Sumo articles by journalists who are Forum members/or not

[Yamanashi 4,083]

A very good article on one of my fave rikishi (who won by the rare omata last basho).  I saw one factual mistake ... did anyone else catch it?

[Bunbukuchagama 978]

3 hours ago, Yamanashi said:

A very good article on one of my fave rikishi (who won by the rare omata last basho).  I saw one factual mistake ... did anyone else catch it?

"The makushita is stocked with 42 wrestlers hoping to gain promotion to juryo"

[Tochinofuji 405]

Another solid article by John Gunning:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2024/08/21/sumo/sumo-nfl-style-changes/

 

[Yamanashi 4,083]

42 minutes ago, Tochinofuji said:

Another solid article by John Gunning:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2024/08/21/sumo/sumo-nfl-style-changes/

 

My comments for @John Gunning:

1) The Sumo Foods (Futogayama) channel does most of what you're asking for, and the English subtitles are better than "not bad".

2) We all want more content, and I hope we can get it.  It's a big gamble for NSK to do what sports associations do in other countries, but I hope something can be worked out.

[Asapedroryu 243]

4 hours ago, Yamanashi said:

@John Gunning
2) We all want more content, and I hope we can get it.  It's a big gamble for NSK to do what sports associations do in other countries, but I hope something can be worked out

Depends on the content. Netflix style shows like the one on F1 or The Tour, no thank you. Those are just reality TV shows that portrait stories far from reality and only telling the part of the stories they want often scripted by producers. To have a show focusing on rikishi A not liking rikishi B, being friends with C and talking trash about D I don't see how it would benefit the sport and it would only bring in majority the wrong kind of fans.

Long time motorsports fans are seeing the damage the "new audience" that F1 has attracted the last 5 or 7 years has done to F1.

[Yamanashi 4,083]

38 minutes ago, Asapedroryu said:

Depends on the content. Netflix style shows like the one on F1 or The Tour, no thank you. Those are just reality TV shows that portrait stories far from reality and only telling the part of the stories they want often scripted by producers. To have a show focusing on rikishi A not liking rikishi B, being friends with C and talking trash about D I don't see how it would benefit the sport and it would only bring in majority the wrong kind of fans.

Long time motorsports fans are seeing the damage the "new audience" that F1 has attracted the last 5 or 7 years has done to F1.

Sorry, thought I was more clear than you thought I was.  By "what sports associations do" I mean arrange TV deals and do outreach across national boundaries.  The NFL is powerful enough to decide which fictional depictions it will allow.  I don't think the NSK has that power (unless some knowledgeable member of the Forum corrects me, I don't think it has any real power over what's portrayed on Netflix's Sanctuary).

Incidentally, I think Sumo Prime Time has done a lot of good.

[I am the Yokozuna 222]

Well the Tour de France documentary on Netflix was epic and quite revealing, while still being restricted in many ways, so probably it depends on the skills and ability of the producers/directors to extract the most valuable info within the boundaries in which he/she works. As far as I know, there would be a second season. But Japanese do not do that in general, John does not share anything contentious here or in his columns but rather comments after something has been revealed by someone else as he quite probably fears being excluded from the kisha club and losing his revenue stream, which is understandable. Japanese documentaries, in general, are rather sugary stories and never discuss anything contradictory. Imagine, a documentary into the alleged use of steroids in sumo. Never gonna fly or be aired.  

What I would love to see is what Johnsuke, I think, used to provide as a tactical analysis on each bout, and some of the commentators on NHK do. It is really nice to understand how many moves and ideas are being played within several second bouts. This could be done and it would be nice to have. 

[RabidJohn 2,071]

12 hours ago, Asapedroryu said:

I don't see how it would benefit the sport and it would only bring in majority the wrong kind of fans.

That's just gatekeeping. Who decides who the 'right' kind of fan is?

12 hours ago, Asapedroryu said:

Long time motorsports fans are seeing the damage the "new audience" that F1 has attracted the last 5 or 7 years has done to F1.

Damage? Hmm, the teams' values have risen by an order of magnitude, making it way harder to get in. I suppose that's a negative for Andretti and co...

Race attendance has rocketed, so simple rules of supply and demand have put the ticket prices up. That's not great, but it's not damage - and race meets have far more going on than they used to. Some are starting to resemble festivals now. There's arguably better value for money.

F1 has a massively increased presence on social media. Hordes of twitterati and redditors going at each other over teams, drivers, sponsors, FOM, the FIA and a bundle of conspiracy theories. Damaging to the sport? I honestly don't believe so, but I'm open to being proven wrong. "No publicity is bad publicity" is my take.

And the current season is the best in over a decade IMO. Four different teams and seven different drivers taking wins in the first half of the season is very healthy competition.

---

All that said, unless the NSK changes its tune and decides it wants to make ozumo available to international audiences, any sort of 'Netflix doc' would be pointless.

Edited August 22, 2024 by RabidJohn

[John Gunning 3,719]

Japan’s twin obsessions meet as MLB visits sumo’s heartland

[John Gunning 3,719]

I yelled at a cloud today.