Thursday, July 7, 2011 2:02 am
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Japanese Collegiate All-Stars Come To McNair Field
A Cultural Exchange
In Japan the loved American sport, baseball is known as “besuboru or yaku” literally “fifi eld ball”. It has become the number one sport in all of Japan. 20 million Japanese flfl ock to stadiums to watch the great American game. This past Friday, July 1st, the Forest City Owls hosted an international event.
The Japanese Collegiate All Star Team came to McNair Field and over 3,000 fans showed up for a truly cultural showdown. The game began with the Japanese exchange of gifts. Each team representative met at home plate for the event. As a show of respect, prior to the American National Anthem being sung, the Japanese National Anthem also was sung. It was evident that the visiting All-Stars also continually showed respect by bowing to other players and offificials.
The game was one of curiosity and great talent. After all, the excitement was generated by the visiting guests from Japan. Several of those playing at McNair Field on this night in Forest City will soon be playing professional baseball in America. Yes, they are that good!
The Japanese got off to an early lead and posted a 3-0 lead up to the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh the Owls scored one run cutting the lead to 3-1. It was starting to look good, but in the top of the eighth, the Japanese scored fifi ve runs on just four hits because of the Owls comedy of errors. Final score was 8-1.
Good sportsmanship prevailed throughout and at the end of the game. The public address announcer is to be commended for his precise pronunciation of the Japanese players. After spending the evening watching the talents of Japan, we are sure we will be seeing them on American soil playing for an American baseball professional team soon.