Sidebar to WBC Final

So this is the chant the Korean fans were doing for the entire 4 hours!!!  I actually thought it was pretty cool and I liked how they could sync it up and get everyone in the stadium doing it at the same time.  It was so loud!!!

They are saying "Daehan Minguk" which is Korean for Republic of Korea, the country's official name...in case you were wondering!

Save the best for last!

WBC Final Japan vs. Korea

This game was amazing!  There were a few different plot lines to address so I''ll do my best.  

1st: Yesterday I was talking to this guy who said at a game he came to last year he sat in the All-You-Can-Eat Section and ate 12 hot dogs.  I decided when we got to the park that I was going to break his record and go for 13!  We got to the park about an hour before the game started so I figured I should eat 5 before the game then I'd only need to eat about 3 per hour to keep on pace for the record.

Here's #1 all smiles

#2 this is gonna be easy!


#3 they still taste good, Kobayashi watch out I'm coming for your record next!!!

#4 I CAN DO THIS!!!

...........still #4 I seem to have hit a wall.  All records are safe today...

Ok so the 2nd thing that happened today:

I am sitting minding my own business, waiting for the game to start when all of a sudden something hits me on the bill of my cap.  I take it off to inspect and find that a bird has pooped on me!!!  Have you ever known someone that this has actually happened to?  I haven't (besides myself now) but I do hear that it is good luck...

I made Isaac take a picture before I washed it off

Ok so 3rd on to the game itself:

It was such a good game!  It was tightly contested and going into the bottom of the ninth, Japan was up 3-2 but of course Korea mustered enough to tie the game! Extra innings, nail biting, and jabbing back and forth with the Korea fans who outnumber Japan fans at least 7-1.  SO, top of the tenth, runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 out and up to the plate walks Ichiro!  But to add more suspense, he has had a terrible Classic to this point only batting .211, however he comes through big with a single scoring both runs and Japan takes the lead 5-3 and finishes off Korea in the bottom of the 10th to send all Japan fans home happy!

Japan celebrates as the dejected Korea fans look for answers...

4th David Ortiz was at the game!!!!

Ok so it wasn't really Big Papi but it reminded me of the commercial where the guy puts on the Red Soxs hat and all the Japanese people think he's Ortiz until his hat gets knocked off 'cause the hat is so authentic.  You'd laugh if you knew what I was talking about!

5th and finally, Isaac and I were sitting in like the only Japan fans section and using ThunderStix I lead many cheers to counterbalance the overwhelming Korean presence!  

Some friends we made:

I think Eric Neel summed the game up best..."A great night of baseball, a great night for baseball."

What an awesome trip!!!

Oh yeah, this is what we got to drive out of!

WBC Part II: USA falls to Japan

To say that I was a little conflicted would be an understatement.  I rooted for Japan back in the '06 Classic but I have been pretty solidly behind USA for this one.  When we got to the game I couldn't decide how to go dressed!

I ended up going in decked out in my Japan gear wearing my USA jersey underneath closest to my heart...

Isaac and I got a lot of weird looks walking together since he was in all USA!  For some reason no one gave me a hard time though...maybe the beard?

So back to the All-You-Can-Eat section...had to come up with something new.  Since having been there yesterday, I perfected part of my craft.  I realized that I ate way too much bread with the hot dogs yesterday so today I made the 4 in 1.  See below:

Since Japan was trouncing USA I started feeling guilty and decided to show my true loyalty (with my Japan hat still on)!!!

All in all I think everyone had a good time! Ok maybe just the Japanese people behind Isaac haha!

Stay tuned for the last installment of our WBC Trip tomorrow: Part III

WBC Trip Part I: Korea vs Venezuela

For Christmas this past year I bought Isaac and I (selfish I know) tickets to see the 2 semifinal and final games of the World Baseball Classic. Today was the first game and there were some really cool things about the game. I was rooting for Korea which made the experience even better! Korea was up 5-0 after the first inning, 

and ended up easily beating Venezuela 10-2. 

Even with the lopsided victory I came up with a list of the top 5 reasons I still had a blast:

#5 We got to participate in timeless traditions like leaving peanut shells and such on the floor (we actually cleaned up after ourselves it was just a bit!)...

#4 We got to see the same giant flag of Korea held up by people all over the stadium.

#3 Isaac did some of his famous impersonations...can you guess who he's doing?  It is actually very accurate! 

 

#2 There was ALL-You-Can-Eat Food in the section we were in, including (hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, bottled water, and fountain drinks!!!

and the #1 reason I had a blast.......drum roll please..........

I got to hang out with my bro!

Tell me which was your favorite reason!!!

Stay tuned for part II and III...

Japan warms up against the Cubs

So my mom told me and Isaac that the Japan National Team was going to be playing the Cubs at Spring Training and I started laughing that I had to correct her because I told her they were in the middle of the World Baseball Classic and would not be in lowly Arizona to play the Cubs at Spring Training.  After I decided to humor her and check the website she saw this info. on, I was excited to see she was actually right!  Isaac bought us some great seats behind home plate and he and I got to go watch the game.  It was a great time and a bunch of big name players played for both teams.  Japan won (who we wanted to win) and we really enjoyed ourselves.