Basho Talk Natsu 2018 (SPOILERS)

[Tiger Tanaka 222]

Very happy for Kakuryu to get his first back to back yusho. I've heard a few say he was an undeserving Yokozuna since following sumo, but this should hopefully put that to rest forever. 5 yusho, including back to back in the Hakuho era. His additional 6 jun-yusho were all runner up to Hakuho, including two playoff losses. His resume is formidable with this latest career resurgence, and I hope he continues to compete for as long as he can. 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Tiger Tanaka

[Bumble 0]

1 hour ago, Gurowake said:

 Kizenryu probably has the % uwatenage record.  It's generally hovering around 50% - slightly lower right now, but not by much. http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi_kim.aspx?r=9077

Thanks, I was wondering who would be with a percentage record, but had no idea who to investigate.

[since_94 650]

5 hours ago, d_golem said:

I thought it was hilarious fun. I'm not a sumo veteran fan nor am I a total newbie fan too, but I was one of the many who yelled/typed "MAWASHIII!" just because it was the funnest thing to do at that particular moment, smiling so gleefully as I saw the chatroom exploded. Same feeling like when watching football live at the stadium : lots of not-really-clever verbal outburts and whatnot, but the emotion was palpable and you get swept along with it. And of course the quality of the banter will be totally different over there than in this forum, where we have time to edit and consider our responses. I use both and loving it.

I get what you're saying. Horses for courses, and all that. I don't mean to come acros as some kind of sumo snob, either. I just found the chat distracting, so clicked it off about half way through the first day of watching the stream. I prefer a cold beer and some good tunes to accompany my sumo

[WAKATAKE 2,644]

In the day before his expected official promotion to ozeki, Tochinoshin had some media time, talking about still figuring out what his ozeki theme will be. And Coca Cola Japan stopped by and gave him 900 cans of his favorite coffee, "Georgia Emerald Mountain Blend."

https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/201805290000415.html

[mbovo 244]

1 hour ago, since_94 said:

I get what you're saying. Horses for courses, and all that. I don't mean to come acros as some kind of sumo snob, either. I just found the chat distracting, so clicked it off about half way through the first day of watching the stream. I prefer a cold beer and some good tunes to accompany my sumo

I'm with you, I like to sit back and enjoy the action. Of course, for me, it's coffee instead of beer due to my time-zone :)

[Jakusotsu 5,869]

23 minutes ago, mbovo said:

Of course, for me, it's coffee instead of beer due to my time-zone :)

Drinking beer is time-zone dependent? I never knew...

[mbovo 244]

Just now, Jakusotsu said:

Drinking beer is time-zone dependent? I never knew...

Let's just say it's not as good in the morning before going to work than in the afternoon or evening after work :)

[Jakusotsu 5,869]

Give it a try - you'll be surprised.

[since_94 650]

1 hour ago, mbovo said:

I'm with you, I like to sit back and enjoy the action. Of course, for me, it's coffee instead of beer due to my time-zone :)

I’m only one hour behind Tokyo, so watching from 3 to 5 pm is prime beer drinking time and I’m almost always off work then. I can even get a run in afterwards in the evenings to burn off some beer calories. Your stream is so awesome. Really, thanks a lot. Otherwise, if I had to watch with time delay, it would keep me away from sumoforum dot net during the basho to avoid any spoilers.

[mbovo 244]

2 hours ago, Jakusotsu said:

Give it a try - you'll be surprised.

I would love to but I'm not sure my bosses would appreciate it :D

[Benevolance 2,482]

On 5/27/2018 at 16:59, Gurowake said:

He did as expected and will almost certainly be back fighting the YokOzeki next basho

YokOzeki is the name of my new Bare Naked Ladies cover band. 

(Thus concludes your mandatory daily Canadian Broadcast Content)

[Kaminariyuki 498]

On 5/28/2018 at 22:40, since_94 said:

I get what you're saying. Horses for courses, and all that. I don't mean to come acros as some kind of sumo snob, either. I just found the chat distracting, so clicked it off about half way through the first day of watching the stream. I prefer a cold beer and some good tunes to accompany my sumo

Same here, although I watched mostly live, as I happened to be in Japan during the basho. And, for me, imo shochu rokkude onegai shimasu.

