“Take me out to the ballgame!” That’s a song lyric that has never left my lips. Baseball may be the first American sport and the heart and soul of American culture, but I don’t care for it. It’s not that I’m a hater or anything of the sort. It’s just something I’m not into, like the color beige. I don’t hate the color beige. Its’ a color that fades into the background and becomes unnoticeable. For me, baseball is the beige of the sporting world.
I’m not alone am I? It can’t just be me. Baseball doesn’t have the energy of tennis, the intensity of basketball, the brutality of ultimate fighting or even the drama of an Olympic ice skating tournament. Baseball is just baseball and that’s b-o-r-i-n-g! Well, at least it is back home, however in Korea I’ve learned that baseball is a spectacle that combines the zaniness of Jim Carrey with the cheesecake of Charlie’s Angels. Throw in some wacky dances, silly chants and jokey hats and its an experience not to be missed!
I learned all this in the trenches on Saturday evening when my friends and I took in a game at Jamsil stadium. The crowds at these games are massive. Just trudging our way to the ticket booth took forever. Thankfully, vendors can be found everywhere. They’re out there selling everything from boxes of fried chicken from KFC to bags of cheeseburgers from Burger King. If you like your snacks a little more Koreanized don’t worry. There’s plenty of that too. The chewy corn, whole fried chickens, tteok boki, smelly bundaegi, as well as plenty of battered and fried street food. Trust me, it’s all there.
And, of course, on top of all the mountains of snacks to be had there was an ample supply of beer. I don’t know where it all came from, but beer was everywhere. Ajusshi’s braced kegs on their back, Ajummas hefted cases under each arm, college kids had bags of Cass, Max, and Hite. Even if you didn’t bring any beer with you, the vendors wandered the stadium shouting out “Maekju” with a portable keg strapped to their back and a hose to top off your paper cup.
Beer in hand and plate of food on lap meant it was time to ge down to the business of enjoying a baseball game. This meant, for me, completely ignoring the game and instead people watching. The spectators at a Korean baseball game are a ton more enthusiastic, loud, and manic than anything going down on the field. In between plays each team has s sort of Yell Leader who jumps up on a platform and commences to shimmy, shake, spin and twirl channeling Kristin Dunst from Bring It On in an effort to rally the fan’s of his beloved team into a monstrous roar of cheering, singing, and chanting. I don’t know what the guy on the other side was doing, but our guy was fierce, fearlessly shaking what his momma gave him all for the cause. He did have help. Five long legged raven haired cheerleaders bounced behind him, but really they were the Ikettes to his Tina Turner.
Under the yell leader’s direction our side of the stadium chanted, cheered, stomped out feet and sung our hearts out. And when I say our side of the stadium I literally mean our entire side from grandmothers and grandfathers to pregnant women to couples to kids to babies strapped to their auntie’s back. Communal doesn’t even begin to describe the experience. We cried when the play was bad. We laughed when the play was good. We booed when the opposing team scored. Of course the score never mattered to me. I had a jolly old time watching the antics.
And just when I thought it couldn’t get any zanier the plastic bags came out and ended up on top of everyone’s head secured by the ears. Awesome! So, the next time someone mentions baseball go grab your beer, sandwiches, flags, banners, bullhorns, and join in on the fun. You won’t be disappointed.
