Calm Analysis and a Moment of Passion | Kenji Kumasaka (Dean, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)
October 29, 2004
The Yankees suffered the humiliation of losing four straight games after winning the first three against the Red Sox. Regarding the cause of their defeat, Manager Torre said that the Yankees' loss was sealed the moment Matsui's sharp liner to right field, hit with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning of Game 5, was brilliantly caught by Nixon. Analysis is always calm, and yet sad.
October 16: Homecoming Day, and futsal. At 12:00, the first match began against Mr. Kojima's team. Just three minutes into the game, the opposing team's ball entered our half, and who should be chasing it but Mr. Kojima himself, shuffling his feet. Surprisingly, his feet were quick. But feeling at ease, I sent a warm cheer for the opposing captain's agility, full of kindness, thinking, "Don't fall down." Then the ball was kicked, and I registered the fact: "Ah, he kicked it." But the next moment, the ball was in the back of the net. Our goalkeeper was simply stunned, doing nothing but blankly following the ball's trajectory. What was certain was that a goal had been scored. At that moment, I was convinced of our absolute defeat. After that, we had neither the courage nor the spirit to recover and just passively waited for time to run out.
There was a pre-game interview. Mr. Kojima, feigning composure, quietly said, "I'm just going to be natural." I, on the other hand, loudly declared, "We will definitely win!" It didn't take long to realize that this was the entire reason for our defeat. Afterward, Mr. Kojima smoothly advanced to the final league, where he also defeated Mr. Tokuda's team. With that, our power structure was established.
Speaking of which, I wondered where the other giant had gone. Then, at 7:20 p.m., he suddenly appeared on the main stage as a legendary band, holding his beloved? guitar, and started to shout. There was no trace of his appearance from 30 years ago, but for that very reason, his presence alone overwhelmed the young people in the audience with its immense power. It was pretty cool. It was Jun Murai, on stage, creating the illusion that the past had returned just as it was, all while bluffing, "This is how great we were back in our day."
Even when you become an old man or a grandpa, sports and rock music are still great things. I couldn't help but purse my lips and think, "This isn't an era where you get privileges just for being young."
(Posted: October 29, 2004)