A long flight, which might or might not include the changing from one time zone to another, can make a person lethargic for days, even weeks, after landing. Some compare the fatigue from jet lag to that of mononucleosis.
And that's basically something a group of Irish soccer fans are asking the government for.
The "Give Us Back Our World Cup" campaign last month petitioned the Irish parliament and Prime Minister Bertie Ahern to change the country's clocks ahead nine hours to Japanese time for the monthlong tournament, which runs from May 31 to June 30.
The group even held a demonstration outside parliament in Dublin in late March.
The reason? Ireland fans want their entire day to revolve around the tournament, giving them the opportunity to sit in the pubs with their mates and watch the Irish national team rather than having to miss the games because of work.
On the group's Web site (www.carlsberg-irishsoccer.com) is an e-mail petition that visitors are urged to sign and send to friends. The site also asks fans to "pester" local politicians.
Should Ahern and his parliament cronies decide to take off their suits and ties and don their green jerseys with the three-leaf clover patch, night in Ireland would literally turn into day, though it'd still be dark.
Work would start shortly after what normally would be 4 p.m. so fans would be able to make it to the pubs by 2 a.m. for kickoff. Those Guinness-filled zombies who don't adjust well to the time warp and fall asleep in their beer nuts and pretzels might awaken to Andres Cantor's loud, long cry of "Goooaaaaaallll" with said snack foods stuck to their faces.
Then, after a night of soccer and drinking, fans would stumble home and into bed about 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. (which for some might not be too different than a usual night on the town).
