In my previous post, I talked about my experience attending an NFL game.  A great way to understand the people of a country is to understand its sports.  For China, a large headache is the organization jokingly referred to as 国猪 (national pig), which is short for 国足(the national soccer team)- the 中国国家足球队 ([official name of] the China National Soccer Team).   One joke passed around the internet is that the team’s losses have many causes, such as the day’s weather being too hot, the day’s weather being too cold, and the day’s temperature being perfect, because then their 对手 (opponent) would not have any 障碍 (challenges).   To be sure, the performance of this team is a 悲剧 (tragedy) for Chinese sports fans.  Recently, the team made news when it tied 东帝汶 (East Timor).  I find it hard to believe that the team with the highest 金牌总数 (total Gold Medal count) during last year’s Olympic Games cannot even qualify for the first round of the 世界杯 (world cup).

国猪 guo2zhu1 – playful name for the Chinese national soccer team
国足 guo2zu2 – abbreviated name for the
中国国家足球队 zhong1guo2 guo2jia1 zu2qiu2dui4 – CHina National Soccer Team
对手 dui4shou3 – opponent
障碍 zhang4ai4 – challenges
悲剧 bei1ju4 – tragedy
东帝汶 dong1di4wen2 – East Timor
金牌 jin1pai2 – gold medal
总数 zong3shu4 – total count
世界杯 shi4jie4bei1 – FIFA World Cup