Toreba no Toraba: Heidi Games All Year Long

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

OK, I’ve about had it. Earlier this month, I was hosting the monthly H-TEN viewing party on Zoom. I and three others sat down in front of our respective computers while watching the Tigers-Hawks game on our own TV screens. Most of them were on Toratele, as they do not live in Japan and are not privy to having Hanshin games on TV every day of the week.

I, meanwhile, was tuned in to the game on a local network. I do not remember which one it was, nor do I care to single them out for this… but when the game went beyond three hours, the broadcast ended and I was unable to enjoy the rest of the game with my mates. Granted, at that point, the Tigers had blown their lead and got smoked 10-2, so I did not miss out on much. And if this were a one-time occurrence, I would let it pass… but this happens a LOT.

A few days after the H-TEN party was ruined for me, a different broadcaster ended their feed with the score tied in the top of the ninth. Fumihito Haraguchi hit the game-winning double, but don’t ask me about it – I was not able to see it! One of the worst instances of cutting a game short was four years ago, when the Tigers came all the way back from an 0-9 deficit against the Hiroshima Carp in the second half of the game. I was at the game at Koshien, and witnessed it from start to glorious finish… but those who were stuck at home watching on network TV, well, all they got to see was the Tigers bring it back to 7-9 or something like that. I would have been OUTRAGED if I had been at home, only to have the images on my TV go from Tigers miracle of the century to some overrated celebs smashing food into their mouths and acting like it was their first meal of the century.

Now, if you were born and raised in Japan, you may not think anything of this, since it has been going on pretty much since the advent of sports on television. Local stations are given time slots to fill, but the national stations have their own agendas, and their time slots are impregnable and unmovable. So when their prized shows (which are usually rubbish, to be honest) start, baseball must end.

In America, this would never happen. Except that it did, once. You may or may not be familiar with “the Heidi Game” which happened back in 1968. In a nutshell, here’s what happened. NBC was airing a regular-season AFL football game between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets. They thought they had slotted enough time for the game, but due to its high score, plus many penalties and injuries, the network was left with a decision to make on the American east coast: either stick with the game or go to the originally slotted made-for-TV movie, Heidi. The latter was decided upon, and in the game’s final minute, which was not aired on the east coast, the Oakland Raiders did the improbable, scoring two touchdowns and winning 43-32. The score flashed on the screen during Heidi, but it did not matter. Fans in the New York area were incensed (and probably part of the blame lands squarely on the Jets’ epic collapse).

Still, from that time on, not only has the NFL/AFL made it standard procedure, but all major sports have followed suit: television stations must stick with the broadcast of games in the visitors’ market until the game’s conclusion. No preempting. No moving on to show some silly movie, useless cooking show, or any of the other drivel that rabid sports fans care nothing about.

That was more than 50 years ago, folks. Before a man was put on the moon. Before satellite TV, before streaming, before leagues put their entire season in a package deal for fans. Where is NPB in all of this? Perhaps once Japan puts a man on the moon, we can expect something to be done about the quality of TV broadcasts.

That, or I can just fork over some money and get cable TV.