“Excuse me,” asked the stadium official in English. “Do you have any beer in your cooler?”
“No,” I replied politely, as myself and a bloke I’d only just met smuggled a case of it into Omiya Park.
It’s safe to say they do things differently in Japan.
I’d been nominated to hold one end of our esky by the fan club I was a member of because, as a foreigner, it was correctly assumed that stadium staff would simply wave me through the gate.
I never meant to join a fan club. I simply stood in front of someone’s flag at Nihondaira Stadium one afternoon as Shimizu S-Pulse took on Albirex Niigata, and a friendly Japanese bloke wandered over and asked if I wouldn’t mind getting out of the way.
That’s how I met Yuichi. We started chatting – he’d gone to university in Colorado – and before I knew it, I was a member of one of the numerous unofficial fan clubs that dot the terraces in Japan and follow teams home and away.
That’s how I ended up at Omiya Park. And Nissan Stadium. And the home of just about every major club in the Kanto region, from FC Tokyo to Chiba rivals JEF United and Kashiwa Reysol.
I’ve stood in the away end at Saitama Stadium, when a thousand S-Pulse fans stared down the might of Urawa Reds and 55,000 home fans clad in red.
I’ve caught the train up to Todoroki Stadium on a sultry summer evening with hordes of S-Pulse supporters still dreaming of winning the league, or at least the match, against Kawasaki Frontale.
I’ve watched S-Pulse games further afield in places like Nagoya and Niigata and Kashima. I didn’t miss a Shizuoka derby, home or away, for three seasons.
Our fan club chartered a bus up to Kashima and celebrated by cooking venison on a portable barbecue in celebration of what we anticipated would be a glorious win over the Antlers.
They smashed us and won the league that day. Former S-Pulse striker Marquinhos scored.
When Shimizu made the 2008 League Cup final against Oita Trinita, it felt like the entire town ventured up the Tokaido Line to the National Stadium in Tokyo.
I was one of about 25,000 S-Pulse fans packed in behind the goal. Defeat seemed inconceivable. Shimizu lost 2-0.
All in all I’ve attended at least 100 games and seen everything Japanese football has to offer: from J1 and J2, Emperor’s Cup and League Cup finals, the AFC Champions League and even worked at a couple of FIFA Club World Cups.
I started writing about Japanese football and discovered a small but knowledgeable audience, and eventually the sort of people who read what I had to say grew in importance.
One day I was having lunch with some S-Pulse officials down at their training base near Miho, when one of them asked me what I would do to improve the team’s flagging fortunes.
“Sign Australians,” I replied bluntly. I didn’t realise they would take things quite so literally.
But that’s the beauty of Japanese football. As much as it resembles football elsewhere around the world, you never quite know what you’re going to get.
I loved every aspect of the J.League. From the packed stadiums to the madcap mascots, the hypnotic chants and the high standard of football.
Of course, there’s always the danger we end up fetishising a competition that has the same sort of problems as anywhere else.
But there’s something so exhilarating about the J.League. Once you’re hooked, you can’t stop watching.
The 28th season of top-flight Japanese football kicks off tonight and fans in Australia can tune into four live matches per round on Optus Sport.
I couldn’t think of anything more fun than if we all picked a J1 team to support, shared who it is in the comments, and committed to following their fortunes throughout the entire campaign.
Ayian
Roar Rookie
I'm sure the J League's popularity would explode and more people will pick a team to follow if it is broadcasted on free to air TV in Australia. As you said, once you get hooked to the J League, you can't stop watching it.
qingdao16 .
Roar Rookie
Lean towards Hiroshima but hope for a draw!
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Kyoto Sanga are hosting V-Varen Nagasaki this Sunday, AGO. I can send my commiserations now or we can wait until after the match.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Preceding sentence was the biggest oxymoron of all time.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
my AFC team is Beijing Guoan so i won't support a J-League team but i hope Yokohama FC stay up and Marinos don't win the title
Rellum
Roar Guru
Sounds exciting
Rellum
Roar Guru
Kobe had an ok start, seem to dominate ate home but only managed a draw.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Come on cerezo. Cerezo .. sounds like a Mexican beer .. ole
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I'm glad to see so many of you have picked a team. There were some fantastic games this weekend. Should be an entertaining campaign.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I used to always keep an eye out for Mito's fortunes in J2. The epitome of a well-supported community club.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Fair call mate. Who will you back when Sanfrecce play Vegalta though?
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Never a dull moment at Vissel Kobe these days, Rellum. They actually won the Emperor's Cup on New's Year Day (in the most boring final in years).
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I'd love to see a Shonan fan in Oz. Really pleasant part of the world.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
We'll allow it, Mid. You deserve to follow a team that actually wins every once in a while!
Griffo
Roar Guru
4-2 win to Kashiwa Reysol ;-) Some great attacking play but a little lapse in defence at the end.
Glenn Smith
Guest
Great read. Lived in Japan for 12 years with the first city Mito in Ibaraki prefecture. Instead of adopting the more famous, and clearly more successful Kashima Antlers as my football team, I jumped on the support of the Mito Hollyhock (a team to this day that have never moved out of J2). Japanese football can be really enjoyable and the crowd are so knowledgeable - KAYO/fox could get on the J league train and be impressed with the quality.
qingdao16 .
Roar Rookie
You've sucked me in Mike, so here goes. Kyoto is my favourite Japanese city so in J2 it'll be Kyoto Sanga FC. For J1, I've always loved visiting Hiroshima, so I'll be backing Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but I would also like to support Vegalta Sendai too. I've never been there, but for their amazing rise after the disaster of the 2011 tsunami is worthy of support.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Their ACL kit looks rather swish. Iniesta isn't a bad squad member either.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Alright Mike, I will pick Vissel Kobe because they wear Maroon....Unless they or their supporters are crazy right wing types then the Maroon will be enough.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Vegalta Sendai with a point! :stoked: