Do you get it? No? Me neither!! Do you love it? Yes? Me Too!!

Flags Ahoy!

Football is allegedly "The World Game" and indeed it may be so; but there can be no question that it is played and especially followed in completely different fashions around the globe. Football is not McDonalds whereby the exact same ingredients are served up in the exact same manner regardless of the country where served. (Even McDonalds failed at universal globalisation as a good friend of Tokyo Nerdy 1969 has travelled the globe sampling Big Macs ALL along the way and we have it on good authority that the lettuce at a McDonalds in Egypt was "a touch dry").
Football is impossible to replicate as the same product the world over and the two "versions" of football that I know and love (English and Japanese) are poles apart at times. The most obvious difference is the nature of support and the way fans relate to their clubs and the individual players within. Two instances stuck with me this weekend readers and I can honestly say that it is unheard of that either would probably ever happen in England.
First of all I spoke with a good friend who often comes to Verdy games with us but due to work commitments he has been unable to attend this season. Next weekend he can get away from work and is off to the FC Tokyo v Gainare match next week with an FC Tokyo supporting Japanese friend. This chap is apparently an ardent FC Tokyo fan currently in uproar over their relegation to J2. This annoyance manifested itself in refusing to attend any matches in J2 up until next weekend as a protest at the manner of the clubs drop to the second tier. So far, not such a big deal. The team gets relegated, fans get pissed off and find something different to do at the weekend. However, this protest came about AFTER buying a season ticket for the 2011 season. Make a protest but make sure you don`t REALLY make one and only actually injure your own wallet in the process? Er......righto.
The second instance relates to the departure of Yoshiaki Takagi to FC Utrecht and the whole business surrounding his final match. Verdy youngster Takagi put pen to paper on a 5 year deal recently to take him to the Eredivise in Holland. It was announced that the match against Fagiano Okayama would be his  final game in Green before departure. The club produced a "Memorial" T-shirt to mark the occasion and the scene was set for Takagi to hopefully give one last blinding performance bag a goal and leave the Verdy faithful with a final golden memory of an exciting player. It wasn`t to be, he came on for the final 30 minutes and was unable to hit the target unfortunately. However, once the game had finished all attention was on Takagi as he waited in the dugout while two goal Man Of The Match Hiroki Kawano was interviewed by the TV crew. Kawano finished up quickly and the camera panned out to Takagi standing in front of the Verdy end with a microphone stand ready to give his goodbye speech. He said the usual "Thank you very much, it`s been great" etc and then the camera cut to a recorded interview given by his older brother and ex-Verdy forward Toshiyuki Takagi. The interview was replayed on the big screen at the away end of Ajinomoto. Takagi Snr reminiscing about their childhood together and how he would miss his little brother when he leaves. Takagi Jnr was then unable to hold back the tears and stood there crying and thanked his brother for all the good times, he signed his boots threw them into the crowd and in doing so said his final goodbye to the Verdy support.
Can you imagine for one second this EVER happening in England? When a star player leaves in England the standard thinking is what a turncoat / money grabbing / Judas / MOFO he is and "yeah he was shit anyway and I hope he dies on his arse at his new club". A tearful goodbye speech and a generous round of applause? More likely a round of abuse and a chant concerning the players wife`s or if not married his own ability to perform certain acts on a well built Alsation.
Many words have been said in other places concerning the nature of Japanese supporters some of it none too complimentary and the same can be said of English supporters and the way we think about our clubs.    To long term followers of Japanese football this goodbye ceremony is absolutely commonplace but if I step back for a second and think about it in terms of English football then it is absolutely bizzare. Seemingly, the key to a better understanding of Japanese football is not to relate it to other versions of "The World Game" but take it as it is, tearful ceremonies, ultra positive, family orientated, fan friendly, warts and all.