Taxis lined Taipei's Anhe Road early yesterday morning, nervously awaiting the conclusion of the World Cup final and the rush of home-bound passengers.
At Spaceman, a small pub catering to expats and English teachers, morning light was slowly entering the all-black bar as a mixed crowd of English, French, Americans and Taiwanese watched a tiny 20-inch screen. Spotty satellite reception added to the apprehension, with bartender Niall Clinton switching to the Chinese-language MUCH TV telecast three times over the course of the evening.
In the end, an Italian victory was celebrated with a round of Jameson shots, with many relieved the match was over, though a pair of Frenchmen were wistful.
"I don't feel bad because we didn't deserve to win this match," said Mathias, a 20-something French national.
When asked about Zinedine Zidane's bizarre head-butt and red card in the final minutes of extra time, he said Zidane was a "passionate player," sometimes prone to such outbursts that he had seen before.
While Europeans may have been passionate about the final, one local patron only complained.
"I still don't have any feeling for the World Cup," Xiao Shan said.
He'd watched around half of the matches and admitted that betting on the games hadn't helped. For him, the World Cup was an excuse for late-night drinking.
Some have taken it a little too far, said bartender Niall Clinton, with one patron at the playoff fixture between Germany and Portugal "totally polluted on alcohol," unnerving patrons with a spilled pint of Guinness and a suicide threat. Thankfully, he was escorted outside where fresh air and a seat in a plastic lawn chair helped calm his nerves.
Still, most pub patrons were a little too calm during the final week of the World Cup, fighting to stay awake through an array of snacks, Red Bull and vodka drinks.
Late-night business over the past month did result in some good -- a collection jar dedicated to the "Karma Fund" raised an impressive NT$45,000. Coins filled the bottom of the glass container while NT$10,000 topped off the jar, a one-time contribution by a local person newly rich with an unexpected tax rebate.
Paul Clinton, founder of the fund, says the collection was double the amount he expected, potentially allowing him to sponsor books and fees for two elementary schools of Aboriginal children in Kaohsiung County. He said he was glad to make this contribution after 17 years of living in Taiwan, noting that few foreigners do much in return for those that are less well off. Through his fund and a modest tip jar, he is hoping to make a difference.
And so, as the sun came up on the last World Cup match of 2006, a few revelers and contributors to the Karma Fund were feeling pretty good about themselves, regardless of the result of the final.
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