by Jo Bretherton
After arriving in Japan a mere * years ago, one of the first things that captivated my interest (aside from the concept of "all you can drink" and onigiri - I'm more cultured than that really) was the Japanese Football League. Being from England, it felt natural to latch on to a football team here. The lucky team in Japan to gain my undying loyalty is the Yokohama F. Marinos, who are riding high in J-League at the moment. I hope you realise how lucky Kanagawa JETs are! But what does all this mean? How does J-League work?
Historically ... zzz ... A coach was telling me that only 20 years ago the games were beamed from England - the first half the one week and the second half a WEEK later. (Taking half-time to ridiculous levels if you ask me. Can you imagine waiting a whole week to find out the final score?)
Modern football is believed to have been introduced to Japan in 1873 by Commander Douglas, an English lieutenant with the Royal Navy. In 1929 Japan was admitted to the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). However it wasn't until 1991 that the Japan Professional Football League, popularly known as the J-League, was legally established.
And now ... ??? Within J-League there are only 2 divisions - J1 (highest) and J2 with 16 teams in each. Like most football leagues, both sets of teams have the "opportunity" of advancement or relegation, depending upon their seasonal performance. (Although the football "season" as such doesn't exist in Japan as they tend to compete all year round in two stages.) If the stages are won by two different teams, they have a play-off (Suntory Championship) to decide the overall big cheese. Easypeasy. There are other tournaments going on at the same time, such as Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, Xerox Super Cup, and the oldest competition in Japanese football - the Emperor's Cup (now in it's 83rd year).
Aside from these, of course, is the 2002 World Cup that was held here and in Korea. That's when the nation went totally football crazy, attracting everyone from high school kids with the Beckham bouffant to the obaachans watching football for the first time. It was fantastic, but insane. I was lucky enough to see 3 games at Yokohama International Stadium (with top-rate seating thanks to the aforementioned coach to whom I am eternally grateful!) Whatever perceptions of passivity you may hold of our lovely hosts when it comes to strongly expressing themselves would disappear instantaneously, I assure you, if you saw a Japan football game. The chanting was relentless (although all chants in Japan sound like "C'mon England" to me), and post match, people were jumping in rivers and drinking themselves stupid (I also heard of one guy running naked down a train on the Yokohama Line - and they were worried about the English fans!) Regular J-League games are usually much tamer.
Finally ... if you were wondering what the "F" stands for in Yokohama F. Marinos - it means "Flugels", (from the joining of Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama Flugels in the early '90s). Now I want to know what the hell a flugel is. Answers on a postcard, please.