...and volleyball

I've never cared about sports before.


I hail from Ohio, where the entire state is obsessed with the Ohio State University football team and annually works itself into a frenzy over the progression of OSU games. Serious fans will joke that they "bleed scarlet and gray," the team colors. I've spent half my life being surprised every year when football season crops up, because even after fifteen years I've paid it so little attention that I couldn't even tell you when it starts and when it ends. It was always around, but I was never enticed to learn more. For me, football season in Ohio is like winter in Ohio: a natural cycle of the seasons that is recognized only for how it consumes the entire state, confronting me every time I step outside, and making me long for it to be over.

Volleyball sneaked its way into my life via anime called Haikyuu!! The show, which centers around a fictional high school volleyball team working to reclaim its former glory as national champions, is ridiculously enjoyable to watch. I haven't been this all-around excited and emotionally invested in an anime in a while. It helps that Haikyuu!! has no panty shots, no groping, no side plots about romance or crushes. When you've grown up asexual, and have had to turn a blind eye to the nods to sexuality and sexual desire and sexually-charged romances (something you can't identify with and, after having it shoved in your face so often, frankly makes you uncomfortable) in essentially any piece of media you might ever decide to consume, a show that is entirely free of this nonsense is like encountering a water park resort in the middle of the Sahara.

Also? Haikyuu!!'s writing and animation are GOOD.

In Haikyuu!!'s most recent episodes and the current arc of the manga, the volleyball team has a chance to play in Japan's Spring High Volleyball tournament, which is a real thing that actually exists. Thanks to Tumblr, I found out that the final rounds of the 2016 Spring High would be playing during the first week of January, in Tokyo--just a short train ride away.

However, at the time, I had never attended a live sports event. I had never watched any sport being played live. I had no idea whether I could enjoy a live sports event on its own merit, or whether I needed the context of TV show characters and animated drama to make it exciting.


So I got on Youtube. I typed in 春の高校バレー (Spring High School Volleyball) and watched some games. I astounded myself by not only enjoying watching the games being played, but understanding what was happening in them. In watching a season and a half of Haikyuu!!, I didn't realize that I'd been accidentally learning about how volleyball was played. I didn't realize that, even though the anime doesn't go into meticulous and cumbersome technical detail about volleyball, it includes enough that you can actually take what you've learned from the show and apply it to real games played in real life. I have never in my life watched a sport that wasn't swimming (which I did for ten years) and actually understood what was happening. 


The combination of delight at finding I genuinely enjoyed volleyball and the desire to see the real life event that was depicted in my new favorite anime prompted me to purchase a ticket to watch the 2016 Spring High semi-finals (men's and women's) in Tokyo on Saturday, January 9th.

Higashi Fukuoka (in black) vs Souzou Gakuen (in blue)

Before attending, I did some research on the teams and tried to find videos of them playing. Higashi Fukuoka were last year’s Spring High winners, with the winning point scored by the captain. It was a really amazing and emotional moment. I discovered that Higashi would be in the semi-finals this year, too, and that their 2015 ace player was this year's captain. My affection for them solidified, and I decided to tentatively place my vote of confidence with them.
However, I didn't realize how invested I was in the Higashi Fukuoka vs Souzou Gakuen semi-finals game until it was happening. I clapped when Higashi scored and felt pride on their behalf when they pulled off a brilliant serve, receive, or spike. I didn't realize I was so invested until Higashi won the first two sets and then Souzou won the second two sets and it came down to the fifth and final set who would go home and who would get a shot at the championship.


In case you were curious, Higashi won.

Even though I got up at the literal crack of dawn on Saturday in order to get down to Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium by 10am, this was easily one of the best days I've ever had in Japan. Possibly one of the best and most fun days I've had in my life. Which leaves me wondering what made it so enjoyable, and why it was volleyball, of all things, that has suddenly grabbed my attention and gotten me so invested in watching a competitive sport.

