The presentation went smoothly, and immediately afterwards, Jake and I recorded Episode 85 of the podcast. (Props to Jake, who had barely been back in Japan for 24 hours when I dragged him to this event, asked him to record the podcast with me and even nagged him to mix the sound for it afterwards!)
If we felt ill-prepared for the event, how much less prepared was I for what was next: a Hanshin Tigers Proficiency Test. Those of you who have experienced life in Japan know that this country is almost obsessed with qualifications and certifications. Most students aim to get certified in English proficiency, and maybe even in Kanji (Chinese written characters). There are also proficiency tests for bookkeeping, Microsoft Office, and probably everything else under the sun. That would include Hanshin Tigers knowledge, which came to my attention last winter.
When I checked their website, I realized that they only do on-site testing once a year, and it was in late summer. So I bided my time, waiting for the application period to open up in July. There are three levels of proficiency: 3, 2, and 1. As with all proficiency tests in Japan, 1 is the highest and hardest level to pass.
But I figured, what the hey… if I’m gonna take this test and it only comes around once a year, may as well “Go for the Top (as One)”! So I forked over my ¥5,000 application fee and hoped to find time to cram for the test during my “summer vacation”… but it never happened.
The day of the test was September 1 (Saturday), and I entered the examination room where 5 other men (most of whom were older than me, probably all of whom were lifelong Tigers fans, and naturally, all were Japanese). The test would last 60 minutes, include 100 multiple choice questions, and a pass-fail line of 80.
That’s right: I would need to get 4 of every 5 questions correct to achieve certification as a full-fledged Hanshin Tigers expert. (By the way, the test is officially approved by the club.)
Questions were so wide in range (first team owner’s name, when Lucky became sub-mascot, against whom Tetsuro Kawajiri threw his no-hitter in 1998, and more – can’t reveal the test in its entirety!), and as I went through the test, I starred off the questions I didn’t know the answer to. Probably 35 or so were beyond my scope of nerdiness. Still, using logic and deduction skills, plus a little bit of luck, I was able to at least try to answer all 100 questions.
To my surprise, they let us keep our question booklets, and even gave us an answer key on the way out. When I got home, I checked my answers, and when I calculated my score…
Well, I will leave you hanging, as the official results (pass or fail) will come in sometime towards the end of this month. Regardless of my score, I will share the results on here. After all… Win or Lose, Tigers for Life! 勝手も負けても虎命!
My weekend, though, was off to a real yellow-and-black start. To read about how it finished, you’ll have to click here!