rslcontracting Chapter 465: It's Coming
Chapter 465: It's Coming
The next morning, the Seido High School Baseball Team players were not idle.
They warmed up and ran through their tactics. Then, about an hour before the game, they boarded the bus and headed to Hachioji Stadium.
Accompanying them was Nitta, a reporter from Tokyo Television.
Tokyo Television's program had already aired two episodes, and the response had been reasonable. But the overall viewership had always been a little short of what they wanted.
The production team discussed it and eventually concluded that a baseball program couldn't be made this way.
Tedious training was an essential part of a player's life, but not many viewers wanted to watch it.
If they wanted viewers to stay engaged, they needed to show games.
But Coach Kataoka would never agree to that kind of request.
For Kataoka and the Seido High School Baseball Team, time was extremely tight. Roughly three months remained until the Summer Tournament.
Every moment was being used to prepare. There was no room for appearances made purely for a television program.
Besides, compared to the exposure Tokyo Television could offer now, the recognition they would gain after achieving results at Koshien would be far greater.
Everyone in the Seido High School Baseball Team, from Coach Kataoka down to the players, was confident they were going to Koshien.
After weighing the options against the actual situation, one of the production team's planners suggested: "Why don't we just broadcast the games live?"
When they first heard this, most of the team dismissed it. If the station simply wanted to broadcast Tokyo Spring Tournament games, why go to all this trouble?
Making variety content required real effort. Planning, writing, editing, music. All of that work went into creating something that could hold an audience.
Now they were being asked to abandon all of it and just point cameras at a field.
Was this still a variety program, or had it become a straight sports broadcast?
But the planner was earnest about it.
"People who like baseball would rather watch games than watch players practice, wouldn't they? It's not about making the whole thing a match broadcast. We just adjust the balance. Less training footage, more game footage."
After hearing him out, while a few people still had doubts, most found the idea sound.
The idea eventually reached Nitta.
"Let's do it."
Nitta decided on the spot, then put it to his immediate superior, who gave full support.
The live broadcast was confirmed.
The first game they would air was Seido High School Baseball Team versus Yakushi High School Baseball Team.
This game had everything they needed.
Nitta also had a personal reason behind the decision. If this episode performed well, it would give them justification to broadcast all of the Seido High School Baseball Team's games going forward.
Seido had a strong reputation in Tokyo and some recognition nationwide. Several of their star players had built genuine followings.
Broadcasting their games wouldn't guarantee a massive hit, but it would at least secure a solid audience.
And beyond strategy, Nitta had become a genuine Seido fan.
He wanted to keep the benefits close to home.
For professional and personal reasons alike, the Seido High School Baseball Team was the obvious choice.
When the bus arrived at the stadium, a crowd of reporters immediately descended. It wasn't just Tokyo Television. Media outlets and magazines had sent their strongest people specifically for this game.
Nitta felt a quiet satisfaction watching them.
He could guess what they were hoping for.
But they were going to be disappointed. Nothing they could produce would compete with a live broadcast.
Tokyo Television wasn't doing a delayed broadcast this time. The game would go out live, and every fan who wanted to follow the result would get it through the broadcast as it happened.
Nitta was pleased. Manager Ota of the Seido High School Baseball Team was less so.
"Everyone is going to see this game."
With such a strong opponent, Seido would inevitably reveal their true capabilities.
Under normal circumstances, only a handful of teams in Tokyo would have been able to gather detailed information about the game.
Now, with a live broadcast, anyone who wanted information about the Seido High School Baseball Team would have access to it.
"Since we made it to the Koshien quarterfinals last summer, we stopped being able to play the role of a dark horse," Coach Kataoka said.
Before last summer, some opponents had come into games against Seido with a degree of carelessness. Despite being a powerhouse, several years of underwhelming results had inevitably led to some underestimation.
Now they had star players and a recent Koshien quarterfinal run. No opponent would approach them carelessly anymore.
Every team would gather as much information as possible and prepare countermeasures.
In that environment, hiding their strength was probably less useful than displaying it openly.
If an opponent built a targeted strategy and Seido's real level exceeded what they had prepared for, that could work in Seido's favor.
Fifteen minutes before the game.
The Seido High School Baseball Team, having changed, pushed open the dugout door.
As they walked past the bullpen and onto the field, a thunderous cheer broke out immediately.
"Seido! Seido!!"
"Seido! Seido!!!"
Second and third team players, loyal supporters who had come specifically to cheer, fans of the team's style, fans of individual players, and casual spectators.
At least seven or eight thousand people had come to support the Seido High School Baseball Team today.
Hachioji Stadium was essentially full. Only the outfield stands still had a few empty seats.
Beyond the Seido supporters, several thousand neutral fans had also been drawn in by the matchup.
A Koshien quarterfinalist against a team that had just eliminated the reigning National Champions.
Two of the most talked-about teams in all of Tokyo.
A game like this was always going to draw people.
"So many people."
In the Yakushi High School Baseball Team's dugout, the players kept looking around, taking it in.
It wasn't their first time at Hachioji Stadium, but a game this alive was a first for all of them.
Yakushi, without any Koshien experience, was visibly affected by the atmosphere.
The Seido players were less so. They had played in front of tens of thousands at Koshien. Today felt significant, but it was within the range of what they had already seen.
Before the game began, both teams went over their tactics separately.
Todoroki Raizo kept reminding his players to think about all their hard work in training, and then, once on the field, to set all of that aside.
"You lot, just enjoy the game."
Happy baseball.
On the surface at least, that was what Todoroki Raizo stood for.
On the Seido side, Coach Kataoka had already given all the necessary instructions.
The rest would come down to how the players executed.
Just as the players were about to take the field, Kataoka turned to Yuuki.
"Let's do it once."
Yuuki was surprised.
They shouted before every game. But today, they had already done it at school before departing.
He had assumed that was enough for the day.
But Coach Kataoka was asking him to do it again now, here in front of the crowd filling the stadium.
"Yes, sir."
Yuuki nodded.
He gathered the players, and the twenty First String members formed a large circle.
The fans in the stands immediately stirred.
For more than half of those present, this was something they had only seen on television.
This was the first time in person.
"It's coming!"
"It's coming!!"
The Yakushi players also turned to watch.
A quiet fell over their dugout without anyone saying a word.
"Who are we?"
"Seido!!"
"Who sheds more tears than anyone else?"
"Seido!!!"
"Who sweats more than anyone else?"
"Seido!!!"
"Are you ready?"
"Awooo!"
"Bearing pride in our hearts, we have only one goal. The National Championship. Let's go!!"
"Awooo!"
The roar of the Seido High School Baseball Team echoed across the entire stadium.
In the stands, thousands of fans roared back.
From the very first moment, the Seido High School Baseball Team had delivered a clear message to the Yakushi High School Baseball Team.
"The Tokyo Spring Tournament, Quarterfinals Game 4, between the Seido High School Baseball Team and the Yakushi High School Baseball Team. Play ball!"
"Please guide us!"
"Please guide us!!"
After the two teams exchanged bows, the Seido High School Baseball Team took their positions on defense.
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