Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

As a fan of the Jiangsu Football City League, popularly known as "Suchao," I must admit I have felt a bit awkward so far in its inaugural year. My father's ancestral home was originally in Yangzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province, later reassigned to nearby Taizhou. My mother's family is from Nantong. I graduated from Yangzhou Normal College. My wife is from Xuzhou and I have lived in Nanjing for 38 years. [All these cities are in Jiangsu.]

Dear "Suchao," who do you want me to support?

On September 6, second-place Nanjing faced third-place Xuzhou at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center. As I headed out to watch the match, my wife gave me a meaningful look. I longed to root for my city, Nanjing, but then - what about dinner? I could satisfy my desire to cheer them on at the stadium, but that would lead to the dissatisfaction of going hungry at home.

Fortunately, the Nanjing vs Xuzhou matched ended with a score of 1-1. I could not have asked for a better result as my team didn't lose and I still got my dinner.

This match set a new Suchao record for attendance at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center: 60,817 fans. I remember on October 20, 2012, the Chinese Super League's attendance record was also set here with 65,769 people. My son and I were there, in Section 19. By the way, Section 19 is quite special - every wave in the stands starts there. When fans decide to do something, Section 19 is a tempest waiting to happen. The wave surges clockwise around the oval stands bringing to mind the roar of the mountains and the crashing sound of ocean waves.

In 2025, I have been repeatedly asked: Why is Suchao so popular? I do not have an answer. I have asked others, and they don't know either. But one thing I do know: Jiangsu, especially Nanjing, is fertile ground for football. How fertile? Let me give you an example. A certain writer lives in Nanjing, writes loads of novels here, but truth be told, he is a bit of a slacker. He pretends to be an intellectual, yet spends a huge chunk of his time and energy on the football field. He gives his all in every match, panting like a dog. His only saving grace is that he keeps his tongue in his mouth. That person is me.

I came to Nanjing the summer I turned 23. Who would have thought that Nanjing Normal University of Special Education's football pitch would be right outside my window? The grass was yellow, weeds were everywhere, and it was riddled with holes. Still, it was regulation size and complete - its own little world. No exaggeration: Except for the Spring Festival, I played every day, come rain or shine. 

As I got older, I moved from striker to midfield to defense. But I have to confess: I played pure street football. By the time I understood a thing or two about the game, I was nearly 40. My stint as an amateur referee helped - running S-shaped routes with a whistle, I finally saw the whole field. Only then did I start to grasp what football is. But as the writer Lao She once said, "When you have teeth, there's no peanuts; when you have peanuts, you have no teeth."

My son is also a football fan, which makes me happy. The night before he went off to college, we stayed up late talking football, father and son. We ended up coming up with some rules to follow:

Do your best to be competitive and strive for victory. Football is a game, as are all competitive sports - no one plays to lose. Football satisfies our innate drive to compete. British philosopher Bertrand Russell once mercilessly criticized humanity's thirst for competition, but that is why football, as a competitive game, is so precious.

Accept defeat. No team is undefeated forever, and there is no invincible football. The proper response to losing is to congratulate the winner. This is not just about sportsmanship - it is about whether you are allowed back on the pitch. The field is for chasing victory, not revenge. This is hard, even I struggle with it. But when you lose, you must force yourself to walk over and congratulate the victor. That is a must.

Football is defined not by the ball, but by the rules. You can opt out, but if you step on the field, you must respect and uphold the rules - whether there is a referee or not.

You must take responsibility. Sometimes, you must step up. Every great match needs someone to stand out. It could be you, or not. If it is, do not be shy.

Always believe in your teammates, even if they mess up. There are no eternal friends, but there are eternal teammates. Teammates may or may not be friends; rivals may not be friends, but often become real friends.

Do not complain. When you have the ball, someone will always try to stop you. That is football. The more important you are, the more pressure you will face. If you cannot accept this, you cannot accept football.

Do not fuss over what counts as a red or yellow card. That is just common sense. There are countless rules in life, but their core logic is always common sense. Football is a special slice of life - what life forbids, football forbids too.

The author is a contemporary Chinese writer, vice chairman of the China Writers Association, and chairman of the Writers' Association of Jiangsu Province. The article was originally published in Chinese in the People's Daily on October 13.