 

[Kaminariyuki 498]

Sumo and Nationality Prejudice

For me, this was the best basho in a while. Some excellent and very exciting sumo. When I'm in Tokyo, there's a tiny sports bar in Ueno that I really enjoy watching the Makuuchi bouts when possible. Unbelievably, (since I've been to this place 15 or 20 times) I had to talk my way in on Saturday having been in there already the two previous evenings. There's not a word of romaji in the place, but most of the staff know me, and a few seem to like me. I can order drinks and food easily enough in Japanese and that seems to be the biggest issue with this place. The bouncer/kid at the door just didn't know me I guess.

In any event, the crowd is usually quite somber during the matches, uttering no more than a grunt at any given outcome. The Japanese sometimes have an issue with loud foreigners (I really don't like being grouped in with the Chinese, but there you go... The Chinese and sometimes the Americans and the Europeans can be a little loud, particularly when drinking). During the Tochinoshin-Hakuho bout, though, the joint absolutely erupted. Never heard anything like it, but when I watched it again on video the next day I could tell the same thing happened at the Kakugikan. Some sumo fans really don't like the gaikokujin element, although most are OK with it. For some reason, though, having spoken to a number of folks at my fav bar, the crew likes Tochinoshin much better than the Mongolian crew. Even with his pink skin, he seems more Japanese in his demeanor and approach. Any thoughts on Japanese nationalism and sumo? I'm not being a troll here. I'm genuinely interested in folks' opinions, particularly the Japanese folks who are on this forum. So, to be clear, I'm not going to debate anyone or try to cause a debate between others. I'm just curious about how the Japanese feel about the non-Japanese in their allegedly national sport. (we all know that baseball is much more popular). ...and, to a lesser extent, in their bars.

[Katooshu 3,179]

I think some of that may be the freshness of Tochinoshin as an elite, ozeki level performer and the excitement accompanying a serious ozeki run, in contrast to the longtime and perhaps stale status quo that Hakuho has been part of. Now I suppose you could argue that Japanese sumo fans wouldn't tire of dominant Japanese rikishi in the same way, but I'm not sure if there's a more general nationalistic reason why they'd favour a Georgian to the Mongolians.

I notice that applause in general tends to be loudest when Hakuho loses while still in the race , and I think a big part of that is because him losing is a rarity (or at least was very rare for years) and is thus more meaningful than when others lose. He was 25-0 vs Tochinoshin as well, so there was a highly pronounced 'he finally did it!' aspect to the result, and it pretty much sealed Tochinoshin's promotion, which is exciting regardless of nationality.

There could be hinkaku issues involved too though of course.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Katooshu

[robnplunder 975]

7 hours ago, Katooshu said:

I think some of that may be the freshness of Tochinoshin as an elite, ozeki level performer and the excitement accompanying a serious ozeki run, in contrast to the longtime and perhaps stale status quo that Hakuho has been part of. Now I suppose you could argue that Japanese sumo fans wouldn't tire of dominant Japanese rikishi in the same way, but I'm not sure if there's a more general nationalistic reason why they'd favour a Georgian to the Mongolians.

I notice that applause in general tends to be loudest when Hakuho loses while still in the race , and I think a big part of that is because him losing is a rarity (or at least was very rare for years) and is thus more meaningful than when others lose. He was 25-0 vs Tochinoshin as well, so there was a highly pronounced 'he finally did it!' aspect to the result, and it pretty much sealed Tochinoshin's promotion, which is exciting regardless of nationality.

There could be hinkaku issues involved too though of course.

IMO, Hak has been too dominant and many tend to root for an underdog.   And the fact that Hak at times managed to discredit himself - the last one being his standing up the simpans after a clear loss a few bashos ago.   Let's not forget the Mongolian rikishi's dominance spanning a decade, and it is natural for many fan to root for Georgian challenger against the Mongolian status quo.