Fans' cup runneth over

Despite the national team failing to qualify, Chinese are pumped up for soccer, Yang Yang reports in Beijing.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup has kicked off, making soccer-crazy China even crazier. The tournament, which is held every four years and is one of the world's biggest sporting events and money spinners, is ubiquitous. Soccer-related articles dominate the Internet, television, radio, newspapers and social networking sites, and the competition is the main topic of conversation in cafes, bars, offices and factories across the country.

While it's ultrafashionable to talk about soccer - after all, who doesn't love "the beautiful game", as it's known to billions across the globe - the sport's massive following in China is slightly baffling to non-aficionados. Although China is always at, or close to, the top of the medals tables at the Olympic Games, the country's national soccer team has been historically poor, and has only played in the group stages of the tournament once, way back in 2002