Like a significant but dwindling portion of the American population, my family loves watching baseball. Even if our hometown team, the Baltimore Orioles, are so terrible it hurts to watch (at the last game we attended, they lost 10-1), we always have a good time chatting in the stands and cheering them on. Thus, when a fellow Yunlin ETA invited me and another ETA to join her and her LETs at a Taiwanese baseball game, I jumped at the offer.
On the way back from our second Taipei weekend, we three ETAs stopped in Taichung City and headed to Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. I could feel the spectators' energy as soon as we stepped onto the stadium grounds. Yellow jersey-clad fans milled around the stadium, buying (reasonably priced **cough cough America**) food from the dozen or so stands and even belting out a few tunes in the tiny karaoke booths stationed outside.
The energy flowed into the stadium, as well. During the game, anytime the home team was hitting, cheerleaders would lead the crowd in dances and cheers designed for that particular player. All the singing and dancing infused the game with excitement and thrill. Even as a fan of American baseball, I can admit that sometimes its games can get drawn out and boring. But never a Taiwanese game!
Cheerleaders and the dancing crowd
As for the game itself, the home team, the Brothers Elephants from Taichung faced off against the Rakuten Monkeys from Taoyuan. (Taiwanese baseball teams have one main corporate sponsor, so Brother and Rakuten are both the names of companies). Having heard that the Brothers were pretty good, I was surprised when they gave up two home runs within the first inning and their pitcher threw a number of balls. This is just like watching the Orioles, I thought, until I learned that since this was the last game of the regular season, and the Brothers had already qualified for the championship series, they were just playing their benchwarmers. Oh. In any case, they played much better after that first inning.
By the bottom of the 7th, the Brothers were still down 2-0. But slowly, they started making a few hits and getting on base until the bases were loaded and one of the Brothers' star players was up at home plate. The cheers grew louder and the spectators stood in anticipation as the hitter swung the bat.
WHAM! The ball soared into the back stands for a grand slam and the crowd erupted into fresh cheers, singing and dancing. The three of us leapt to our feet and joined in. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, the same Brothers hitter scored a double and the crowd went wild again. The final score was a very respectable 6-4 with the home team defending their turf.
Three ETA baseball fans, plus crowds around the stadium
We left the stadium in a frenzy of giddiness. As we boarded a shuttle bus back to the station, we both expressed how much we wanted to see another baseball game. A stadium staffer heard us and we began talking about the games and the upcoming championship series between the Brothers and the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions from Tainan. We ended up talking so long that we exchanged contacts and the staffer asked if we wanted to see the championship series game with him the following weekend! All about making local friends and avoiding navigating a complicated ticket system ourselves, we said yes. Besides, without the staffer's help, we probably would've had a hard time booking the immediately sold out tickets.
Thus, the following Saturday, we once again hopped the train to Taichung. After meeting up with our new buddy, we arrived at the stadium early to grab our free Brothers' jerseys and scope out the lay of the land. if the previous game was crowded, then this one was even more packed with jersey and mask-wearing fans nabbing merchandise and snacks. As the three of us were taking pictures, our new friend commented, "There's a lot more security today than normal. I think the president is coming."
"Um, WHAT?" I replied.
"I am 100% sure the president is coming," he reiterated.
"Uh, sure dude," I said, privately thinking that there wasn't that much security. As I was used to American ballparks with their ubiquitous metal detectors and ban on all outside food/drinks/bags bigger than a coin purse, Taiwan's sparse regulations and even the few extra security guards milling around didn't seem indicative of a presidential visit.
We found our seats and cheered on the teams as they ran out onto the field and stood for the national anthem. Then, lo and behold, Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, herself, walked out onto the field! Wow, our friend was right! I took out my DSLR with its long-range lens and frantically took shots. Man, one thing that wasn't on my Taiwan bucket list was seeing Taiwan's president in person, not because I wouldn't want to, but because I never thought I could. But there she was! I guess her presence made sense, it being the national championship opening game and baseball being a super popular sport in Taiwan. But still, as if the game wasn't exciting enough already!
The packed stadium and game, President Tsai on the jumbotron, the cheerleaders
After the opening festivities, the game swiftly commenced. Unlike the previous game, this time both teams brought their A games, particularly in the defensive area. The defenses were so strong, in fact, that the innings flew by as the teams threw three swift outs over and over. Once again, we reached the bottom of the 7th (there must be something about that inning) when the Brothers scored two home runs back to back!!!! The crowd went crazy; this time, there were fireworks in addition to the monsoon of cheers and singing.
The Brothers won the game 2-0 and more fireworks accompanied the end of the game. The energy from both games carried us from the stadium back home to Yunlin as we eagerly shared recaps and highlights with each other as well as our friends and colleagues. It was hard to believe that we'd caught not just one baseball game but two, let alone part of the championship series! This year's baseball season may be over now (with the Brothers holding the championship title loud and proud) but I can't wait for the spring and next season!