Korean baseball first impressions

Today was a great afternoon team as I got to see my first of what I plan to be quite a few baseball games in the Korean Baseball League this year.   Even though it was raining here in Seoul, the inclement weather did not dampen the joy, enthusiasm, and sheer pleasure of being at Jamsil Stadium to see the two stadium co tenants, LG Twins and Doosan Bears, go at it in the first official preseason game for season 2010.  

And like the crowd, the vibe, and the atmosphere, the game didnt disappoint either.   If todays game was any indication about the prospects of both the Twins and the Bears for this season, then this year will be good for both teams.  Period.   Doosan ended up winners today 9-8 in a game that had some good solid action, was close and was generally a decent spectacle for those of us who braved the inclement weather out here on the western side of Seoul today.   I will leave the actual game chatter at that though as today was my first game so I need to start researching the teams some and gaining a handle on all the stats, players, foreign players and all to make that legitimate so to speak.   But what I will chat about is the whole atmosphere of proceedings.

The crowd today at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul turned it into a real loud, happy, boisterous, carnevale like affair with the constant singing, chanting, noise and of course clapping that goes with a baseball game here in Asia.   They love it team and today they really went hard at it to show just how passionate they are about Baseball here in the far east.   They constantly sing, they chant, they love it.  I was honestly taken aback by the sheer joy that the crowd showed today with every good play, every foul ball caught in the crowd, every out and of course every homer.   These guys go at it non stop.   Even the girls in the crowd get right into the thick of it.  ITS GREAT !!!!! I can remember at times today just having to sit back, switch off, and soak it all in.   The passion the Korean crowd showed today was awesome.    Its a true pity I didnt have my camera with me today, because I would have pic'd and recorded everything just to give you an indication of what I am talking about here.   Its truely something that did have to be seen and heard to be believed. 

Heres an example.   Todays game was between 2 teams who share the same stadium.    When the game was tight today at 8-7 with LG leading, you had the Doosan crowd singing " We want Home Run ! We want home run !!! " and the LG half singing " Boooooooooooo !! " at the exact same time to drown out the noise lol.    Damn I wish I had my cam with me to record it and show it here. 

It was awesome and it really gave me a favourable opinion on Korean Baseball.   Now I really want to go and see much more of it !!!!! I have set myself an aim of getting to the 8 Korean Baseball League Stadiums this summer to catch all the action.   I now have a really crazy appetite to soak up what is not just a baseball game, but a true carnevale on a Sunday afternoon.