Posted on 08/22/2002 10:33:28 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Women become hookers, dump fiances to follow Beckham
Thursday, August 22, 2002 at 06:15 JST TOKYO — It seems Japanese women can't get enough of England's soccer captain David Beckham. Some are even going so far as to dump their fiances and become call girls to pay for trips to England to follow their idol.
Even though the World Cup has been over for nearly two months, weekly women's magazines in Japan still carry stories on Beckham and photos, books and Beckham goods are selling well.
To cash in on the Beckham boom, several travel agencies have introduced various package tours to England, which are targeting women blindly devoted to the player.
Since the England Premier League started in the middle of August, the number of participants on these Beckham tours is rising.
According to one travel agent, "We cannot officially name these package tours 'Beckham tours' because it violates the right to his name and portraits. Everyday we get a number of inquiries asking if it's possible to see Beckham on the tour. We can't guarantee it. The tours usually last four days and cost about 250,000 yen. The highlight is a stadium tour in which you can see lockers, dressing rooms and corridors."
What sort of people go on Beckham tours anyway? One is Kaori who is an office worker and also has a part-time job at a nightclub in Roppongi three nights a week to pay for her upcoming trip to England.
"My dream is to go to England, have an English baby and raise the child like Beckham. Actually, I planned to marry my boyfriend in June. We had been together for about two years. However, I broke off the engagement because I couldn't have followed Beckham around during the World Cup if I had married him. My parents were disgusted at the time but I told them that he had been unfaithful," said Kaori.
Another Beckham devotee is Sayaka, a job-hopping part-time worker in Tokyo. "Of course, during the World Cup, I chased him. I supported myself by working as a call girl in Sapporo where England had a game with Argentina. I'm gonna go to England and work as a call girl there too. Who knows, maybe Beckham will hear about me and invite me to his Beckingham palace."
Meanwhile, Mikiko, a housewife in Setagaya, has changed her 6-year-old son's hairstyle to resemble Beckham's. She has also been sleeping with her English instructor. "I want to go to England, so I thought I had better learn English conversation at a language school. My teacher thinks he resembles Beckham and loves it when I call him Beckham during sex."
While these three Beckham fans are obviously very devout, Taeko is even more extreme. "I stayed at hotels where Beckham stayed during the World Cup. I checked toilets he might have used, took photographs of them and even licked them," she said. "I'm definitely going to England. I want to live in Beckham's neighborhood and go swimming or shopping together with him. If I meet his wife Victoria, I will ask her to leave him."
Author Masazumi Ando, who wrote a book about English hooligans, laments at the stupidity of these women and many more like them.
"Even though they go on these tours, they'll never see Beckham. These women can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality. They'll be taken advantage of by guys at nightclubs or wherever and exposed to danger. It'll be a downward spiral for them as they look for ways to earn money. I wish they could see how shameful their conduct is," he said. (Shukan Post)
I'm going to puke.
If the toilet-licking thing wasn't enough to make you vomit, hopefully that'll help you out.
Nam Vet
Actually, that's more of a CHINESE dialect writing device. Just reverse all r's and l's. Makes a perfect Chinee-sounding accent.
Michael
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