Day 9- Part Three- Peanuts and Craker Jacks (sans Peanuts and Cracker Jacks)

So in the bleachers, the game was really different than MLB. Fans were cheering and beating thundersticks. Also, pom-poms made out of newspaper were also quite popular. This picture shows two random fans who were fairly indicative of the rest of the crowd.


Also, did I mention that the game was really loud? This was due in part to the "bandleader" for lack of a term. He stood up on that platform with speakers with music blasting as he danced and whistled along to the music. Each player had a certain rhythm or song that went with him and the bandleader encouraged the very willing crowd to cheer on. It was quite amazing and energetic, as opposed to the mostly tense, mostly silent MLB game.

There were also drummers (which used to be a mainstay of Jacobs field, RIP JF) who beat rhythms. The interesting thing is that most of the cheers and music were Western. "My Life Would Suck Without You", "So Happy Together", "The Lion Sleeps tonight," "Dancing Queen" (??????), "We're not Gonna Take it", "It's a Small World After All," (?!) as well as Joplin's "The Entertainer" and The Battle Hymn of the Republic (both were cheers for Lotte) while LG used Pomp and Circumstance.


Oh, and did I mention the cheerleaders? Both sides had cheerleaders who would dance between innings usually to a Kpop (Korean Pop) song. Strangely I've been in the country for about a week and I recognized at least two songs BY name much less. Go figure. Above are Lotte's cheerleaders and below are the LG cheerleaders.

The atmosphere was electric. Though the skill level for Korean baseball was lower, the feeling of being in the stands was fantastic. I don't know which I prefer: the higher skill level of MLB with alright atmosphere or collegiate skill level of Korean baseball with amazing fans. Tough call. Also, the game was loooong. It lasted for 5 and a half hours. Why, you ask? It went 12 innings before ending with Lotte winning 14-13, I think. It was intense. I liked it though I wish the game would not have went as long.

Also an odd thing on the field (though I didn't get a picture of it- stupid me) was that the batboy was actually a batgirl. She looked younger, probably early twenties or teens and wore the jersey of the team that was playing. She wore a pink baseball hat and ran around with a basket of baseballs to give to the umpire when they were needed. Interesting change.

Also interesting though Brian pointed it out to me first was the fact that the Lotte Giants and the LG Twins had the same color uniforms and the San Francisco Giants and the Minnesota Twins (respectively). Look for it in the photos. It's eerie, but cool. Coincidence? Possibly.

So, I think I'll end this day/entry with a few pictures of the game.
Lotte at bat, while LG pitches...

Also, the Olympic stadium was nearby... so I had to take a picture.

But that's about it for me. Went out to a restaurant afterwards with Jihoon, Brian, June and Ithica Brian. Fun times were had by all. Happy 4th of July to all.

-Reven