Crazy tales of a sports fanatic

By Joo Yoon, 14, Troy High School

I’m a crazy sports fan and proud of it. Just ask the people who have sat next to me at Dodger Stadium—one of the many places where I’ve made a fool of myself.

One time there was a foul ball. I ran around trying to catch it when I tripped over my own two feet and flew into other spectators, knocking them over. Luckily no one got hurt. People helped each other up, and the ball rolled down to the next level where a lucky person caught it. I was so mad!

Another time at Dodger Stadium, a foul ball was hit high, and I thought that it would reach our level. I took my dad’s half-full beer cup and ran to catch the ball with it. Unfortunately, the only thing I managed to do was dump the beer on someone. When the ball did land, it wasn’t even close to our level.

Another place where I’ve made a fool of myself is Staples Center.

I was at the playoffs and every time they got the ball, I screamed at Derek Fisher because he was on fire that day. I yelled at Shaq and Kobe, "Pass the ball. Drive it in. Get the foul." I was pretty crazy. After Derek Fisher made another shot, I jumped up and down. My popcorn flew out of my hands and landed a few rows below hitting some dude in the head. He turned around and was like, "What the heck?" I just ran my hands through my hair and shrugged my shoulders. What’s a guy to do?

I got into a full-scale argument with my tutor at my study clinic. I said that the Dodgers could beat the Yankees hands down, while he said that the Yankees could kick the Dodgers’ butts. The study clinic’s owner told us to shut up and study but we wouldn’t. She finally made us go outside and finish our argument there. By that time we were yelling so loudly that we distracted all the other classes. When we went outside it almost turned into a fight. It was definitely a public scene.

Somehow we compromised by agreeing that the Dodgers and Yankees were the co-best teams in the league. Fortunately we finished the argument before my mom came and could yell at me about wasting money for the tutor. However, the next day she somehow found out that my tutor and I argued for more then half the lesson time. Boy, was she mad! How she found out is still a mystery that I’m trying to solve.

During the World Cup, my schoolmates and I showed our Korean pride by wearing red shirts, painted our faces red and blue and putting red and blue gel in our hair. You could hear us a mile away as we ran through the halls and yelled and cheered in Korean. As we celebrated, one of the advisors told us to be quiet or else we faced detention. I definitely shut up to keep my slate clean. Unfortunately some of my friends kept on yelling, and they were sent to detention.

‘Run faster!’


At home it’s a different story. I often sit in the family room in front of the big screen TV to watch sports. During the summer, I watched the World Cup and got sleepy. But as the game progressed, I woke up. Korea had the ball and couldn’t make a goal. I got mad and yelled, "Pass it to him. No, not him, you idiot!" When Spain got the ball, I yelled "Run faster!" Then I screamed at the coach and told him to switch players.

By the end of the game, my voice was sore. But then they had penalty kicks at the end of overtime. The game was tied 0-0. The five best kickers from each team came out. They got to shoot against the goalie, and the team that made the most goals won. I screamed at the Korean goalie, "Block the shot." I did the same for the Korean kickers. None of them missed a shot. I don’t know if it was my yelling or pure luck, but the Korean players won.

As soon as they won, my dad and I started screaming. It was about 2:30 in the morning. We woke up my mom and brother who were sleeping. I was worked up for the next half-hour, and after that I was exhausted. My throat hurt, and I talked with a lisp. I just couldn’t talk right. But it was worth it. That was probably one of the best games I’ve watched in my life.

The following day, the next-door neighbor asked us, "What were you doing last night?" Guess we were pretty loud.

This year I watched the Lakers game at church with some of my friends. We made a bet that every time the Lakers scored, I could punch him. Every time the Kings scored, he could punch me. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but by the end of the game, we were pretty banged up. The Lakers won though and I got to punch my friend more. (Yesssss!)

One time I bet my social studies teacher that if the Lakers won, she couldn’t give me homework. But if they lost, she could. They lost. That night I stayed up the whole night … doing homework. Oh, the consequences I pay for being a sports maniac!