On March 11th, a spring day, veteran media personality Jia Yanfeng posted a long and heartfelt article on his social media platform, pouring out his thoughts on the
China Super League (soccer league)
The complex emotions of the league. He bluntly stated that he no longer had any expectations for the Chinese Super League. He mentioned that whether it is a senior player over 30 or a young talent starting out, many are beginning to sprout
demobilize
thoughts, and those who choose to stay are just going with the flow.
Jia Yanfeng's epiphany is as follows:
The Chinese Super League no longer has any expectations. In the past, whenever this time, always look forward to the early opening of the league. The professional league is not only an important stage for Chinese soccer, but also the expectation of our hearts. Even in 2020, when the epidemic is raging, we are still looking forward to it.
In 2021, under the pressure of widespread wage arrears, the teams showed their respective strength and resilience. Guangzhou was resilient and retained its qualification for the Chinese Super League; Hebei suffered hardship but did not stumble; Yatai's rise was a pleasant surprise; Shenhua's awakening was gratifying; and Taishan's strong performance was a unique one. When I think back to that period of time, I still think it was wonderful.
Talking to the players at that time, they said they could not give up because they wanted to prove to the investors and the country that even though it was tough, the Chinese professional league had never abandoned them and was still working hard. They were also not too worried about the salary arrears, because at least there was still a barrier to entry, and more or less some compensation would be made. However, when asked about the players today, many of them have already started to consider retiring, whether they are veterans or rookies, and if they don't, they are just going with the flow. Sometimes, the poverty of a family is not terrible, the terrible thing is to lose the determination to move up and the will to get out of it, not seeing hope, everyone is muddling through each day. They do not see the rewards of their efforts, nor do they see the gap between the results of their lack of efforts and their efforts.
Therefore, instead of witnessing the footy cadets making a series of mistakes on the field, we should choose to remain silent. Since everyone wants to save money, wouldn't stopping the league be the most cost-effective way to save money? Is such logic valid?
