarf, so I went up to talk to him. His initial reaction was shock at the fact that anybody in the US had ever heard of TEDA, let alone recognized their logo. We bonded over Pouraliganji and supporter culture - I found out that he was the founder of Tiger Wings, TEDA's top supporter group - and immediately made it a priority to get me to Tianjin as soon as possible. This guy had started an enormous group of rabid fans over on the other side of the world, and I had to go see them in action.
Long story short, I made it to Tianjin a few months ago, but Sam was still taking his final exams back in Maryland. Luckily, one of his best friends/another Tiger Wings founder, Baolai, was gracious enough to host me throughout my day in the city. He ended up being one of the coolest people ever, but I'm sure you won't need me to tell you that after you see him in my photos.
Pre-Game:
I arrived in Tianjin around noon wearing my TEDA shirt, and was greeted by a guy wearing a D.C. United hoodie - more specifically, he was a wearing a District Ultras hoodie, representing the supporters group of which I'm a member. I knew Sam had told Baolai about all the DCU matches he'd been attending, but I had no idea the merchandise had made its way halfway across the world.
Once I thoroughly complimented my new acquaintance on his choice of cold weather clothing, he took me on a tour of his favorite city spots and showed me his favorite restaurant. This was one of those hole-in-the-wall places that isn't used to seeing anyone from out of town, so needless to say I got plenty of confused stares when I walked in. But it doesn't matter, because the food was inexpensive and it was incredible.
After some grub, we headed to the stadium where I was handed Tiger Wings stickers, my match ticket, and a TEDA scarf before we had even left the parking lot. I was immediately taking a ton of pictures of all the merchandise, as well as the outside of the stadium. Once we had walked in, I got a glimpse of the stadium's beauty during player warm-ups. I was meeting all of the other Tiger Wings leaders and getting previews of what the chants sounded like. Keep in mind that Baolai was the only person I met that entire day that spoke any English; luckily, soccer chants are an international language even if you can't pronounce every word correctly. I was already falling in love with Chinese soccer culture (I fell in love with Chinese food years ago), so I decided to show them a bit of my own culture.
I had successfully spread District Ultras fever to Tianjin, China. Now it was time to enjoy the match.
Match: Tianjin TEDA 1-1 Liaoning Hongyun
Where do I even begin with the match itself? Imagine the loudest thing you've ever heard, then multiply it by five, and you might have an idea of the passion of these supporters. Just check out the time and effort that went into their tifos and signs:
On a purely soccer level, it was kind of cool to see numerous big-name players on the field. So much has been made of the foreign players being bought for huge sums of money by Chinese clubs - some say the players are just chasing money, or that the clubs themselves are wasting their finances - but what I noticed was that each foreign player on these two sides was working their socks off and clearly wasn't in China on a retirement tour. It was especially cool to see John Obi Mikel, former Chelsea star, suit up for TEDA alongside former West Brom striker Brown Ideye.
Anyway, back to the fans. My vocal chords were absolutely shriveled up by the end of this match, and I have some chants in my head that I won't soon be forgetting. The capo (chant leader) was yelling into his microphone nonstop, and 90% of the crowd was responding in perfect unison, creating an absolutely hostile atmosphere for the opponents. It would be pointless for me to try putting this into any more words than I already have, but just know that I walked out of that stadium unbelievably impressed by Chinese supporters and their passion for the sport. When TEDA scored to take the lead, I wouldn't be surprised if the celebrations registered as a small earthquake in Tianjin.
Post-Match:
I'll keep this part short since I know you're all tired of reading about my misadventures. It was a pleasure to see Tianjin at night; its beauty is really accentuated. For a city that most of the world has never heard about, it was magnificent in its architecture and city layout, centered around a large river much like Venice or Amsterdam. Only 30 minutes from Beijing via the bullet train (by the way, did I mention how crazy it was to ride a train going over 200 mph?), I wouldn't be surprised to see it become another tourist destination sooner rather than later.
I left the city around 9:30PM after a day full of great food, great soccer, and great memories, but not before giving Baolai a token of my appreciation for his unmatched hospitality: his very own D.C. United shirt. He can wear it under his Ultras hoodie next time I go visit.
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