Sport

Hello!

Things have been pretty busy here between classes (graduate study abroad involves a lot more work than undergraduate study abroad) and trying to see as much as possible.  Life in Kyoto is slow, it's much more of a small town feel and it's fairly quiet most of the time.

But sports here are definitely something else.

This past week I had the pleasure of stumbling upon a free ticket to a Sumo event and going to a Doshisha University baseball game.  I can honestly say the crowds at the two sports couldn't have been more different and neither could have been more different than any sporting event I have been to in the US.  Let's start with Sumo:

Sumo, the ancient Japanese wrestling, is still a huge phenomenon in Japan, and has gained international attention.  Kyoto doesn't host much in terms of Sumo, most of that is in Osaka, but it just happened that there was a tournament last week.  First, upon arrival, I was given a goodie bag with FREE SNACKS, tea, brochures about the wrestlers, and more.  Definitely the first time I got a gift for coming to a sporting event.  When I got into the arena, it was close to full (I mean the event had been going on for about 4 hours at that point, but I had class) with the expensive seats on the floor next to the ring, less than 10 feet away from huge men wrestling each other (and a few men fell into the crowd so if you want the full experience with the added danger of possibly getting crushed by an almost-naked 325lbs man, go ahead).  We didn't have the expensive seats.

This was by far the most cordial sporting event I have ever been to.  There was no booze, no screaming, no arms in the air.  Just golf-claps for the wrestlers before and after they fought.  The Sumos even bow to each other, in true Japanese fashion, before and after their match.

All in all, Sumo is an incredible sport that has gained worldwide attention and it was very nice to see this extreme form of sportsmanship still present today.  If you ever have the chance to watch Sumo, I highly recommend!





Baseball:

Through friends here who actually speak Japanese, I learned that Doshisha had a home game against another Kyoto university.  So obviously I wanted to go see my favorite sport.  I knew that Japan loves baseball, I would assume as much as the US loves baseball.  Well, you know what they say about 'assume'...

When I got to the off-campus stadium, I was once again given a goodie bag that included a program, thundersticks, and a Doshisha Sport scarf with baseball decals.  This is starting to look like an awesome trend.  I got to the stands on the third base side with all the other Doshisha students, and thought that this was a pretty good showing for a college game.  That wasn't even half the people who would show up by the 2nd inning.  As I struggle to blow up my thundersticks, the cheerleaders (yup, cheerleaders for baseball) started coming into the crowd to amp people up.

Trust me, they didn't need to put in the effort to get people amped up for baseball.

First very weird thing: home team bats first.

Second very weird thing: When Doshisha was at bat, the entire student section is on its feet (not so weird) being led in organized chants and thundersticking by the cheerleaders.  This is legitimately nonstop in English and Japanese.

Third very weird thing: When Doshisha was not at bat, the entire student section is on its feed being led in organized chants and thundersticking by the cheerleaders.  This is legitimately nonstop in English and Japanese.

Fourth very weird thing: Between innings, we played Rock, Paper, Scissors with the cheerleaders.

Fifth very weird thing: No 7th inning stretch and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game".  No Sweet Caroline or Dirty Water either (insert crying emoji).

Sixth very weird thing: After Doshisha won 2-1 the teams lined up and instead of shaking hands, they bowed to each other and it was so nice.  I assumed they would bow to each other and to the fans and then we'd all be on our merry way.  Again with the 'assume' thing...

Seventh very weird thing: Both teams turned to face the Doshisha fan side.  One cheerleader (apparently he's the loudest one) dressed in traditional Japanese clothing led us through a screaming thing that was coordinated with everyone else except me.  I have no idea what they all chanted but it was very loud and we unraveled a HUGE Doshisha flag that made it look and sound like we were about to head into battle.  I thought maybe just the winning team does this, but NOPE, we turned to face the other team's student section and they did something similar.

All in all, sports are very different here than in the US.  And did I mention that none of these events had even a single drop of alcohol?  I guess that makes the events much more cordial than events back in the US but my ears were ringing from the nonstop cheering.

Thanks for reading!  Any suggestions on what you'd like to hear about?  Leave a comment!

Kim-san

Sportsmanship is Not Dead

In honor of the Winter Olympics in Sochi (also, if you haven't followed @SochiProblem) on Twitter, go check that out right now, then come back and read, I've decided to write about sportsmanship.  The Olympics are the world's biggest stage, and the best athletes from every country gather for seventeen days to compete and bring pride to their home countries.  The competition is steep and athletes are under severe pressure, even more so if they've been to an Olympics before and performed well.  What many athletes seem to forget, as well as viewers around the world, is that medaling in the Olympics isn't the sole purpose of the Games.

