"Take me out the the ball game"

In Japan, baseball is their third religion behind Shinto and Budhism. Summer is the peak of highschool baseball with prefectural baseball championships. Every higschool baseball player dreams of going to the Koshien (the mecca of highschool baseball), to play in the National championships.

Busloads of students are shipped to baseball stadiums where accompanied by the school band and megaphones everyone cheers their school team on.
Yesterday we had our first game of the prefectural tournament. We all loaded into the bus to go to the stadium, or band, cheerleaders, leader club (sort of pep club), along with several large drums. Once we got there, megaphones were handed out and the coordinated cheers began. First you do a cheer for the opposing team and bow to them, wishing them good luck. Each player that bats has their own cheer, song or dance. The pitcher has a cheer too. I cannot believe the utter madness of it all. My normally shy and reserved students show their true spirit. They never get to yell and scream and be normal kids unitl now. It was so much fun to be a part of the baseball madness. It is insane to see 500 people doing the same dance at the same time.

I must say that all along my baseball boys have been some of my favourite students and this is a great way to spend my last two weeks here, cheering them on and being a part of it all. You know you are in far to deep when you are just as worried as the players when you are behind, or when you yell at the umpire cause you think your player was safe. It was like it was me out there playing. You have to experience highschool baseball in Japan to know what I mean.