By Brian T. Smith
Assistant Sports Editor / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: March 25, 2008

Thank you to whomever invented the DVR. And thank you to whomever invented baseball (still lots of confusion on that one, Mr. Doubleday). And thank you to MLB for opening its season in Japan, Tokyo (which I’m now convinced has the greatest and most intelligent baseball fans on Earth).

I’m so glad MLB is back.

And I’m having a total blast watching my recording of the Red Sox-A’s game from last night/this morning/whenever.

Man, baseball in Japan is awesome.

Everyone in the crowd seems really excited, but also respectful. The PA speakers plays weird, tinny, Japan-pop versions of recognizable baseball songs. And Japanese girls in full uniforms (even batting helmets) bring extra baseballs to the umps. So cool.

More things I like about baseball in Japan:

- Fans hang items they’d like autographed over the outfield wall. They use long strings, and just let the items hang down. (You know what I’m talking about. You saw the picture.) In America, everyone would be freaking out over their precious items, worrying if someone in a Yankees hat was going to try and steal it. Or they’d cut other fans’ items down with scissors, just so they could get their own item signed. Not in Tokyo!

- Fans constantly take pictures. Of everything.

- Fans “ooh” and “ah” a lot when something interesting happens. They’re actually a much more reliable indicator of what’s going on in the game than old Gary Thorne and sometimes-decent Steve Phillips.

- There’s not a lot of chatter from the fans. They watch, listen, and cheer when something worth cheering happens. In American stadiums, the general sound of fans is an annoying buzz often sounds like a high school dance.

OK. Back to the game. Back to Tokyo.