When Olympic athletes fall, are slow, or in any ways don't get that Gold, so many of them are genuinely pissed that they didn't win.  Now I've played sports all my life and been very competitive in softball and skiing, and I completely understand being pissed at myself for doing playing or doing as well as I know I can, but that frustration in myself only lasts for so long.  And I know that I am not a professional athlete, but I am very hard on myself in any sort of competition, and although I am hard on myself and get frustrated at myself, I still appreciate when someone does better than me.  They may genuinely be better than me, or they may have just had a better day than I did.

What bothers me is, athletes are seen as role models to so many people, especially those athletes wearing the colors of their home countries.  When an athlete is expected to medal and doesn't, some take it with grace, while some become verbally upset and make sure everyone knows how upset they are.  Some 4th place athletes tweet about how pissed they are and make it seem like they deserved a Gold just by showing up to Sochi.  In reality, it all has to deal with the day, the conditions (especially in outdoor sports), and sometimes it's just not your day.

*WARNING.  SPOILERS AHEAD* Watching Shaun White tonight was, as always, incredible.  He was the reigning Olympic champion and the favorite to win again.  Sochi was expected to be his last hurrah, since he will be 31 if he competes in South Korea.  Unfortunately, Shaun didn't medal, he got fourth place.  Fourth place.  That's AMAZING.  Honestly.  Fourth IN THE WORLD.  While most only see accomplishment as getting a medal, finishing fourth place in the world in the Olympics is an amazing feat.  But the best part about Shaun was after he heard his score and knew that he wasn't going to be on the podium and would leave Sochi without a medal, he was excited about fourth place and immediately went to congratulate the Swiss boarder who won.  During his interview, he didn't blame the judges or get pissed, he simply said that "it just wasn't my day".  Even after the interviewer tried to get him to complain about the conditions of the halfpipe to fuel the #SochiProblems rage.  Even when it would have been perfectly acceptable for him to say that it was the conditions' fault and that's why he wasn't able to medal, he didn't complain about the pipe, he said exactly what he should have: "the conditions were the same for everyone".  He should be very proud of a fourth place finish, even though the USA might not be happy with it.

Sportsmanship is not just shaking hands at the end of a game and fake smiling at each other followed immediately by "resting bitch face".  Sportsmanship is trying to be genuinely happy for those who beat you, even though you are upset that you lost.  The Olympics are the world's biggest stage for competition, but it doesn't mean that professional athletes are exempt from the values we were taught since we started the sport.  We started playing sports to have fun and make friends, and even when the competition is as steep as it is in Sochi, we shouldn't forget the values that sports teach us.

Happy Olympics!
USA, USA, USA

Thanks for reading!
Kim

Girls Love Sports, Too!

Girls do, in fact, love sports.  Being a female sports fan, I constantly endure questions about WHY I'm a sports fan.  Is it because I think Dustin Pedroia has a great ass?  Is it because I like Troy Polamalu's Head & Shoulders commercials?  While those things are true (I AM a girl), I love sports just as much as I love anything else.

I will laugh and cry and scream going along with the ups and downs of my teams.  I will yell at my TV, bitch about the refs and umps, and stand in line at obscene hours of the morning to get my championship swag.  But I will also comment on beautiful swings, throws, and catches.  I can name a player's stats at the drop of a hat (mostly) and I will talk to you about my teams' history when we fail to win a championship, but I will also talk about my teams' history when we do win a championship.

My sport is baseball and my team is the Boston Red Sox.  And yes, I am a pre-2004 Red Sox fan :)  I played softball for thirteen years, and I will dissect every play made during a game.  And my VERY close second is football, and my team is the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I didn't grow up in Pittsburgh, but my dad did, so I grew up watching the Steelers and fell in love with the sport.  Also, downhill skiing is one of my favourite sports to watch, and I will be glued to the TV for hours watching and cheering and comparing my skiing to that of the professionals (not very comparable, though).  Also guys, THE OLYMPICS START IN T-MINUS THREE DAYS.

Here are multiple struggles female sports fans know all too well:

Being asked if I'm trying to impress the male population

Having a guy try to explain the game to you after multiple assurances that you know what's actually going on

Two words: PINK JERSEYS

Do I think a lot of sports are violent?  Yes.  Does that deter me from loving them?  Absolutely not.

Keep cheering, female sports fans!  GO SPORTS.

Thanks for reading!

Kim