Some responses to Debito Arudou's March 13 Just Be Cause column, "J. League and media must show red card to racism":
I moved to Saitama city from Canada in 2002 and stayed for three years, teaching English in the city's elementary and junior-high schools. It was my first time living abroad and, like many of the other foreign English teachers I was with, I found that it could be a lonely and isolating experience.
One of the places that we felt most welcome and most a part of our city's cultural life was at Urawa Reds football matches. Whether it was at Komaba Stadium or the massive Saitama Stadium, we would instinctively make our way to the section with the loudest fans, where we were invariably welcomed with smiles and open arms as fellow Reds supporters. Some of my fondest memories of Japan include die-hard Reds fans patiently teaching my gaikokujin [foreign] pals and I the songs and cheers that rang out from the section of Komaba known as "Red Hell" and reverberated across the grounds and beyond.
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