If this were a soccer game the score right now would be USA 0 Japan 1; or a boxing match and the stars and stripes would be behind on points. The reason: that wonderful Japanese invention, karaoke!
Aubura Taylor’s rendition of the Temptations’ My Girl was no match for his Japanese opponent Yuusuke Ashina’s crowd-pleaser, despite his dance moves, at the Tuesday evening Welcome Banquet.
“He’s a linebacker and I’m a running back, so we’ll have a rematch on the field on Saturday and see who wins then,” said Taylor, looking forward to the March 22 meeting between Team USA and Team Japan at the Kawasaki Stadium for the GE Global Challenge Bowl title.
The welcome party provided the ideal opportunity for players from both teams to get to know one another and for the event’s organizers to thank the local Japanese families for hosting US players during their stay and the city of Kawasaki for its hospitality. But that chance for everyone to relax and enjoy the evening came at the end of a long and exciting day.
Players who had spent their first nights with host families in very foreign surroundings started arriving at the Kawasaki Stadium for their first practice on Japanese soil at around 9.15am. Everybody seemed upbeat and as they dressed for practice, shared some of their experiences.
John Harms (Graves County HS, KY): “My family speaks no English whatsoever, so we played charades for eight hours. But it was fine, we managed to communicate. “One of the first things they did was give me a knife and fork.”
Billy Deane (Adams Friendship HS, WI): “The toilet seat was heated! That’s something we should have at home.
“They gave us some kind of Japanese cereal, eggs, sausage, bacon, kiwi fruit, grapefruit – I couldn’t eat it all there was so much. I liked the Japanese cereal.
“The Mom has started reading an English book so we were able to talk to each other. I’m staying in what I’d call a typically Japanese room and have a lap top in my room, but it is difficult to work out what everything means. The keyboard is in English but all the programs are in Japanese.
“They told me to duck under the door, which I had to!”
Jake Thompson (Marion County HS, KY): “Their kids are up at 6am for school which is at least half an hour away and they don’t come home until late. The house where I’m staying is only five minutes away from here.”
Daniel Nicholas (Canyon Del Oro HS, AZ): “We’re staying about an hour and a half away from here. I think we (he and teammate Mike Snively) are the ones who have to travel the furthest. I’ve tried eating with chopsticks, but it’s hard.
“The house has a few different features. They have all sliding doors and steep stairs. We watched a World War II film at night, which surprised me.”
Mike Snively (Santa Rita HS, AZ): “We had a kind of bacon that seemed to be ham cut into strips and then fried, eggs, salad and toast for breakfast.
“I’ve been using chop sticks and trying to talk with the family as much as I can but Daniel (Nicholas) hasn’t talked so much. They point at me and say ‘he try things’ then they point at Daniel and say ‘he shy’.”
Will Cassidy (The Bolles School, FL): “My host family’s Dad, whose name is Tanko, has four cars. He has a Porsche, Mercedes, a Cadillac and something else. He told me he’s just sold his Ferrari!
“For breakfast they gave me eggs, bacon, toast, tea and cereal. For dinner we had beef stroganoff, soup and noodles. The Dad lived in New York once and also in LA for business and attended graduate school in the US, so he knows what kind of food Americans like.
“The first things they asked was ‘do you like McDonalds?””
Once headshots had been taken by Japanese television, the team hit the practice field for the first time on foreign soil. The Kawasaki Stadium field is flanked on each side by high aluminum bleachers and light blue seating areas. Behind one end zone is a view of the city of Kawasaki and in each corner stand four large floodlight pylons. There were large black crow-like birds making frequent strange calling noises and every half an hour a loud clock sounded from the side of a building across the street.
In warm sunny conditions, the team spent a little more than two hours on the field then after a quick lunch was split into two groups. One boarded a bus and headed to the Tokyo University of Agriculture to watch sumo wrestlers in training and also watch a kendo practice. Some players picked up swords of their own and were instructed in the traditional art.
Coach Jeff Scurran, event manager Patrick Steenberge and the remaining 20 players took off along the Kawasaki streets, bound for the Tachibana High School. We walked the 15 minutes from the practice field to Kawasaki Station, passing by intrigued locals who do not see a large group of football players in game jerseys walking through the bustling streets and shopping malls every day. Several escalators, steps, tunnels and twists and turns later, the group boarded the subway for a four-stop ride to Tachibana.
For some players it was the first time they had ever been on a train. “I usually just jump in my truck and drive that everywhere,” said John Kredit (Valley Christian HS, AZ). But in Tokyo and Kawasaki, where the streets are busy during rush hour and just about every other time it seems, driving is rarely an option.
Side note: the players have all been warned to remember to look to their right whenever they cross the road because in Japan, cars drive on the left, the opposite side to the United States. Crossing the road here can be precarious if you forget. They also have to be careful not to walk into sliding doors that have the word ‘automatic’ on them. What the sign means is that once you start to slide the door open by hand it then automatically opens fully. Just ask equipment manager Jose Duran (Santa Rita HS, AZ) about the ‘automatic’ sliding door that leads to a coffee shop in the coaches’ hotel.
The group walked through some interesting back streets filled with small shops, market traders and food emporiums (on the return journey, coach Scurran braved a bowl of unidentified fish meat, vegetables and soup from one establishment) to arrive at the school.
The school’s international studies class had been preparing for the visit and were clearly excited by the players’ arrival. The class of 16 and 17-year-old girls overcame some initial shyness and in no time at all were chatting with their new friends about all the usual things teenagers discuss.
The group split into three and took turns making traditional Japanese fans (coach Mike Rogers might have found his true vocation here), watching the girls train in the art of performing a Japanese tea ceremony, and cooking California rolls, which seemed to be the most popular class for the ever-hungry boys.
It was a delight to see how much everyone enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to learn something of the Japanese education system and a reminder that this visit is about so much more than just playing football.
The welcome banquet that evening opened with a press conference as coach Scurran joined his counterpart coach Uchida along with Team USA spokesman Troy Smith, Japan captain Yuusuke Ashina, and organizers Patrick Steenberge and Shinzo Yamada in meeting the media.
Within a few minutes of getting to know each other, the US and Japanese players were chatting like old friends. A scrum formed around a table as a player from each team engaged in a very competitive arm-wrestling competition that provoked loud and excitable jeers or cheers depending upon which combatant won.
Team USA’s John Kredit discovered that despite being six feet six tall, he will not be the tallest player on the field on Saturday as he stands and inch shorter than Japan’s main receiving threat. And who would have thought when these young athletes compared biceps for bragging rights, the US kicker Michael DiGangi would emerge as the winner!
Another side note: The saga of DiGangi’s missing bags was nearing an end last night as they were due to land in Tokyo on Tuesday evening 24 hours after the rest of us were able to change into fresh clothes. But Michael’s Dad Dennis is also here in Kawasaki, so went out to buy him some first day essentials. Another lost bag belonged to coach Mike Rogers, whose wife received a phone call back home in Kentucky telling her that his bag had been found successfully – in Barbados!
As the banquet guests enjoyed a feast of Japanese and western-style food (there was too much even for these hungry football players to consume) everyone was welcomed to Kawasaki by the city Mayor Mr. Abe and by event sponsor Mr. Fujimori from GE.
The players posed for countless photos with their Japanese opponents, host families, dignitaries, game official Bill Lemonnier and the girls from Tachibana High School during a very enjoyable evening.
Then it was back to the homes of their host families and another night of rest and all-you-can-eat breakfasts before Wednesday’s important two-a-day practices.
Coming up in Wednesday’s blog… practice and more practice, a visit to the Mayor’s office…
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