Rain or shine, win or lose, Japan displays some of the best sportsmanship in the world.
After the country gained worldwide attention for its excellent sportsmanship by fans after Japan’s loss in the World Cup, a high school baseball teams proves that this sense of responsibility runs deep.
After a tough loss in a game that would’ve earned them a spot to compete in the Koshien—Japan’s National Championship for high school baseball, pouting was not an option.
Instead, the boys of Noshiro Shoyo High School from Akita Prefecture lined up outside of the stadium to thank fans for their support as they left.
The loss was tough, but the heavy thunderstorms yesterday would’ve been reason enough to go home and call it a day. However, the boys stood and bowed their heads to cars lined up in traffic during a downpour that caused an hour’s worth of waiting.
Although most were grateful for the positive sportsmanship, Kotaku reports criticism from people on Japan’s blog site, 2ch, saying the act was unnecessary and could’ve caused illness by forcing the kids to stand out in the rain.
Either way, it takes a tremendous amount of discipline and goodwill to do what these boys did:
Twitter user @Pii_nobu
Twitter user @03ailove27
What do you think of the coaching staff? Did they enforce a harsh punishment or a good act of sportsmanship?
–Sami Kawahara
Main image: Twitter user @baseball319_t
