If you think Jordan and Japan have never clashed together in a war, then you are mistaken.
Yup, I am talking about the famous war, which had Jordan fighting against Japan. The very famous one. If this is the first time you hear about it, then you have to continue reading this post.
The war was so big, that some people I know could not sleep for days after it. Other people I know, hated Japan forever (not me ofcourse!!) (^_^). Some other Jordanians decided to boycott anything Japanese! Well, it was a very sensitive, important, historical war between the two countries..
Even me, the Japan fan, feel stressed and sad whenever I remember the war..
Maybe this youtube video would express better than anything I would write..
2004, the Asian cup. The second round of the tournoment. It was the first time in history Jordan would acheive such a place in football. At around 1pm Amman time, one might think no one is living in Amman. Everyone is watching the TV. Everyone is hoping, praying, and cheering. The score ended in 1-1, full time. Its penalties turn.
As shown in the video above, the refree strangely switched the goals. This made Jordanians feel it was some kind of a trick to help them lose. After the match, Jordanians cried, yelled, even some went down the ground. I was speechless, I even had some tears in my eyes.
The next morning, Emad Hajjaj, the famous cartoonist, draw this cartoon to express how Jordanians felt about the match:
For those who dont read arabic, I will explain. The person in the middle represents all Jordanians. They want to commit suicide using the Japanese Samurai sword. Am angry business man in the back is calling Japan and yelling. On the left a guy telling his friend that Chinese products are even better than Japanese!
For Jordanians, it was a war. A war of football game. Jordanians are peaceful people, u know? Their heaviest war is a football match, against our friends the Japanese.
This was an unforgotable match. Even my Japanese friends still remind me with it saying "Oh, so you are from the country who couldnt score one penalty out of four?!!!!"
When they say that, I cry (T_T) .......
