After missing two seasons, I was finally able to see my first Japanese baseball game! In Japan, they take their baseball seriously. Baseball is a serious sport. Sapporo’s baseball team is called the Nippon Ham Fighters. Notice the clever company advertising subtly inserted into the team name? As a bonus, everyone receives a free stick of ham from their sponsors upon entry! I’ll be honest, baseball isn’t all that really interesting to watch. There’s the occasional grand-slam and moments of excitement, but mostly it’s waiting around for those exciting moments to happen (unless you really like the pitching). Give me a good hockey game any day. What I was looking forward to about watching a match wasn’t the baseball… but the crowd! Japanese fans are all kinds of awesome and completely justify the sole reason for going to a game. First off, each team has their own section where everyone is decked out in their team’s color weaving the ubiquitous plastic noise-makers. Heaven forbid you wear a white jersey in the yellow section, but this being Japan you would probably be politely relocated to your ‘proper’ section, free of charge, of course (compared to other countries and sports where you’d get beat down for this). Secondly, there are music sections! Each team has their own dedicated ‘band’ of taiko drums and brass instruments that blare out unique rhythms and chants for each player. I especially like Keisuke’s (or was it Ishii’s?) chant where, with a cue from the band, the audience all stand up and jump on the spot. Accompanying the rumble throughout the stands is the trippy feeling you get watching the thousands of people bobbing up and down. It’s like doing The Wave but getting seasick at the same time. Aside from the game itself was the constant barrage of entertainment - from the cheerleaders, the mascot B.B., the plethora of colorful, dancing (and random) mascots promoting something or other, or the audience itself. The Fighters lost, unfortunately, but there was plenty to watch and it was an exciting game nonetheless. For my first baseball game in Japan, I give it two 'hams up.