Go Lotte!

The Giants are in the playoffs this year, and Busan is going a little crazy right now. I'm praying that they make it through to the next series, because we're on Game 4 of the current series against the Doosan Bears and the past few games have been totally sold out.

I've been following the games on TV, which isn't difficult because virtually every TV in Busan has been tuned to the sports channel for the past couple of weeks. You can imagine how jealous I was to discover that our American buddies Duane and OJ stumbled on a couple of free tickets to Saturday's game...and in true Texas fashion, their crazy antics earned them a spot on the 6 o'clock news that night.

Let it be said that I do not condone their behaviour, however funny it may be. Before judgment, you must first understand the essence of Duane and OJ. We're dealing with two 230 pound Texas-boys who work on a military base for a living; as you'd expect, they like to party, they like to drink, and they can do both of those things as well or better than the next guy. So when they showed up at a Lotte Giants playoff game with 15 bottles of soju stuffed into the pockets of their cargo shorts, it wasn't long before they garnered a bit of Korean attention.

Duane and OJ attend most games with nothing short of a mountain of booze to ensure that, not only do they get drunk, but their entire section of fans is along for the ride. To this particular game, they came prepared with shot glasses, a Korean flag draped around their backs (which they stole from a nearby flagpole) and an early-afternoon buzz. Upon arrival, their first order of business was to make their way up to the front of their section and yell "WHO WANTS SOJU!". To a true Korean there are no sweeter words, so it wasn't long before they made some fast friends, including the local news camera crew.

While that was taking place I was watching the game on TV at the gym, which was probably just as funny. Every Korean man in the building was busy cheering, yelling, and periodically whipping his white workout towel at the nearest TV screen. At one point I had to tell the personal trainer who was helping me (ahem, NOT Dilbert) to just stop already, and watch the darn TV screen like I knew he wanted. If anyone one can sympathize with that kind of baseball obsession, it's this girl.

I'll be sure to keep everyone apprised of the Giants' playoff status. Please say a lil prayer for all us Busanians (don't really know if that's what we're called, I just made that up) because I would really like to see at least one game before spring - that kind of patience is just asking too much!