Daily Sports Column (Japanese) Here / デイリースポーツのコラムはこちら
Being an avid Tigers fan and blogger means making connections with all sorts of people from all over the world. The world, you say? Through Hanshin??? The most staunchly traditional Japanese team in NPB? Yes, yes and yes. In fact, those connections have not all been with people from baseball-loving countries. Far from it, in fact. Let me introduce to you my main sidekick, whose family background, birthplace and current country of residence have very little affiliation to – or affinity for – baseball.
Fernando “Zorny” Zornoff (35) has been a Hanshin Tigers fan for longer than I have been, and his collection of memorabilia far exceeds my own. (Full disclosure: I do not actually have more than a handful of items, and I actually use them all.) Born and raised in São Paulo to a German father and Brazilian mother, Zorny came to know about NPB at a fairly young age. Many of the mates in his neighborhood growing up were of Japanese descent, and the bookstore across from his elementary school carried Japanese manga, including H2 by Mitsuru Adachi (Zorny’s favorite back in the day).
Still, he heard more about the Seibu Lions than any other team, but didn’t feel any connection to them. It wasn’t until 2011 that he caught Tiger Fever. Some Boston Red Sox fan friends of his (oh, by the way, he is the biggest Boston sports fan you’ll ever meet, too!) introduced him to the Tigers, and their rivalry with the Giants compares so well to that of the Sox and Yankees that it was an automatic decision.
Side note: Zorny follows MLB closely and has obviously seen new Hanshin import infielder Yangervis Solarte when he was with the Yankees and Blue Jays. He is extremely excited for the man’s arrival in Japan, which in turn gives me high hopes that we’re getting a good hitter!
And how did I meet Zorny, you might be asking yourself. (Probably not. Well, I’m going to tell you anyways.) As my blog grew in stature, little by little, I decided to expand to social media outlets. Facebook was up first, and I formed a group that (at the time we met) consisted of just over 50 people. Zorny was one of them. Well, one day during the 2014 playoffs, he sent me a message: “I’m a graphic designer and I came up with this infographic about tonight’s game. Do you mind using it on your site?” One look and I was sold. YES!
After that, infographics came my way for the remainder of the run, and that offseason we got to talking in more depth about everything under the sun, but mostly the Hanshin Tigers. How does a dude living in the country everyone associates with soccer love baseball — and the Hanshin Tigers — so much?
Fast forward two seasons, and I had the pleasure of taking Zorny to his first ever game at Koshien Stadium. I’ll never forget it. 3B Alps, Hanshin vs. Hiroshima. Tight game. Matt Murton had just left the team the previous year, but fans in that section (as well as the left field stands) still had the habit of confirming the number of outs with #9 in left field. Never mind that it was now rookie Shun Takayama.
Suddenly, the bearded Brazilian next to me stands up and yells at the top of his lungs: “TAKAYAMA!!!! TWO OUTS!!!!” Takayama actually looked almost directly at him, and didn’t look pleased in the least. Zorny, on the other hand, was quite proud of himself. His wife and I weren’t sure if we should laugh or cover our faces in embarrassment. Either way, I knew I had a true Tigers fan for a friend… for life.
Now residing in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Zorny makes his way to Japan every now and again. Earlier this spring, in fact, he, his wife, and their mothers even came to our home to pay us a visit. Naturally, Zorny and I watched the Tigers game on TV. You have to understand, in North America, hanging out with friends and watching “the game” on TV is a huge part of the culture. I felt like I was doing something I had always dreamed I would be doing regularly as an adult… watching sports with friends and family.
We even took in a game at Koshien the next day, and at long last (on his third try with me), Zorny took in a Tigers win. And what a beauty: Kosuke Fukudome hit a walkoff home run to send us home in jubilation.
I’ve made a lot of friends with a lot of people from a lot of countries since starting this project of a blog. But none will replace my graphic designing Brazilian sports nut of a friend in Dubai. Can’t wait for our next Koshien experience together, Zorny!