From Taipei Dome to JBS: How Anime Brought Sports to Life
Nothing beats the experience of catching the CTBC Brothers (中信兄弟) in the Taipei Dome (臺北大巨蛋) – the latest iconic landmark of the capital city of Taiwan, which took more than three decades to come to fruition.
| CTBC Brothers' Crayon Shin-chan themed home game at Taipei Dome |
As a fervent supporter of the "Yellow Troopers" (the nickname of CTBC Brothers), it was yet another thrilling experience, as always, to see them locking horns in their home series against Fubon Guardians.
The showdown between them is popularly known as the "Financial Holdings Derby" (since both teams are owned by major Taiwanese financial conglomerates – CTBC Brothers is owned by the CTBC Holding, while Fubon Guardians (富邦悍將) belong to Fubon Financial Holding Co.).
| Fans had their pictures taken in front of the posters of their favourite players |
The home series, which I attended back in April, came with an added twist when the entire event was themed around the classic anime - "Crayon Shin-chan".
From themed merchandise to eye-catching stadium visuals, the collaboration brought a fun, whimsical vibe to those games, adding another layer of excitement to an already thrilling rivalry.
"CRAYON SHIN-CHAN" AND "BABY SHARK"
Such collaboration in the Taiwanese professional baseball league is not uncommon, as before the "Crayon Shin-chan" partnership, the defending CPBL (Chinese Professional Baseball League – the official name of the Taiwanese professional baseball league) champions held their first themed event of the ongoing season at Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, their principal home ground at Taichung, with "Baby Shark".| "Baby Shark" themed door gifts |
More importantly, such themed events have always been a hit among the fans, as they would look forward and spare no effort to splurge on the limited quantity of the wide range of merchandise relevant to those themes, such as jerseys, caps, accessories, etc.
MASSIVE WINDFALL FOR CTBC BROTHERS
Based on a local media report (in Mandarin), proceeds from the sale of the merchandise in the recent collaboration with "Crayon Shin-chan" amounted to NT$27 million (approx. S$1.09 million) and were estimated to go as high as NT$30 million if takings included online sales as well.On top of that, each fan would receive some attractive door gifts upon entering the game venue, like coin purses and blankets, which were given out during those two days when I was at the Dome.，
| Long queues were formed to buy limited edition Crayon Shin-chan merchandise at the Taipei Dome |
It's no rocket science that the CTBC Brothers bank heavily on these themed games to boost their coffers; it helps in the fact that, being the most popular team in Taiwan, the games involved them are usually well-attended, be it their home or road games.
POKÉMON - ALBIREX THEMED EVENT IN 2014 AND 2017
Singapore Premier League club Albirex Niigata (Singapore) did something similar way back in both 2014 and 2017 when they hosted "Pokémon" themed league fixtures against Home United at the Jalan Besar Stadium.On both occasions, door gifts were given away too, and "Pokémon" merchandise were available for sale, with a lucky draw being conducted during the half-time interval of the 2017 edition, where fans stood a chance to win prizes such as a camera, soft toys, etc.
| 2017 Albirex Niigata (S) "Pokémon" themed fixture (credit: Playmaker SG) |
According to the club, the idea of having such themed events was their initiative with the motive to develop awareness for the White Swans (Albirex's nickname) using Pokémon to attract more fans to their home matches.
While the targets were achieved on both occasions, the club also shared the challenges in the organising process.
One of which was the licensing of the popular anime series needed to be sought from its IP (Intellectual property) owners, The Pokémon Company in Japan.
| I got this "Pikachu" paper hat in 2017 |
Other hurdles included the cost to bring the Pokémon mascot to Singapore.
Additionally, there were events and marketing campaigns to promote the characters during these themed events, as noted by the Jurong East-based club in response to queries on this platform.
While the possibility of having another Pokémon-themed event at SPL matches may not happen anytime soon, it is hoped that it will happen again one day.