Monday, 23 July 2012

Class Squared



Japan’s world champion women soccer team have kicked up a fuss after being left in economy class while their male colleagues lived it up in business on a flight to Europe for the Olympics.

“I guess it should have been the other way around,” World Cup heroine Homare Sawa, 33, told Japanese media after arriving in the French capital on Monday.

“Even just in terms of age, we are senior,” she said, with a smile.

“When we won the World Cup, our seats were changed to business class for our return flight,” she said. “I hope we can produce a good result again and be treated the same way.”

Seriously, I have such a fucking crush on this woman. Not content with merely being The Best in The World, just about every single thing she seems to say positively reeks of poise and confidence, and is seasoned with just the right amount of spiky but understated sarcasm to keep it interesting.

Homare Sawa’s phenomenal. I love my wife completely, but I think she’d understand. Not least because she agrees. This was my wife’s assessment of Sawa the last time she saw her on TV:

“She is so fucking cool.”

That’s as close to a free pass as I reckon I’m ever likely to get…


Credit where it’s due.
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6 comments:

  1. Kathryn23 July 2012 at 15:17

    I have to confess, I've got a bit of a crush on her too :D

    That's freaken ridiculous though. Either put all your athletes in business class or none. Actually do the proper Japanese thing and make them janken for it.

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    1. kamo23 July 2012 at 21:36

      Yeah, I believe the Aussies caught a bit of flack for this too. The basketball team as well! At least the Nadeshiko are all under 2m tall. I normally try to get an exit seat, but if you're travelling as a team there are only so many to go around.

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  2. Will24 July 2012 at 22:29

    At least she said what she said with a smile. When it comes time to get down to business, betcha she kicks those balls real hard.

    Makes you want to wonder out loud if the fellas who made the seating arrangements... do they usually fly economy class?

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    1. kamo26 July 2012 at 15:30

      Almost certainly yes. Almost certainly no. To take your question in order.

      She kicks them hard, for sure, but with such grace as well. A precious commodity for some, that.

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  3. Ἀντισθένης25 July 2012 at 22:10

    She is the counterpoint to what I say to my wife, and other Japanese women, who 'shoganai' about the sexism here: "Take your rights from Japanese oyaji, or shut up. What do you think my grandmother's generation did in Canada [etc.]? Not what you're doing [fuck-all but killing the birth-rate] is what!"

    Homare rocks. And the men's team, as hard as they may try, have won what? If the men had refused their seats I'd have some hope for this country...

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    1. kamo26 July 2012 at 15:32

      The paradox being, of course, that doing fuck-all should actually be pretty good for the birth rate, if you think about it...

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