Livin' the McDream: My Parents' Visit - Part 2.1

Baseball was introduced into Japan from the United States and it became popular almost immediately. Even though sumo wrestling is Japan's National Sport, baseball is the most watched and played. There's little league all the way up to professional teams. We went to watch the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, one of the 12 professional teams. The Golden Eagles play at Rakuten Kobo Stadium Miyagi in Sendai. Rakuten is an internet shopping company and owns the team.

Our friends Eric and Ninoosh and their baby came down to Sendai to check out the baseball game with us.

So watching baseball in Japan is pretty much the same as watching a game in the USA, except for a few twists...the fans of each team have a team song and also a chant...for every player; they have some other special cheers...see 7th inning balloon video below; there's a whistle to warn everyone that there's been a foul ball hit; oh, and there's the uriko's...the beer girls that carry kegs on their backs! Another difference that throws Americans off is that they display the count strike-ball-out.

Mom, Ninoosh & Dad approaching the stadium.

6 1/2 month Bean sitting up in her own seat.

Karaage. Fried chicken, yum!

Just your typical ballpark fare, right?
Cold sliced beef tongue and edamame! Beef tongue is a
specialty of Sendai. It's very popular and the popularity
is spreading throughout Japan! They're even buying
tongue from Nebraska beef producers!

A sleeping Bean.

Uriko!

I can't blow up a balloon to save my life.

Visiting team releasing their balloons.

Below is a video clip of the 7th inning chant and balloon release. It was pretty awesome! Had to giggle at the lady getting hit in the face at the end...a rogue balloon, haha.