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The story
A thread on 5ch’s “Morning Coffee” board (a Hello! Project fan board) went viral over the observation that many Hello! Project members are fans of Pacific League baseball teams. While some Central League fans were named too — like Tamenaga (Hanshin Tigers) or Dambara and Hiromoto (Hiroshima Carp) — commenters singled out die-hard fans of several other teams, such as Otsubo (Yokohama) and Hattori (Chunichi), citing the newer stadiums and different overall image as reasons. Someone also pointed out that there don’t seem to be any Yakult Swallows fans at all, and the discussion expanded into how fandom varies from team to team.
What people said
but two Lotte fans is the real outlier here
Wait, isn't Risachi only into high school baseball?
Otsubo from BEYOOOOONDS is a hardcore BayStars otaku
Hattori, a trainee who hasn't debuted yet, is a hardcore Dragons otaku
Maybe there's nothing left but bandwagon fans like Take-chan
Take-chan < now that a die-hard fan like Marii-chan has joined, the bandwagon types have to keep a low profile
and that Dambara and Hiromoto are Hiroshima fans
Yakult's still sitting at zero too, isn't it
Not really that much
There are old photos of her watching a Hanshin game, but it's more like she just mentions it on her blog with a "congrats" whenever they win the pennant
Hanshin Tigers fan (*￣∇￣)ノ
There's someone super hardcore in the M-Line
like talking about how to enjoy Belluna Dome or singing the players' walk-up songs
It's less "being an otaku" and more that the team's performance directly affected her family's income
I thought Hirayama was a Yakult fan, but guess not
[Feeling Pumped] Yuki Hirayama
https://ameblo.jp/angerme-new/entry-12719286223.html
Q: Any Yakult recommendations? (food & drink)
A: There's a yogurt called "Cup de Yakult" that's incredibly delicious — I always have my mom bring some home for me! I think buying it from a Yakult Lady (a door-to-door Yakult saleswoman) is the quickest way to get it. You don't see it in stores much, but it's not like nowhere sells it!
Oh, and by the way, I don't really know much about the baseball side of things… What I really want everyone to know about is the Yakult food & drink side 😂👍
Chono really is a man of his word, huh
Being a bandwagon fan is totally fine though
I want the members to experience the atmosphere of the ballpark
Hello! Project has a lot of older guy (オヤジ) fans, so the affinity should be pretty high
Also, even the ones who call themselves die-hard Maria fans probably don't even know the rules that well
The only one I know of is Sayaka Isoyama
A lot of its stadiums are smelly and run-down too
The Pacific League feels more modern and its stadiums are all clean, so it's easier for girls to get into
Even Hiroshima, which used to have a fresh, new image, screwed it up too
Hiroshima: Hiromoto
Yokohama: Otsubo
Yakult:
Chunichi:
Yomiuri (Giants):
Chunichi's got the trainee Hattori
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
“Morning Coffee” is a fan board for Hello! Project (an idol group umbrella that includes Morning Musume ‘. and several other units), and the names that came up in the thread — Tamenaga, Dambara, Hiromoto, Rikako, and Koseki — refer to members and trainees from its various units. In recent years Pacific League home stadiums (such as Belluna Dome and PayPay Dome) have gone through renovations, and the idea that they’re newer and cleaner than the Central League’s more traditional ballparks is a theory often floated among baseball fans, with this thread being just the latest iteration of it. At the same time, some pointed out that Yakult Swallows fans seem to be entirely absent, while others suggested that fandom can be shaped by which team a person’s parents supported, leaving it an open question whether this is simply individual taste or a generational trend driven by stadium image. It’s worth noting, though, that this is all based on impressions and anecdotes gathered from an anonymous message board, not an official tally from the idols’ talent agency.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Why are Hello! Project members all Pacific League baseball otaku?“
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