Toreba no Toraba: The Olympics, NBC, Koshien and Me

As seen on Daily Sports Online (Japanese) / トレバーの虎場から

The decision to go through with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been a controversial one, and has been as full of questionable political moves as everything else during this pandemic. To be completely honest with you, I have been against Tokyo 2020 from the start, and to an extent, I still am.

But in a selfish kind of way, I have a huge reason to hope that the games go through. You see, I was contacted way back in March 2020 by a producer from NBC’s Today Show. Ever heard of it? Yeah, I thought so. With the Olympics on the horizon, NBC wanted to talk with someone who had his finger on the pulse of Japanese baseball and its fans. After all, baseball was to make a return to the games after a 12-year absence, which is a pretty big story, particularly for a nation that adores baseball as America does.

Naturally, I agreed to meet with them because hey, how often do opportunities like this come around? But then the Olympics were postponed, and plans were put on ice. I kind of forgot all about this opportunity as pandemic life trudged on. But they contacted me again this spring, and to make a long story short, we met yesterday. I showed a two-man crew around The Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium, and we got access to the stadium proper in the afternoon, where they interviewed me about what I do, about the team, about the Olympics, and more. 

It was a pretty long day (6 hours?) but it was so exhilarating just knowing that I was talking Hanshin Tigers with a crew who would help turn this into a 4-5 minute feature on NBC’s Morning Show. During the Olympics. Which will be viewed by millions of Americans. On the condition that the Olympics actually happen. No Olympics, no Morning Show reporting on Japan, no T-Ray sharing Hanshin with the entire USA.

So you can understand why I want these games to go through, right? Now, I understand this is bigger than me, bigger than the athletes who have poured years of their lives into this event, and so much more than giving the Hanshin Tigers a global spotlight. It is about the safety of millions of people, and ensuring that the Olympics do not become a spreader event for the pandemic. Looking at the big picture, these games may not be the best thing for humanity. But whether or not they are held is out of my control. Trying to give NBC a good story for their program was in my control.

And so, if and when the Olympics are held, and if you have access to NBC, be sure to watch the Morning Show and tell me how I did!