The New Dream

The New Dream

Being the bright college student that I am, I didn't sleep the night before my flight, because I thought it would help with jet lag.  It might have, I really don't know, what I do know is that I could barely sleep on the plane, and I was thoroughly exhausted when done with traveling twenty-two hours after I started.  I slept for about fourteen hours, so I guess it did work. 

I really did not know what to expect, and that is what I wanted.  Any expectations I would have, would be based on United States experience, and this obviously, is not the United States.  In my first days, two things astounded me the most about Japan; the amount of space everyone has, and how many people there are, these two topics go hand in hand.  Just about no matter where I am, I can reach out and touch someone; rarely in the United States do I feel that.  This does not bother me at all, and since I am a huge people watcher, I kind of like having that many people around. 

The first day of my internship started the same as my other days in Japan with me thinking to myself "(expletive), I hope I can find where I need to go today."  Back in the States, finding my way would not be a problem, but in Tokyo, the most populous city in the world, they decide to only name their major streets.  So if you are not by where those "highways" cross, good luck.  Directions have been given to me by which subway station to exit and by the name of the building, which is famous.  So on this day, thanks to good directions, a good map, and a famous building, I do not have any trouble. 

With the 60-man rosters being due this past Tuesday, I can tell that the tournament is getting near.  All of the Asian Teams rosters have been getting turned in and I am excited at getting to see how they can compete.  Most of the rosters have names that I cannot even begin to announce, but then there are some that I do recognize, such as Ichiro and Hee Seop Choi.  But these are not the players that I am excited to see, I really want to see the Japan team play, because I know their country has a lot of talent that that the MLB players have not seen. 

I attended a press conference at the Tokyo Dome Hotel in which the Japanese team to unveil their uniforms.  There was a lot of energy in the room, especially once the players entered.  Once they entered the press could care less who else was on stage, my boss being one of the forgotten.  Me personally, I just wish I could have understood everything the players were saying.   

I am very excited to see how the tournament unfolds, and I really don't have a pick, for which the winner will be, that is because to me, there are still so many unknowns.  As we see the final rosters unfold, and other unknowns uncovered everyone will be in a better position to pick the winner.  One thing I am certain of is anything can happen in a short series like this, and with pitch counts coming into factor, anything could happen, and instantly you can see why this tournament is so interesting.  There is no one player that can control the game, even if a pitcher is dominating the game, it might not matter (depending on the pitch count limit) because he could get taken out with plenty of time for the other team to make a come back. 

This tournament is going to be full of great games, and I encourage everyone to watch all of the games, not just your own country, because it will come down to which country wants it the most, and I can tell you, even though I could barely understand the press conference and I cannot understand anything in the Japanese papers, I can tell that the Japanese people want it and so do their players.