Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks v. Saitama Seibu Lions
After going to my very first professional baseball game in Japan, I can now understand why people say it is nothing like the United State's Major League. For the most part, their game rituals are much more intense and crowd pleasing. They have so many songs, chants, dancers/cheerleaders, it's insane. And with all of the balloons they use, it seems more like a birthday party than a baseball game. Since I signed up for an iPhone with SoftBank, they gave me two free tickets to a SoftBank Hawks Baseball game. I lucked out by getting tickets for a week day because my seats got upgraded! Thanks, SoftBank!
There is a 7th inning ritual where everyone, and i mean EVERYONE, in the stands blows up large balloons. At the end of the inning, the fans let go of their balloons, it was definitely the highlight of the game. What was the score you ask? 1-1, finishing after 10 pm, and going all the way into the 12th inning, that's how we do it here in Japan.
