[Current & Culture] Sports Exist Because of Fans

Not long ago, I went to a baseball stadium in a certain province to watch an away game of the team I was cheering for. The game was exciting. However, starting from the top of the 8th inning, it began to rain. It was a downpour so heavy that visibility was nearly zero. The players went into the dugout, the spectators gathered in places in the upper infield seats where they could avoid the rain, and waterproof tarps were spread on the field.

At that moment, everyone sitting at first base probably hoped the rain would stop and the game would continue, while everyone sitting at third base likely wished for the rain to continue so the game would be called due to rain, since the away team was winning. According to the professional baseball rules I know for rain delays, if it is judged that the game cannot continue due to rain, the game is canceled if it is before the 5th inning, and if it is after the 5th inning, the game ends with the current score. About 30 minutes later, the rain gradually lessened and almost stopped.

The home team’s fans cheered even more enthusiastically, as if urging the game to resume quickly. However, the rain-soaked field was no longer in a condition to play. At that time, the club’s facility staff came out carrying dozens of sandbags, pouring them, leveling the ground, and starting to redraw the lines. It looked somewhat like rice planting or even archaeological excavation. Sandbags kept coming in continuously. The game, which started at 6 p.m., was now well past 10 p.m., and the spectators who had been waiting for over 30 minutes for the rain to stop had no information and could only watch the scene. Fans of the away team, who needed to catch the last train, began to stand up.

When the game had been suspended for over 100 minutes, the umpires, managers, and officials of both teams gathered. They seemed to be discussing something. The away team’s manager walked smoothly over the newly laid soil and clearly gestured, "This won’t work." However, the home team appeared to be requesting to resume the game after field maintenance. A cart loaded with more sandbags was about to come in again. Just as the second “archaeological excavation” was about to begin, it started raining again?this time with even heavier raindrops. A friend who came with me said, "Ah, this isn’t rain, it’s soda." Eventually, the game ended as a rain-called game. The 116-minute game suspension tied the record for the longest game delay in the history of Korean professional baseball. Either way, we witnessed history together.

The game was fun, the rain was unavoidable, and both the home and away teams had their own reasons to win. But what made me angry was that thousands of people received no information and just had to wait. Someone?whether an umpire or a club official?should have come out and said at least one word: "This is the situation, according to these rules we will wait until this time, and we apologize for this." No industry that relies on fans operates so recklessly. One of the friends who came with me was visiting a baseball stadium for the first time, and he said it had been a long time since he had been treated so poorly, which was almost refreshing.

Even elementary school sports days don’t operate like this. When it rains, the physical education teacher or vice principal comes out and says, "Students, parents, we apologize. It is raining, so we will wait until a certain time," and asks for understanding. While smooth game operation is important, I hope professional baseball officials prioritize the fans who have paid money and time to watch the game.

Kim Minseop, Social and Cultural Critic