Beijing Boyce

Did we leave the game without getting tear-gassed? Yes, we did!

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Brandon Chemers is a rabid Beijing Guoan fan, so much so that not only does he write heavily about the football team on his blog, but also some people–well, pretty much only me–think he is the sole reason SWAT teams and water cannon are present at every game. Here he gives the lowdown on the Guoan and covers everything from the three things you need to know about the team to the degree of security at games to why fans continually chant “Sprite” (“Xuěbì”).

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What are three things I need to know about this year’s Beijing Guoan?

1. They’re the defending champions, having won the title by a single point on the last day last season. This means they are also in the Asian version of the Champions League. They were the only Chinese side to advance out of the group stage and are now facing a Korean team (and during the group stage this year, Chinese sides were 0-8 against Korean opponents).

2. They have one of their strongest sides ever and the league’s highest paid side at $17 million. During the off-Dseason, they continued spending money bringing in a couple of major transfers.

3. The manager, Hong Yuanshuo, looks like one of the old guys you see sunning on benches outside old apartment complexes all over the city (or maybe the guy who lines up at the bank a half hour before it opens). Plus, he’s using a rotation policy this year that would make Rafa Benitez jealous.

Who are the three players I need to watch, and why?

A hard question considering this year’s side. I think there are a lot of stories, but limiting it to three, one would have to be Darko Matic, the Bosnian holding midfielder. He was one of the main reasons Guoan won the title last year and is one of the few players who is almost always on the pitch and plays with a ton of heart.

Australian striker Joel Griffiths (his younger brother Ryan is also on the squad) is Guoan’s key striker. He’s also an outside hope for a spot on Australia’s World Cup squad and is doing everything he can to earn it.

Finally, while I’m tempted to use my third on Guoan’s captain, Xu Yunlong, or Yang Zhi, the goalkeeper (who is also China’s first choice keeper), I’ll go with summer transfer signing Xu Liang. Xu is often called China’s Beckham for his awesome free kicks. He’s quickly become a fan favorite and some of his crosses and corners are really dangerous.

Can I expect anything different at a football game in China compared to one elsewhere?

There is a heavy reliance on the two “supporters sections” for the “atmosphere”. This is similar to soccer in the U.S., but very different from the European experience, and can lead to long periods of relative silence. Also, fans here love horns. The sound is sort of like the South African vuvuzelas that everyone hated during last year’s Confederations Cup and can be incredibly annoying.

So far this season, fans have tended to bring a lot of things into the stadium and throw them at the visiting players. Considering all the security, it’s pretty amazing. Favorites tend to be balloons (or condoms) filled with water, but the best ever was when baozi were thrown at Tianjin players.

From a fan experience point of view, seating in your section is first come first served, so if you want a good view and have a big group, best to get there early (or have the “expensive” tickets). Inside the venue, no food or alcohol is served, only warm Coke products.

Of course, this is also the only place I’ve ever heard of creating a “cultured” experience for the fans, so when the swearing gets too loud, the stadium speakers attempt to cover it up by playing fake crowd noise or the Guoan “fight song”.

I see a lot of riot police and equipment, including trucks with water cannons, at Workers Stadium for games. Have you ever seen them in use?

(Un?)Fortunately no. I have no idea why they require so much security, especially because inside the venue it seems like you can do whatever you want. There were some incidents in the crowd last year against Tianjin, but the away fans are so far from anybody that not much can happen.

I have also seen the Guoan souvenir shop in the stadium. What is the must-have Guoan souvenir? Have you tried any that ‘Beijing Guoan’ red wine?

The most popular tends to be this year’s new Nike jersey (with the star, it must have the star), but most people will buy either the “official” scarf they sell there or one of the many scarves you can find from the hawkers on Gongti Bei Lu on game night (they typically go for RMB40 or so). Niya wines is actually one of the team’s main sponsors. I haven’t tried one of the commemorative bottles made for last year’s championship, but maybe it’s time for a tasting. We can see if the Xu Yunlong is better than the Tao Wei.

I live near Workers Stadium and can hear the same chant over and over. I say fans are chanting “Sprite” (Xuěbì), my Chinese friends say they’re making rough accusations about the intelligence of female genital organs. Who’s right?

The club wishes you were right, as it would go against the cultured nature of Chinese soccer fans, but your friend takes this bet.

Why did you start a Beijing Guoan blog instead of, say, a Chicago Black Hawks Fans in Beijing blog?

Hockey is definitely my passion (I’m writing this as I’m watching the Detroit-San Jose game, so it must be said, DETROIT SUCKS!), but I’ve always loved soccer as well and went to my first Guoan game back in ’98. With the time zone difference, I probably only watch one or two Hawks games a week, so that blog would be incredibly boring. Plus, as a sports fan, I think connecting with the local sports team is a way to connect with your city, and I love Beijing.

The CBA (basketball) team plays all the way out in Fangshan, so its not easy to get to the games, but Gongti’s right in the middle of the city and tickets are cheap. Nobody was writing about Guoan and there was very little about Chinese sports in English, so I figured why not. I started the Guoan blog on blogspot, but after that got blocked, transfered it to Sina, and now have rolled it into my yet-another-expat’s blog-about-their-life blog (though with a focus on restaurant reviews and, of course, Guoan). Maybe I brought them some luck: the season I chose to start the blog they won their first ever title. Hopefully they’ll repeat this year.

I would add that this season, tickets are no longer for sale at Worker’s Stadium, you must go to the website http://guoan.228.com.cn/ (Chinese only) to purchase tickets, which tend to go on sale five days or so in advance. The big games to attend are against Shandong, Shanghai, and Tianjin, though they are by far the hardest to get. Of course, there are plenty of “yellow bulls” (scalpers) around the stadium on match day.

Home of the Guoan.