Nutmeg Radio

A lot of us think that we work hard for our teams. We show up to as many matches as possible, travel to away matches, buy every iteration of every jersey released, and sometimes dress up as buffoons while sober. But there’s something I saw that surpasses all of that. I give you South Korean fans at the World Cup.

Several of us were in the stands for South Korea’s opening World Cup match. The vuvuzelas were buzzing, the sun was out, and the fans were decked out in their finest gear. Then, without notice, as the teams made their way on to the pitch, we saw a white banner pushing back over the heads of the fans below. Soon, a huge white flag flew over our heads, seemingly making its way to the back of our section.

For those who attend soccer matches or frequently watch matches, unfurling flags/banners is common practice. But this was no ordinary unfurling. Often, when you’re caught under a banner, you have no idea what’s on top if you haven’t been involved in the design process. You might be under a FIFA Fair Play banner. You might be under a flag. You might be under a picture of Pokémon. You just never know.

In due time, I figured out that we were under the South Korean flag. But that wasn’t what made the moment memorable. Looking up at the flag, I soon found myself marveling at the time and attention that went into creating the it. The flag was made up of what must have been a million little photographs of people. As fans below the flag began to realize what they were under, you began to hear murmurs of amazement at something that most spectators from afar couldn’t see. This was no ordinary flag. This was the Beatles White Album of flags. We’ve all seen flags before, but this one changed the game.

It was an arts and crafts project on steroids.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, after the match I saw the South Korean fans carrying the flag out of the stadium.  And this is what I saw:

Amazing, no? It just keeps going and going and going and going …

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