Tonight I got to attend a baseball game. It was an awesome experience. The second I got to the game I was pulled in. In some ways it is very similar to the baseball games in the United States. In other ways it is very different. I got a jersey of the home team and cheered for them. I got a couple beers, a hamburger and some fries. How is it similar? There are food booths everywhere. There are lots of beer stands and there are people that walk down the aisles selling food and beer. Just like in America the beer is a popular item at the games. People get excited about their home team just like in the states. There are a variety of food types. There is burgers, pizza, japanese (that could be expected), and even KFC. All of the rules seemed the same as far I noticed.
How are they different? This is where it gets interesting. First off the atmosphere is more positive. This is not to say that the environment isn't positive in the states. It just is more positive here. I paid attention closely and noted that there was no "booing" at all. I tried to hear if there was a Japanese version of "booing" but I heard none. Even when the opposing teams pitcher was removed the fans clapped for him. Also, the cheering was much more structured. Pretty much the entire game there were fans doing the "bump bump" thing with their feet. But it was always done in Unison and always appeared to be orderly. At some point near the end of the top of the 7th the stadium handed out a bunch of balloons. I started to notice that balloons were beingblown up all around the stadium. Before I knew it they were everywhere. I kept thinking to myself "how is it that no one is letting these go? I soon learned why…
The Japanese 7th inning stretch is awesome. First off cheerleaders for the home team go to the first and third baselines. While they are dancing all of the fans are blowing up balloons. The fans are all cheering and excited and then a count off begins. When I was first experiencing this I had no idea what was going on. Then all of a sudden I saw the clock hit zero and all of the fans let their balloons go. It was awesome. Balloon Video here A few other things that stuck out to me is that there were tons of different mascots all around the stadium. Most of these seemed to have no relationship to either team. They simply were entertaining to the children. Some other interesting things: All Japanese teams have American mascot names. I don't know why this is. The names are written in English not Japanese. The games themselves are a mix of Japanese and some English. There are times I looked at the scoreboard and would see the statement in English "Let's Go!" only to be followed by Japanese symbols. At the end of the game the Hawks (which was the hometeam) beat the Lions 2 - 0. What blew me away is that people don't leave at the very end of the game. The key players stayed out and interviewed while nearly all the fans stayed. Then at the end the scoreboard said "are you ready for fireworks?" and then the entire stadium went dark. And then some fireworks went off and it was time to leave. It seemed like a very big celebration for one game.
That's so cool!
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