Good job, boys!!

I wrote about my favorite athlete's WINNING in the last article. However, here, I have to write about another favorite athletes' (a team) LOSING. It made me feel..."Oh my God, my summer is over!!"

I explained what the Japanese Summer Koushien was in this article, http://keikobanquet.blogspot.com/2006/08/summer-koushien-in-2006.html

Summer Koushien is The National High School Baseball Tournament. In each prefecture, sooooo many high school baseball teams competed in pre-tournaments. Forty-nine winning teams became representatives of their own prefectures. (Two big prefectures, Tokyo and Hokkaido, have two representatives)

My hometown area representative team, Komadai-Tomakomai（駒大苫小牧) is famous nationwide because the team won this National Tournament for two years in a row, 2004 and 2005. Last year, they lost the final game, but it was quite on the edge. The two teams were tied in the final game, so they had the "second final game" the next day. Many people were really impressed by the two teams' guts, so even now, people talk about the unforgettable games.

This year, the Komadai- Tomakomai team became the representative team again! It was fantastic!! Nowadays, the Japanese high school baseball world is really competitive. Actually, even the last year's winner, the Waseda-Jitugyo（早稲田実業） team couldn't become the representative this year. I imagined it would be hard for Komadai-Tomakomai...but I believed they got through it!

However, unfortunately, they lost the first game. They almost won, but in the last inning, some fielders made mistakes, and the competitor's team got 3 scores in the inning. I know, the players must have been really depressed and they did their best...but I was very sad.
My hometown island, Hokkaido, is a very cold area. Therefore, people said, "Northern boys can't beat anyone in the humid hot field, Koushien!" It was true. Most northern teams lost the first games. However, Komadai-Tomakomai had been like a "northern whirlwind" in Koushien. They were on the "away" ground, but they played like it was their "home" ground and they became No.1!!! People were astonished about what they did.

It may be rude for the top athlete boys, but actually, I reflected myself on their fantastic accomplishment. When they won the first time in 2004, it was my first summer in the U.S. I, a northern Japanese girl, was struggling with assimilating into American culture and their language, English. Then, I saw what they did. They had been working hard on their field, and were successful on another field. Can I be successful like them? I thought it (Being successful in another field... I mean, in the U.S.) was almost impossible, they they did what people thought was "impossible!"

I thought the first summer in U.S. (2004) was special for me because of their accomplishment. However, they had been really strong for three years in a row! It means, since I came here, I had been STUCK in front of PC (to see the flash news of the games' result in Japan) every summer because of them!!

Not only me, but also many northern Japanese were encouraged by them. I think players of Komadai-Tomakomai also were encouraged by the majority support, but sometimes, it made them really stressful. The director, Mr. Koda, felt it the most. Therefore, unfortunately, he resigned the manager's job. I understand his decison.

However, I really appreciate them. In past three years, they had given me "courage". This year, maybe I can encourage them.
"Listen to me! There is nobody who can always win!! Life is long, so sometimes we win, but sometimes we lose. Don't be discouraged!! When we lose, we can learn MORE than when we win. Whatever you choose in your life, the most important thing is "continuation." The REAL winner is someone who grabbed what YOU need from what you have been doing. It could be sport, study, or job...you can choose it. Live YOUR life! and, never give up!!"

...But probably, I don't have to encourage them...don't you think so? They are supposed to learn that by themselves through severe trainings & crucial competitions!!

I'm sure they don't want to listen to my words, from such a lazy girl!

So I am just going to say, "Good job!!" to them. Thank you very much for making my summer exciting for a long time!!☆☆☆