Baseball is a very popular sport in Asia, North America, South America, and even Europe. While the rules of baseball are similar from country to country, the behavior of baseball fans is very different. Here’s a look at some of the differences in fan behavior around the world.
Baseball fans in Japan are loud—really loud. The sound of chants, cheering, drums, and trumpets continues nonstop throughout a baseball game in Japan. When a team goes to bat, their fans sing a different song for each batter at the plate. And even when their team is losing badly, Japanese fans continue to yell and scream. They don’t want their players to feel discouraged if they are not playing well. Foreign baseball players in Japan are often surprised that the fans never boo a player. According to the American pitcher Brian Warren, baseball is more fun in Japan. “When I used to play in Venezuela,” Warren said, “fans threw things at me when I didn’t pitch well.” This does not happen in Japan. Japanese fans would never disrespect players that way.
When a Japanese player hits a home run, the fans give the biggest cheer of all—a banzai cheer. That’s when the fans yell with both of their arms above their heads.
In Taiwan
Baseball fans in Taiwan are just as loud as their Japanese counterparts. In Taiwan, many fans use air horns to cheer their team on. These horns are so loud they can really hurt your ears. Taiwanese fans often yell “Charge!” to excite the baseball players. And when a player hits a home run, there is a special tradition. After the player runs around the bases, a young girl presents him with a stuffed animal that looks like his team’s mascot.
In the United States
Asian visitors to the United States are often surprised and disappointed by how quiet American baseball fans are. “When I went to a baseball game in San Francisco, everybody was just sitting there watching the game. It was kind of boring,” says Barry Lin, a Taiwanese student at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s really counterintuitive if you think about it. Baseball was invented in the United States, so you would think that people would be into it here,” Lin says. “But Americans don’t seem very excited about their game.”
It’s true. Baseball fans in the United States are some of the quietest in the world. Although they don’t necessarily disapprove of cheering, they are also fine without it. It’s common to see baseball fans eating hot dogs and popcorn, and chatting with friends instead of watching the game. “When I go to a baseball game,” says Ginger Hanson from San Francisco, “I want to have fun with friends and catch up on their lives. The real reason I go is for the social experience.”
Her friend Yolanda Ferguson agrees. “My only goal for watching a baseball game is to relax. Standing up and cheering for three hours is counterproductive to meeting that goal.”