Taiwan Baseball Draws Foreign Fans During Sports Shutdown
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Friday 37 Sports Friday, May 8, 2020 Taiwan baseball draws foreign fans during sports shutdown Coronavirus devastates the global sporting calendar TAOYUAN: Foreign fans starved of baseball are increased tenfold, mainly from the US and tuning in to Taiwan’s often-overlooked league as Canada. “We would have never thought about the island basks in the glow of being one of the counting the CPBL,” added Brandon DuBreuil few places in the world hosting live sports. The from Covers.com, a North American sports bet- coronavirus pandemic has devastated the global ting information company. “People are betting sporting calendar but Taiwan has largely halted on it.” local transmissions and its Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) has kept on batting. All ‘Home runs everywhere’ of the league’s four teams have begun streaming Introduced a century ago by Japan when Tai- games with English commentary, racking up mil- wan was a colony, baseball is easily the island’s lions of views for games featuring cardboard most popular sport with notoriously raucous and cut-outs of fans and robots beating drums. excitable fans. The league has been peppered “A lot of people back home in the US are with betting scandals-most recently in 2009, dying to get sports back, they are really just try- after which attendance plunged. But crowd size ing to find something to watch,” Ryan Carpenter, and enthusiasm has bounced back, especially an American born pitcher for Rakuten Monkeys after former MLB star slugger Manny Ramirez said. “I think having English commentaries really briefly joined the league in 2013 and reignited a helps.” Rakuten Monkeys, owned by the Japan- frenzy of interest. ese e-commerce giant, was the first team to Those tuning in from abroad will see “an of- TAOYUAN: Rakuten Monkeys cheerleaders perform in front of life-size cutouts depicting a broadcast in English with nearly five million fensive style of baseball”, according to DuBreuil, crowd of spectators in empty seating during a Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) views for its first five games of this season. The who lived in Taiwan for 11 years. “There are game between the Rakuten Monkeys and CTBC Brothers at the Taoyuan Baseball Stadium debut English broadcast for Chinatrust Brothers some really great hitters and the runs are amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. — AFP via Twitter on Tuesday also attracted more than through the roof. There are home runs every- one million views. where,” he said. Alongside Taiwan, South Korea Analysts say much of the interest is coming is the only professional league now running. This Thanks to effective tracing, quarantine and cardboard pictures of fans dressed in Rakuten’s from the United States where Major League season the usually packed stands in Taiwan have testing, Taiwan has reported just 439 confirmed red colors. A troupe of robots banged drums Baseball remains shuttered. “This is the biggest been devoid of fans as part of anti-virus meas- cases and six deaths despite its close proximity while the team’s cheerleaders broadcast their secret little league that no one knows about,” ures-although from Friday, a maximum of 1,000 to China. As Rakuten Monkeys took on China- dance routines to fans on mobile phones. One Rob Liu, who runs the English-language CPBL spectators will be allowed in with social distanc- trust Brothers last weekend, the home stands dancer even live-streamed herself eating bar- Stats blog, told AFP, adding traffic to his site has ing measures in place. were filled with mannequins and life-sized, becued food. — AFP national game of rugby union. “Professional come home and recuperate from a chronic fa- Hugs and rugby sport will be able to resume domestically under Australia’s Burns tigue condition that doctors traced to an in- level two,” Ardern said. fection the previous year. He was omitted from on agenda as NZ “Super Rugby and the netball premiership sees silver lining in the Ashes squad but regained his spot in the have already confirmed their intention to resume home summer, enjoying a fruitful opening a domestic competition, which I know will be ‘longest offseason’ partnership with David Warner in series eases lockdown cause for great excitement.” New Zealand’s five against Pakistan and New Zealand. Super Rugby teams have been out of action since “There are times during the year where the lockdown began and the game’s governing MELBOURNE: Having been struck down by a you do get a little bit worn out, a little bit tired WELLINGTON: Super Rugby in New Zealand body said once clearance was confirmed it would fatigue illness last year, Australia opener Joe and you do want some time at home,” said the (NZ) is poised to resume when the country re- have a competition running within four weeks. Burns sees a silver lining in cricket’s long off- 30-year-old, who was awarded one of 20 na- laxes its COVID-19 lockdown, Prime Minister “We’re delighted for our fans that in a best-case season due to the coronavirus shutdown. With tional contracts handed out by Cricket Australia Jacinda Ardern said yesterday, with bars, retail- scenario we will have top-quality rugby back on all cricket suspended and Australia still largely last week. “It’s the other end of the spectrum ers and schools also set to open. Ardern is due our screens next month,” New Zealand Rugby locked down to contain COVID-19, Burns and now ... You can’t wait just to get out there on to announce next Monday whether New chief executive Mark Robinson said. his team mates have plenty of time to kill before the cricket field and running around with your Zealand will move to ‘Alert Level 2’, which allows He said the competition would see the five returning to the field. For Burns, home isolation mates, getting stuck into training and playing significantly more freedom than Kiwis have ex- teams play over 10 rounds in closed stadiums. has not been all bad and has actually offered a games.” He said he was learning, slowly, how to perienced since lockdown began in late March. Ardern emphasised New Zealand’s borders welcome chance to recharge the batteries. cook and had been using a cricket stump to While she stressed no decision had yet been would remain closed and Kiwis would have to “Definitely this enforced layoff for everyone bash a golf ball tied to a rope, Don Bradman- made, Ardern acknowledged New Zealand’s adapt to a “new normal” under level two. “It’s provides the opportunity just to really get success in containing the virus had put it in a yourself right, reset and start preparing physi- style, in his garage-turned-gym. designed to get as many people back to work as While noting that his pay might shrink good position to cautiously relax the rules. possible and get the economy running, but cally for next summer,” Burns told reporters in “Think of ourselves as halfway down Everest,” a video conference yesterday. “It’s probably without a resumption of cricket, he was calm safely,” she said. Bars and restaurants can re- about the financial impact of COVID-19, say- she said. “It’s clear that no one wants to hike open, but with a maximum of 100 people, while the longest offseason any of us would have had back up that peak and the descent is known to for a long time. “From a physical perspective it ing players had not been asked to take any hairdressers and beauticians will need to wear pay cut by the board as yet. With June’s be even more dangerous.” personal protective equipment. gives the opportunity for us to be in a really New Zealand, with a population of five mil- strong position. “I think that’s the silver lining.” scheduled two-match series against Shopping malls and other retail outlets will be Bangladesh postponed indefinitely, Burns is lion, has recorded 1,139 coronavirus cases and back in business, while schools will have full Prior to COVID-19, modern cricketers had 21 deaths. The number of new cases has been in never been so busy, with players opting to fill pinning his hopes on India being able to tour classes after running a skeleton operation in re- in the home summer, which would offer an in- single digits since April 14, with just one new in- cent weeks. Domestic travel will also be allowed, the shrinking spaces in the international cal- fection recorded yesterday. Under New endar with stints in domestic tournaments. triguing series between Tim Paine’s top- providing a boost for the hard-hit tourism indus- ranked test side and Virat Kohli’s world Zealand’s four-tier alert system, social distancing try. Health department director-general Ashley Playing in England last year, Burns abruptly protocols are enforced less stringently under left county side Lancashire after one match to number two team. — Reuters Bloomfield welcomed the prospect of more re- level two, allowing contact sports including the laxed rules. — AFP.