As seen in Daily Sports Online (Japanese) / デイリースポーツの連載コラムから
I want to introduce you to my friend, John. He and I met around five years ago when we were two of the only foreigners in attendance at a Stryper concert in Osaka. What I found out about John that day was that when he has a passion for something, he goes all-in. You see, after playing Osaka, Stryper was scheduled to do two shows in Tokyo, where John calls home. Still, he went out of his way to make sure he saw them as many times as he could: once halfway across the country and then twice in his backyard.
You know what else I found out about John soon thereafter? He’s a Tokyo Yakult Swallows fan. I would have preferred that his love of the Yellow & Black Attack translated into a love for my yellow and black baseball team, but hey, at least he wasn’t a Kyojin booster. Through the years, John and I have jabbered back-and-forth via text about our two teams. Most of the time, it was quite easy (and fun) for me to berate his basement-dwelling, pushover team. But this year, nay, these past few months, our talks have had a significantly different tone. It culminated with his favorite team winning Game 6 of the Japan Series in an exciting fashion on Saturday night at Kobe Hotto Motto Field. And where was John when they clinched, you ask? Of course, he was at the ballpark! Just like he was for Games 1-5! Like I said, all-in!
Now, I have tried to convince myself (and you?) for some time that not winning the pennant was not as big a deal as the Japanese media was making it out to be, because there’s always the Japan Series. Then when that dream got shattered in a matter of two days, I changed my tune, saying that our team put on an outstanding show this season, and that the thrills they gave us fans were plentiful, and that missing out on the pennant and the Japan Series were secondary to the fact that they only fell short by .005 in the standings. A travesty that came about because ties ruined the calculations! Our team did, after all, win more games than the Swallows and all other NPB teams! Take heart, Hanshin fans, I kept saying. But then after hearing John’s story, particularly after Game 6, I stopped seeing the glass as half-full because John’s glass was overflowing.
Backtrack to Game 5, which was played at Tokyo Dome. Even during the game, John was texting me from the stands. “I really hope this series does not go back to Kansai. I have tickets for Game 6 but I just want them to finish it now.” Oh, how little we know when we make such silly wishes. And so, soon after Adam Jones hit a ninth-inning home run to give the Buffaloes new life and bring the series back to Kansai, John immediately started to look for accommodations near his Shinkansen stop in Kobe. He was only able to find a room at one hotel, and so that is where he stayed.
It just so happened that the Swallows team was staying in the same place. Just minutes after John jubilantly returned back from the stadium after the game, the team triumphantly strolled through the lobby still in full uniform. John was able to greet and congratulate them up close. The Swallows’ banquet hall, where they celebrated their first Japan Series Championship in two decades, was a floor above John’s hotel room… so he heard them celebrating deep into the night. He even got to talk with a bunch of them at the breakfast buffet and in the elevator lobby the next morning!
Imagine that. One day, you’re bummed out because your team might blow their 3-1 series lead in a historic fashion. The next day, you’re pretty much hanging out with them when they are at the peak of their careers. They are happy, thrilled even, that a non-Japanese fan cares this much about them. All smiles, lots of laughter, photos, more memories for all. What an incredible feeling that must have been!
Yes, I am insanely jealous of John. Don’t get me wrong, now. I am not going to become a fan of the Yogurt Birds. I’m still a yellow-and-black, through-and-through Hanshin Tigers (and Stryper) nut. Just that now, the craving for a pennant has become that much more intense. I want to experience what John did last Saturday night!
But with the right team winning. Us. The Hanshin Tigers. So let’s make it happen in 2022!
Next year is the year of the Tigers!
Way to inconspicuously throw that s in there!