Firstly, I think the reason I enjoyed today so much is because I was alone. I like hanging out with people, but when it comes to new and meaningful experiences, I enjoy them infinitely more when I'm by myself. My trip to Kyoto last Christmas was one of the most relaxing and pleasant vacations I've ever been on, and I really think it's because I was by myself and had absolutely no one else's needs or worries to think about. I'm very conscious, to an stressful degree, of the people around me. I'm constantly worried how my actions are affecting them, whether I'll need to drop my own desires and needs suddenly because of something that comes up with them, and whether my own needs should, at any given time, be something that I ought to fight for, or just let go of entirely for the sake of group harmony.

Arena seats are AWESOME.

I stress about this to the point where it keeps me up nights, makes me lose my appetite, and then ultimately drives me to tears and an inability to separate myself from it; I become the stress. But when I'm alone, I'm accountable to no one. I can enjoy my day on my own terms, as awkwardly and as slowly as I need to, and I don't have to think about whether I'm inconveniencing someone else. There are some things that I like to enjoy with others, but when it comes to important and meaningful experiences, or just anything profoundly new, I need to be alone or at least given room to breathe in order to take things in at my own pace.

Anxiety sucks, but I deal. Going on adventures like this on my own helps me feel in control and capable, and when I manage my day successfully, it's a victory I can remember the next time I feel off-balance.

My Haikyuu!! train card holder,
and my new Higashi Fukuoka keychain!

Volleyball, though. Why volleyball. I think the most noteworthy element of my experience at the Spring High semi-finals was how Japanese it was, how structured and organized it was. Each team had a section of the stadium set aside for its supporters. Before each game, the supporters would file in and sit down. During the game, they'd chant individual school cheers when their team scored or pulled off a good move. Then, when it was over, everyone in that area left to make room for the next team's fans. Food wasn't allowed in the arena, so the steps and seats were clean. People were really considerate of each other's space, and since it's Japan, I felt perfectly comfortable leaving my things at my seat repeatedly to go to the bathroom, visit the food court, or just go walk around.

This is my first experience with Japanese sports fan culture, but it didn't feel threatening at all. It felt respectful. Nobody was shouting at the players from the sidelines, there were no boos, there was no fighting or crassness (that I could see or understand, anyway). When it comes to group organization and moderation, Japan excels. Japanese culture puts a lot of emphasis on showing proper respect to those around you. When the teams that lost in the semi-finals games (both the women's games that I watched and the Higashi/Souzou game, I didn't stay for the second men's game) were awarded their medals, the whole gymnasium acknowledged them, applauding them for a game well played. Losing was obviously very hard on these kids, with some of the senior girls wiping away tears and the senior boys looking stony-faced and stiff as they received their medals.

The one thing that's really kept me out of American sports culture is how much some fans seem to enjoy HATING their opponents, which to me is ridiculous. How can you play a good game if you don't acknowledge and respect your opponent's determination and skill?

One of my favorite things in Haikyuu!! is how the show humanizes the opposing teams that the main team, Karasuno, faces. All the players in the opposing teams are made up of genuine people with friendships and dreams and lives of their own, and have worked hard in order to be good enough to play as well as they do. I can't imagine treating that kind of dedication with disrespect.


I don't know if I'd like volleyball in my own country, but so far, I really, really like it in Japan. There's no shame in losing, and the mark of true sportsmanship is how you treat your opponents, before and after a game. You face them as equals, as fellow humans who are working towards something and are determined to make it happen. You respect their strengths, and the way to win is to simply make your own talents work better.

I'm tentatively going to explore volleyball in the context of professional sports and see how I like it. And I'll definitely be attending the Spring High next year and cheering for Higashi again if they make it through the prefecture qualifiers!

(EDIT: Higashi played in the Sunday finals against Chinzei High, and won 3-0. For the second year in a row, they are the Spring High Volleyball champions. I am so happy for them!)