I've heard that Japanese baseball fans were hardcore, but I was not expecting something on the level. Many of the students I've taught had hyped up the Hanshin Tigers so much that I felt it would be disrespectful to delay going to a game any longer. Tonight was the night. Location? Koshien. Opposing team? The Seibu Lions. Play ball!
Having only been to two Blue Jays games in my life, my baseball experience has been somewhat limited. Granted, watching baseball is usually as fun watching paint dry so I wasn't sure what to expect. Meagan and Val also being non-baseball fans came along to see what the fuss was about. Becky, one of the Japanese staff I've had the pleasure of working with also came. It's funny because she said she kinda liked the Tigers, but as soon as the game started you could tell she was way hardcore because she knew all the cheers, actions and player names. Casual fan my ass!
The game started promptly at 6 and even though many of the seats were empty, the main cheering section to our right (Cheer right) was already in full force. Their numbers would soon be bolstered by a thousand more. All the fans had small, mini, hollowed out plastic bats chained together nunchuck style to make the stadium rumble. In each section there were guys standing up at the front leading the cheers as well as drummers keeping the beat and trumpeters to punctuate the already deafening roar. It felt more like I was at a concert watching the hypnotic movements of the main cheering section's plastic bats with some baseball off to the side. Imagine having your socks rocked off for three hours with no break. Awesome is just barely acceptable in describing the fever pitch atmosphere.
The most amazing aspect of the night was the sheer enthusiasm of the entire crowd. No heckling, no fighting spectators, just pure unadulterated fun. With an extensive playlist of cheers/chants on loop, the crowd was always ready to go and on their feet at a moment's notice. With Japanese society being so structured, it was amusing to see even their fun time so structured. From what I could understand, most of the players had their own cheers. Hitting a home run, a single, getting the other team out, and catching a fly ball all had a specific cheer. Even when the other team changed pitchers there was a cheer accompanied by bat hitting actions.
Here's the crowd singing the other team's pitcher off the field. Burn!
That's enough reading. Picture time!
NO WAVE?! That's the only move I know! The seats didn't have backs on them so there could have been some freak wave accidents in the past that would've prompted such a harsh ban.
No crackers or peanuts or cracker jacks. Not even a hot dog! Of the Western faire in the hot foods section you could score some fried chicken and fries. However, I opted for the curry rice with pork cutlet. It looks disgusting but I assure you it was quite tasty. Curry and baseball, together at last! Also on the menu was soba or udon in soup. That was tempting, but the stairs were perilous and I'm a clumsy idiot.
At the top of the 7th inning, everyone started breaking out these balloons. We forgot to get ours at the front. :( My only problem with these balloons is the uncanny resemblance they have to a certain microscopic organism which shall remain nameless. You know, for the children. What happened next is..well...let's just say it's appropriate. Peep the vid below.
One of my favourite shots. Taken around 8:30 when almost all the seats were filled. When we go back next time I'll definitely have to get some better shots of the infield and players.
The cheerleaders in our section. The old lady in the yellow jersey was rocking it from the time the game started until it ended. You go grandma.
Oh yeah, before I forget, here's the crowd's response to the game winning home run:
We definitely plan on going back soon, but next time we'll be prepared with nunchuck bats in hand to add to the rawk.
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