He Sheng, the "Refund Guy": The most unforgettable match was Argentina vs. Cape Verde; his total spending on watching World Cup matches exceeded 300,000 yuan.

On August 1st, Jimo News interviewed He Sheng, a well-known football media personality known as "Refund Bro," who talked about his experience of traveling to the United States, Canada, and Mexico to watch the World Cup. The following is an excerpt from the interview.

What are your overall impressions of this World Cup?

My biggest feeling was exhaustion. I originally planned to watch 10 games, but due to various circumstances, I ended up watching 20. The games were held in different cities and even different countries, with long distances between them. Usually, I would watch the game in the afternoon, and then spend several hours squeezing out of the stadium to get back to the hotel. Sometimes, I would have to rush to the airport that same night to catch a flight to the next city. That was the constant rhythm of the day.

Having watched 20 matches live, which one did you find the most exciting and unforgettable?

The first knockout round match was Argentina vs. Cape Verde. Although Cape Verde is a small country, this team is not as vulnerable as people imagine. They dared to play an attacking game against Argentina and still had chances until the very end. During halftime and water breaks, the stadium effectively engaged the audience, maintaining a tense and exciting atmosphere throughout.

Does the Chinese team's absence from the World Cup again affect your enthusiasm and experience of watching the games?

Thankfully, this is my third time watching a World Cup without the Chinese team; I also went to the games in 2018 and 2022. This time in the US, Canada, and Mexico, most foreign fans assumed I was a South Korean or Japanese fan. They were a bit surprised when they learned I was from China, but no one laughed at me, considering that even a strong team like Italy has missed the World Cup for several consecutive years.

Without the Chinese team, which team do you support the most in this World Cup?

My strongest supporter is one of the host nations, Mexico. This goes back to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when I was there for the first time to watch Mexico's group stage match against Germany. Mexico is so far from Russia, yet there were more Mexican fans than German fans in the stadium. Some even sold their houses to support their national team. Mexico ultimately defeated Germany 1-0, and the fervor of the Mexican fans both inside and outside the stadium was breathtaking. This year, Mexico is one of the hosts, so I bought a high-priced ticket for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, and Mexico won again. The match was in the afternoon, but even at midnight, the streets were still filled with excited fans, blocking the roads. Besides Mexico, I also like Portugal. I'm a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, but unfortunately, his last World Cup wasn't perfect either.

What do you think of the organization of this year's USMCA (United States, Canada, and Mexico) convention?

I watched one game each in Mexico City and Toronto, spending most of the time in the United States. American stadiums have more restrooms, so there aren't long lines, and the stands are well-commercialized, with shops selling drinks and snacks lining both sides of the corridors – very convenient. These are more advanced than stadiums in China. However, aside from that, the experience of watching games in the US wasn't great. The open-air stadiums lacked air conditioning, and since most games were played in the afternoon, the stands were incredibly stuffy. The most troublesome thing was transportation. Most stadiums in the US aren't accessible by public transport or subway. If you rent a car, parking for one game can cost $250. I had to take taxis to the stadium, but if I took a taxi back to the hotel immediately after the game, the price might be even higher than $250. I had to sit at the stadium for three hours until it got quieter before taking a taxi to save money. For the final, I specifically found a hotel only six or seven kilometers from Metstal Stadium in New Jersey. The taxi ride to the stadium only cost $30. But after the game, the taxi ride back to the hotel cost $157. Actually, the parking lots at American stadiums are very large; even on the day of the game, they weren't full. But they insist on raising parking fees arbitrarily, and the same goes for taxis and ride-hailing services. The US government doesn't prohibit these price increases; they consider it normal market behavior.

How much does it cost to watch the game?

In the previous two World Cups, I went to Russia and Qatar to watch the games, and the tickets for each match only cost one or two thousand RMB. However, the tickets for the USA-Canadian World Cup had dynamic pricing, fluctuating according to popularity. Of the 20 matches I watched this time, 12 were provided by partner brands, and the other 8 were purchased by myself. Many tickets were over 10,000 RMB, and the final, because I bought a full-price ticket, cost $7,380, equivalent to over 50,000 RMB. Even for matches with partner-provided tickets, I still had to cover my own airfare, accommodation, and transportation costs, which usually amounted to tens of thousands of RMB per match.

(In total) it was about 300,000 RMB. The airfare was the biggest expense; not counting the tickets given to me by others, the tickets for the 8 games I bought myself cost more than 130,000 RMB. The airfare was more than 70,000 RMB, the accommodation was more than 60,000 RMB, and other expenses such as food and taxis also amounted to tens of thousands of RMB.