2015年10月16日金曜日 - 
Hugh: Hanshin Tigers Baseball
Well, I've lived in
Japan for a while now but despite going to sumo wrestling five times as well as
MMA
once, I had never been to a baseball game. So, in July 2015, I finally got my act together and
went to Koshien Stadium to watch the Hanshin Tigers versus the Dragons. As the
day approached, the excitement was building
up and finally it arrived... I headed to the stadium.
When I arrived at the
stadium, the first thing that hit
me was the sight of a
dog (yes, woof woof, a dog) wearing a baseball jersey and helmet. Another thing which
surprised me was that some fans had put a lot of effort
into dressing for the occasion in baseball paraphernalia.
The stadium was a
little empty at the start and it was raining a bit so I thought the game might be a wash out. As time went on, though, the stadium started
to fill up. The game was great, the atmosphere was electric and there was lots
of chanting, clapping, shouting and music (in order to get the group into things).
I got right into it, drank lots of beer, ate a little, and all in all had a great day. In the end, the
Dragons beat the Hanshin Tigers convincingly but it didn't
take away from my day.
I fully intend to see some more games in the future.
MMA：Mixed Martial Arts：総合格闘技
got my act together：did
something after a long delay：ようやく何かをした
versus：playing
against：対
building up：increasing：増える
hit me：really
surprised me：ビックリした
woof woof：the
sound a dog makes：ワンワン！
jersey：sweater：ジャージ
helmet：hat
made out of a hard material to protect one's head：ヘルメット
put a lot of effort into：worked
hard to achieve something：～を一生懸命する
dressing for the occasion：wore the right clothes for the situation：その場に合った服を着る
paraphernalia：accessories
which accompany an activity：装備
a washout：期待はずれの
fill up：become
full：埋まる
electric：energetic：盛り上がる
into things：participated
in：～に参加する
got right into it：became
really involved in ：すっかりのめり込んだ
convincingly：by
a lot / by a long way：大差で
didn't take away from：detract
from：～への気持ちは冷めなかった
fully
intend to：will
100% do something：する気満々です