[sumo] Reaction to Win?

[Charles Finberg]

I have watched the final bout and aftermath a few more times.  Also, the
Awards Ceremony Interview.  (And, also the Wakanoho/Tochinonada String
Incident, and the Baruto interview, so ask me anything!)

Here's my opinion -- and I agree that I see what I want to see and hear what
I want to hear, as does Doreen.  There is no reality except as perceived
through the openings in our caves.  Together perhaps we can reach a common
conclusion, like a group of wise men groping an elephant.

I, too, saw that some people were very excited and happy when Asashoryu
won.  Clearly people enjoyed the sumo, both in the run-up, and in the bout
itself, and during several other bouts.  But, I think that some people
harbored disappointment in the outcome.  That's not surprising, as Doreen
has pointed out.  Some people were even sad when the Red Sox won!  But,
people enjoyed the basho, and attendance was good.

Some people also greeted Asashoryu effusively, as he made his way through
the back halls, after winning the bout.

But, I also saw a number of people who appeared impassive and unresponsive,
even as others cheered, especially during Asashoryu's interview.  He was a
lot more excited and happier than most of the fans were.  Why not?  He won,
not them!  But, during the interview, he directly exhorted fans to show
excitement with him, and it appeared to me that many did not take him up on
the invitation.  Was this polite applause, and the decision by many not to
applaud, cultural?  I have no stature to answer that question.  Did fans
appear to me to be less responsive to Asashoryu than they have been to
others during the basho?  Yes.  Do I attribute this to the directional
microphone?  No.  Did I "want to see and hear" what I did?   Maybe, but my
hallucinations usually run to things racier than this.  And, try as I might,
over longer than a half century, even when I was a teenager, I have never
succeeded in making the things I really wanted to see and hear actually
happen -- not with anything that really mattered, whether it was teenage
girls or the stock market -- at least until the Red Sox played the Yankees
in the fall of 2004.

On 24 Mar 2008 11:58:57 +0900, Doreen Simmons <JZ8D-SMMN at asahi-net.or.jp>
wrote:

> I agree with Lon's assessment, basically "par for the course".
>
> A lot of people were rooting for Hakuho as well so the reaction couldn't
> possibly be 100%, whichever won.
>
> This time I wasn't there, for the first time in 31 years, so was watching
> on TV. When Shoryu made his bow to all sides,
>  and shouted out in Kansai-ben, the directional microphone was pointed at
> him not the crowd, so the cheering came over only
> as general background noise.  But if you're not aware of these details,
> basically, you see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear.
>
>
> What counts a lot more than whether individuals think they heard more or
> less shouting for one man rather than another
> is that Osaka had 10 sell-out days this time, and a record number of
> kensho.
>
>
> FWIW,
>
> Doreen
>
>
> >At 07:46 PM 3/23/08, Jeanne Hedge asked:
> >>With all the good guy-bad guy stuff thrown about regarding the
> >>yokozuna, I'm curious - what was the crowd reaction when the
> >>Asashoryu beat Hakuho on for the makuuchi yusho. Enthusiastic?
> >>Polite? Grudging? Mass exodus? About normal for a yusho-deciding
> >>match between the yokozuna?
> >
> >
> >At 07:02 PM 3/23/08, Lon Howard wrote:
> >>#1,#5:  Yes
> >>#2-#4:  No
> >>
> >>Looks like folks are very happy about their new era.
> >
> Doreen Simmons
> jz8d-smmn at asahi-net.or.jp
>
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