Tokyo’s Muslim

This is one of the weird things about Japan. Every summer they have a baseball tournament with all the teams in the country. It is actually broadcast on TV, and it is shockingly watchable. Yeah, I see errors and weird plays all the time but there is so much legitimate passion. Fellow schoolmates form cheering squads and follow their teams to the final, and sing team anthems in the stands. It is something I’ve never seen. When I was a grade school student, I didn’t really pay attention to sports; and it wasn’t as if anyone cared.

I understand that a sports-oriented culture exists in the US and it isn’t a great thing. At the same time, I have to admit that I really enjoy actual amateur sport. The second guessing and the money factor really take a bite out of any enjoyment I get out of pro sport – not to mention that there is very little that is “home” about the home team. What is a player named “Saku Koivu” doing as a “Montreal” Canadien. (Great hockey player – but not Quebecois or even Canadian!!!)