April 3, 2011, Sunday.
Outside the Hanshin Koshien Stadium, there was a bustling scene, people jostling against each other, reminiscent of last sumr.
The surging crowd flowed along different paths, and long queues extended outside each entrance of Koshien Stadium; beneath the green walls covered in climbing ivy, were faces brimming with joy.
Amidst the crowd, vibrant banners were being hoisted high up, fluttering in the winds of spring and sumr, lifting everyone’s spirits along the way.
On the event board hanging high outside the stadium, today’s showdown was clearly and prominently announced, the giant words shining brightly in the sunlight:
[The 83rd Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournant]
[Championship Day]
[Tokai University Sagami (Kanagawa) vs Waseda Jitsugyo (Tokyo)]
According to official statistics for this tournant, the attendance for this final match was the highest for a spring tournant in the past five years, with as many as over 40,000 people — although this number is the average level for the latter half of the Sumr tournant, for the slightly less popular spring tournant, it was indeed a pleasant surprise.
As for the ratings, this spring tournant has already demonstrated its imnse potential, particularly several matches of Waseda Jitsugyo, each having consistently high ratings — so when asked who, aside from the players, would be most pleased seeing Waseda Jitsugyo enter the finals, the tournant organizers Daily News would surely step forward without hesitation.
The ga hasn’t started yet, but the atmosphere inside the stadium for the finals was becoming increasingly intense; caras continuously scanned the stadium, and spectators began to recognize the faces of various celebrities.
The live comntary booth, amid casual chat, introduced the identities of the celebrities appearing on cara to so viewers watching at ho:
"Ah, this is Sugano Tomoyuki, the forr ace of Tokai University Sagami, now the ace pitcher of Tokai University — it’s worth noting that their family has served Tokai University Sagami for generations; and his uncle is none other than Hara Tatsunori, the most famous alumnus of the Tokai University Sagami Baseball Club, now the manager of the Giant Team."
"Ah, this is Furuta Atsuya, indeed, as the very first catcher in the history of Nihon Professional Baseball, Furuta-san is here to watch the ga live today — after all, as a catcher, many tis one indeed pays more attention to those genius pitchers."
"As predicted, President Wang Zhenzhi is also here — as the most famous alumnus in the history of the Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club and the leading pitcher when Waseda last won the spring tournant, will President Wang’s arrival bring good luck to today’s Waseda players?"
The stands inside the stadium were also in a state of excitent.
"Tokai University Sagami is the champion! Yes!"
"Tokai University, Japan’s Number One! Tokai University, Japan’s Number One!"
"Let’s make up for last sumr’s regrets!"
Cheers, screams, shouts, overflowing enthusiasm — clearly, these were the supporters of Tokai University Sagami.
The large formation was no less than several thousand people, mostly students from the school and relatives of the players on the field; everyone in the formation wore the green and white support uniforms of Tokai University Sagami High School, and together with the green stands of Koshien, they created a spectacular scene against the blue sky and white clouds.
As the Sumr甲 runner-up team that was just one step away from the national top last sumr, despite losing many key players, Tokai University Sagami’s strength should not be underestimated — especially their batting lineup’s current form, which can be described as unstoppable, having scored a total of 30 runs in four matches during this spring tournant.
Entering the finals of the Koshien tournant for the second ti in a row, this ti, Tokai University Sagami’s determination was strong, vowing to win the spring tournant championship and wash away last sumr’s pain.
"Waseda! Waseda! Dominator Waseda!"
"Please, you must clinch the victory!!!"
"Restoring Waseda’s glory is our responsibility!!!"
Seeing the imnse montum created by Tokai University Sagami’s supporters’ formation, Waseda Industries’ side, positioned across the stadium, naturally wouldn’t hold back, making their response.
Just like the fully equipped Tokai University Sagami, the supporter formation on Waseda’s side also wore a uniform color of support uniforms — that was the maroon color exclusive to Waseda.
From the mont it was certain their team had successfully entered the Koshien finals, Waseda Industries’ entire school’s various departnts went into overdrive: as one of the leading prestigious schools in West Tokyo and across Japan, they had to create a considerable atmosphere in Koshien for their team.
Last night, on Waseda’s side, the departnt responsible for event support urgently issued a notice, summoning more students and team mber representatives to Koshien overnight to support the players on the field.
Looking afar, Waseda’s side of the Alps Stand was almost completely occupied by the school’s students, conservatively estimated at over 8000 people.
Additionally, they also brought the sa support specifications as those used by Waseda University for university baseball league ga days:
At the forefront of the support group were past OBs wearing baseball team uniforms and current team mbers, who acted as cheerleaders, responsible for leading cheers at the front line— to emphasize the school’s importance for this match, they invited nearly 40 past players, including last sumr’s key players, such as Suzuki Kensuke and Tsuchiya Ryota among them;
Behind the team mbers was a dedicated cheerleading squad, lively girls in short skirts, holding pom-poms, continuously jumping along both sides of the stands.
If not for the tournant’s prohibition on instrunt use this year, behind the cheerleading squad would have been an exclusive brass band, using passionate brass music and the rhythmic beats of drums to cheer their players and apply pressure on opponents.
But this did not dampen the enthusiasm of Waseda’s supporters — since there were no instrunts, they made their own sound:
Several thousand students joined hands, shoulder to shoulder, under the leader’s guidance, singing out Waseda’s exclusive cheer song, "Cyan Sky."
With their singing, the entire Alps Stand seed to tremble, slightly overshadowing the montum created by Tokai University Sagami.
To the right side of Waseda’s stands, Lin Guanglai’s parents, along with his sister Lin Xinglai were seated in the family section of the formation — as the closest family mbers, how could they miss such a historic mont?
"Wow — it’s truly spectacular!" Seeing such a feverish atmosphere inside the stadium, Lin Xinglai couldn’t help but exclaim.
To cheer for her brother, Lin Xinglai specifically wore the Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club jersey today — youthful and attractive, with long legs, she stood out in the crowd, already captured several tis by the broadcast caras on the sidelines, sparking heated discussions among viewers at ho.
Through the cara’s wide-angle lens, the white-green Tokai University Sagami formation and maroon Waseda Industries formation each dominated half of the stadium, distinctly separating the Koshien Stadium into two halves.
Though it was not the scorching sumr, everyone inside could clearly feel:
The air, was burning.
Though the finalists had yet to appear, people could already sense the mix of anticipation and tension.
The grand finale, was about to comnce.
Reviews
All reviews (0)