Enjoy Baseball for the First Time in Five Years | Hiroyuki Ishida, Dean of the Graduate School of Health Management
2023.04.04
I replaced the TV in my living room for the first time in over a decade. The model I had been using was a rear-projection TV from Company S. This might sound a bit niche, but a rear-projection TV is a technology that creates an image by shining light from an internal source onto a small liquid crystal element, reflecting it with a mirror, and projecting it onto a large screen. Because its principle is similar to that of a movie projector, it has the advantage of excellent color reproduction and a three-dimensional feel. Although my job is to treat people's illnesses, as a former "Akihabara boy" (note: from the Akihabara electronics district before the maid cafes), I'm also confident in my ability to fix machines (perhaps even more so?), so I have a strong attachment to this kind of technology. On the other hand, this attachment was hard for my family to understand, and their frustration with the old model's lack of support for internet streaming had reached its peak. Reluctantly, I installed an internet-compatible LCD TV, and I was astonished by the technological progress. The high-definition circuits and image processing speeds have evolved dramatically, allowing me to watch streaming videos with absolutely no stress. Some may think this is old news, but for someone who remembers the dawn of internet streaming for TV content, this progress is truly on another level. I'm also grateful that I can watch a lot of content from the Showa era.
Now, after installing it, my eyes are inevitably drawn to the "supokon" (sports-guts) anime I was obsessed with in my youth (is that an outdated term now?). Among them, the one I can't forget is "Ashita no Joe" (created by Asao Takamori, aka Ikki Kajiwara). It's a masterpiece of boxing manga that everyone from the Showa generation knows. The epic story follows Joe Yabuki, a drifter who wanders into the doya-gai (flophouse district) of Sanya, Tokyo, whistling in the dry wind. After meeting an old trainer, he takes up boxing, is sent to a juvenile reformatory, and through numerous episodes, including encounters with various troubled people, he eventually challenges for a world title match. The anime is also interesting in that it already raised issues that remain unresolved in modern sports medicine, such as weight cutting in weight-class sports, and head trauma and being "punch-drunk" (now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in boxing. The world title fight scene gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it. The sight of his friends from the reformatory, the residents of Sanya, and the street children who looked up to Joe as a big brother, all packing the venue, entrusting their own thoughts and dreams from their far-from-easy lives to their hero, Joe Yabuki, and cheering him on, with Joe turning that support into strength as he fights—it's just an anime, but it truly resonates with me.
In fact, I recently had the opportunity to experience a similar kind of emotion. It was at the 95th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament held at Koshien Stadium. The baseball team from Keio Senior High School (Jukuko), which had qualified for the Senbatsu tournament for the first time in five years, faced the powerhouse Sendai Ikuei High School in the first round. On the third-base side, where the Jukuko dugout was, not only the Alps Stands but also the infield and outfield seats were completely full. I was fortunate enough to be able to cheer from the Alps Stands. Looking around, I saw baseball team members who couldn't make the bench, the girls' high school baton team, the Keio Senior High School Cheerleading Team and brass band, alumni who came to support the current team, and even the teachers who support them daily, all cheering their hearts out, undeterred by the pouring rain. And that's not all. The sight of not only the President and university executives, but everyone from elementary school students from our affiliated schools to elderly Keio University alumni spontaneously gathering at Koshien from all over the country, filling the stands and sending a huge chorus of cheers to the Jukuko baseball team led by Manager Mori, was a moment when the unifying power of the Keio Gijuku Shachu was made manifest, and I was moved beyond words.
Athletes often say, "The cheering pushed us forward." While this phenomenon is difficult to verify through natural science, in the field of coaching, "group cohesion" has recently been gaining attention as a possible mechanism. Group cohesion is described as "a social force that maintains the attraction among group members and resists forces that would pull the group apart," or "a concept for recognizing the degree of a team's unity." It has been shown that high group cohesion can have a positive impact not only on team sports but also on individual performance (Eri Nozawa, PhD in Sports Management dissertation, 2020, Graduate School of Health Management, Keio Associated Repository of Academic Resources (KOARA) - KeiO Associated Repository of Academic resources ). Of course, the brilliant pitching by Ozaku, who held a powerful batting lineup to just one run; the superb game-tying hit by pinch-hitter Adachi in the ninth inning; and the excellent throw by Fukui and nice catch by catcher Watanabe-Ikoi that turned a potential walk-off hit into a groundout to the left fielder—all were the fruits of their own daily training. However, I want to believe that the wholehearted cheering from the baseball players in the stands and the entire Keio Gijuku Shachu, and the traditional cheering songs that connected the hearts of the spectators in the stands and the players on the field, contributed significantly to enhancing the players' group cohesion. Unfortunately, they lost the game, but no one will ever forget singing "Wakaki-chi" at the top of their lungs after tying the game in the bottom of the ninth. I want to applaud the baseball team members who made it to Koshien by sticking to their style of "Enjoy Baseball" and fought on equal terms against a powerhouse school. I also want to express my respect and gratitude to Manager Mori and everyone who has supported Keio Senior High School baseball. On March 21, 2023, we were able to share a wonderful time on that dream stage. Thank you so much.
P.S. The Tokyo Big6 Baseball League will finally kick off on Saturday, April 8. Starting with this spring's league games, most of the restrictions related to COVID-19 will be lifted. The cheering sections (formerly student sections) will be revived, allowing Keio students and members of the Keio University Cheerleading Team to cheer together as one. The Waseda-Keio rivalry games will be held on May 27 and 28. Due to the impact of COVID-19, most Keio students have probably not experienced the Waseda-Keio rivalry in its traditional form. I strongly hope that you will come to Jingu Stadium this spring to experience the atmosphere and passion of the traditional Waseda-Keio rivalry.