Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. No matter male or female, youngsters or elderly, many people in Japan are crazy about baseball.
In March 2009, Japanese national baseball team entered the final of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Many shops, like McDonald’s produce various products in order to cheer their national team players. At the day of final game of WBC 2009 which Japan was against Korea, many of my Japanese friends skipped their lessons with a view to watching this final game. “It (the game) is one of the most important events every year in Japanese people’s mind” my friends told me. At last, Japan won the game and right after that, many shops provided various discounts to celebrate the victory of Japanese team.
Japanese people are enthusiastic about professional baseball, but also the high school and university baseball league. In 6th November 2008, I watched a match Waseda University team versus Keio University team in Jinguu Mae in Tokyo. The stadium was full of audience and I had to line up 3 hours before the match started in order to get a good seat. Before and during the match, the Japanese style cheering squad, ōendan, who was wearing their uniform, were dancing, yelling and hitting Taiko drum non-stop. At last, Keio University lost. Not only were the players upset, the ōendan and many of the audience cried seriously.
In my point of view, baseball in Japan is a glory. They care so much the victory or lost of baseball teams because they want to prove themselves united if not strong. The ōendan as well as audience devote themselves to the matches not weaker than the players because these three sectors are inseparably united within any Japanese baseball teams. Please feel free to enjoy the enthusiasm of Japanese baseball.
More information of Japanese Baseball
http://www.baywell.ne.jp/users/drlatham/baseball/nihongo/diction.htm
WBC folder produced by McDonald's
female ōendan during the university baseball matches
Waseda V.S. Keio
The caps of the uniform of Waseda male ōendan
Japanese baseball is always a great subject for a post during sports week... Fans in Japanese baseball play an especially importnat role in the game as you point out.
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