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Published: March 18th 2008
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For ages, the game of Baseball has brought Americans together through entertainment, joy, the spirit of competition, and the deification of the "Major Leaguers." In America, whether it's the Cubs, Yankees, Padres, or any other team, every one has "their" team. No matter what your reasoning is and whether or not you watch every single game, you are somehow tied to a Baseball club. For many Americans, we take pride in our teams' histories, records, stadiums, and players and baseball becomes a lifestyle rather than something to do when you are bored. In China, this is not exactly the case.
In China, baseball is not exactly the glorified sport-of-choice. No one has a favorite baseball team or for that matter, a baseball team nearby. The Chinese prefer other options such as: Ping Pong, Tennis, and Badmitton. For years, the Chinese did not play baseball at all and many people probably had not even heard of it. I do not know the actual facts regarding the sport in China; however, I do know that today, there are a few little leagues popping up throughout Asia in a semi-successful attempt at developing a substance behind the term, "Baseball (in Chinese, the word
The Field
The Field during the National Anthems. is "Bang Qiu")." I also know that, for whatever unrelevant reason, there has never been a Major League Baseball Team to get the opportunity to play in China...until now.
The Chinese government recently gave Major League Baseball permission to send two of its teams to the land of 1,000,000,000 people to play an exhibition game. Some people will claim that it is because of the quickly approaching Olympics and the government is trying to adapt its nation to foreigners and foreign cultures; others will claim that China is merely globalizing and there is a potential market for it. Honestly, it could be a little of both, but I do not care to fathom a reason for it. My excitement lies solely in the idea that baseball has been brought to China.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres were the two teams who got the opportunity of a life-time to make American and Chinese history. The games were to be held in Wu Ke Song Stadium, which is the baseball stadium of the upcoming Olympics. Naturally, as a fan of the MLB, I attended both games that were held - one on Saturday, one on Sunday.
My Autographed Ball
This is an official MLB baseball with the China Series logo. Heath Bell autograhed it. In some respects, you would not have been able to tell that the game was being held in China. Upon my first arrival to the stadium, China's red flag decorated with the yellow stars being displayed proudly next to the American flag, and appropriately so, was the only, main give-away. I had the opportunity to buy hot-dogs, beer, and some peanuts. Even Beijing's typical smog and pollution cleared up for the event. It was definitely what we like to call, "A beautiful day for a ball game."
I have to give kudos to the Chinese for incorporating many of the traditions of baseball into the games. As skewed as some may be, they did capture the spirit of the game fairly well. Coming from a country where baseball is everywhere, my friends and I understood what was going on the whole time. However, there were some times when the Chinese would see what was going on but would have no idea what to do. I do not have a single Chinese friend who had seen an actual baseball game before this event and I am positive that it was a first for at least 80% of the Chinese people
in the stadium those days.
When the festivities began, my friends and I were pleased to hear the announcer begin to discuss the ceremonial first-pitch. On the first day, the United States Ambassador, Clark Randt, accepted this honor. Day two surprisingly brought Jet Li to the mound. Both days symbolized the unification of China and America in their own respects. The beginning of both games also included the Chinese-sounding broadcast of those famous words, "Play Ball!", and definitely having trouble pronouncing the "L" in "Play."
To be honest, the game proceeded from here in a very "normal" fashion. The Dodgers and the Padres did what they do best just like they would have in the States but, there were definitely times when we were, well, reminded that we were definitely in China. First off, we have cheerleaders in America, but we do not have them at the baseball game. Again, props to the Chinese for bringing the spirit to the game, though this is one of those times where I felt things were a little "skewed." The cheerleaders came out between innings to entertain the crowd as the players were warming up on the field. Another realization moment
The Cheerleaders
The Dodgers warm-up and the cheerleaders cheer. Wait, what? also entails the entertainment. You know that game on the Jumbo-trons when the ball is placed under 1 of 3 baseball hats, and you have to follow the hat with the ball around, and then you have to guess which hat the ball is under? Yes, well, in China, we definitely played that game; however, instead of using baseball hats, we used Pagodas. Yes, it was the Pagoda game. It was also one of those, "You know you're in China when...." moments. Also, after a few attempts, there were enough foreigners and ex-patriots there so that we were able to teach the stadium, filled with Chinese eager to learn, how to do the wave in a continuous circle around the stadium.
The Chinese were awestruck every time the ball was hit into the air. If it was a grounder, there was no cheering. But, whether the ball was hit into the outfield or popped 10 feet into the air and caught by the catcher, the crowd erupted. They were so excited just to see the ball hit like that. It was kind of funny in a way, but it also gave you a sense that the game might be
catching on. If they could pull their eyes away from the game and players for two seconds, the Chinese continuously watched how the foreigners were acting. Whether we were eating peanuts, cheering loudly, or dancing in the stands (I promise we did not dance too much), the Chinese were taking notes. Some people even pulled out video cameras just to tape us cheering. But, I feel that the most important influence that we could have had on them was the singing of, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." We were very relieved to hear that the 7th Inning Stretch would occur. So, naturally, at the appropriate time, we all stood up, swaying back and forth, and sang it loud and proud. Probably needless to say, many of the Chinese remained in their seats not having a clue what was going on. They were lead through the song with the words on the screen and some even tried to imitate us, but the majority remained seated and watched on the first day. The second game brought a few more to their feet because I think that they were the double-game viewers, if you will. Also, on the second day, they
The Porto-Squat-John
Not the Porto-John...it's the Porto-Squat-John.... played the 7th Inning Stretch twice to give people a second chance to participate, and it worked.
This is definitely not everything that happened but I hope that you can understand that the China Baseball Series was definitely a sight-to-see. History was made as it was the first time that the MLB was allowed to play in China and it was also the first time that anyone was let into the Olympic stadium. Though it was in a minor league sized field, I like to think of it as a success. I got to talk with some of the players from both teams and they were all very excited to see China's reaction to the games. I also got to talk with some Chinese who were very surprised and impressed with the game. All in all, it was a fun time for foreigners and Chinese. I think that it is definitely a possibility that baseball can catch on in China. It will take time, but it happened with Yao Ming and basketball, right?
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Aunt Donna
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Way to go...
Lauren, Glad to see you are "talking your way" around, I would expect no less from you! Had to be fun experiencing the flavor of home in China. Hang on to that ball! Should be worth loads one of these days, keep it with your Mom's Barbie...HA! Love, Aunt Donna