South Korean Sports Fans: We Could Do Without Them

Seems like they might be the least sportsman-like fans of all time, especially in their hatred of US skater, Apolo Ohno. Read it. Because Apolo Ohno has beaten South Koreans in the beloved speed skating, the whole country hates him, and not only that, but they've made death threats to him. Sound crazy? Maybe anywhere outside of Korea, where these grudges can seemingly last a lifetime. I also seem to remember a World Cup in 2002 where South Korea scored a goal against the US, and the scorer taunted the US team with a speed skating ritual (which very few people understood outside of Korea). I just think they take themselves a little too seriously.

On the other side of things, I also remember an incident in the 1988 olympics in Seoul where Roy Jones pummelled his South Korean opponent - about 375 punches to 6, and the gold was awarded to the South Korean thanks to a partisan Korean judge. Don't remember any death threats to Koreans. I'm not sure what exactly is behind the attitude of many South Koreans. The article says that perhaps racism against Japanese is a factor. Could be.

Great that Koreans support their team. Just hate to see what would happen if Ohno beats them again tonight.