We arrived sometime during the first game, and I was immediately blown away by the cheering section that was there; this loud ensemble of kids were the center of attention, not the game.
More than a hundred high school kids made up these huge masses of organized team cheering sections; there were even smaller dedicated sections of mothers and fans cheering for the teams as well. It was overwhelming.
Seogwipo was playing in the first game, however, their cheering section was somewhat lacking compared to the others. It didn't matter though, they scored a great goal in the final 10 minutes to win the match and secure their place into the finals.
After the first game, there was a break as crowds of high school kids started pouring into the stadium, forming their cheering sections. Jim and I watched as hundreds of these kids started lining up in rows and rows, forming giant squares on the opposite side of the stadium; it took at least twenty minutes just for them to get into formation there was so many of them.
Once assembled their massive cheers shook the stadium. With the mighty Hallasan silhouetted in the background, it was quite an experience.
The stadium isn't as big or nice as the World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, but it probably gets a better average turnout for the Jeju United games.
The arrange of cheers and styles was amazing: attack helicopters, tanks, battleships, running pumas, an exploding Mt. Halla...and that's only from one team.
The next two teams were quite impressive, both on and off the field. 대기 (Dae gee) scored some very impressive goals to win the match and move into the finals against Seogwipo on Sunday.
The whole experience reminded me of the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics. The whole organization and display of these routines were almost robotic. It was flawless.
I managed to get quite a bit of video with my HDV camera and I'm excited to see how it all turned; Brian was roaming around the track and he got quite a few good photos of the game and cheers as well:
This next video is the last part of the Hallasan cheer, just after it erupts and lava runs down its sides.
After the end of the second game, we all packed up and headed to City Hall to meet up with some friends at Bagdad for a birthday party. I didn't make it to the final game on Sunday, but got a call from Brian as Seogwipo scored the winning goal to claim the championship title. It's always a good feeling when the underdog wins.
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