For Chinese Fans, Games Are Must-See TV

A soccer fan refused to let the small matter of his house burning down disturb his enjoyment of Tuesday’s World Cup match between France and Spain.

A fire gutted the dwelling in the center of the Chinese capital at 3 a.m. local time Wednesday -- kickoff time in Hanover, Germany -- the Beijing Daily Messenger reported.

“When the neighbors shouted fire, I took my little baby and ran out in my nightclothes,” the man’s wife told the paper. “My husband paid no attention to the danger, just grabbed the television and put it under his arm. After getting out of the house, he then set about finding an electric socket to plug it in and continue watching his game.”

China didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but fans still went to great lengths to follow the games.

One man quit his job in Beijing to return to his hometown of Chongqing so he could watch the whole tournament uninterrupted.

State news agency Xinhua reported that the 23-year-old’s boss at the IT company had offered him a pay raise, but he turned it down flat, saying the World Cup was more important than his job.

The Guangzhou Daily reported that police were forced to release a thief arrested for stealing a mobile phone when the victim refused to press charges because he did not want to miss the start of a match.