Chapter 244 – Chapter 242. A Guide for Fans Traveling Through the Dark Ages. (One)

If the club they support is going through a dark period, what fun will fans have to watch the game?

If you ask such a question, most fans will say this.

“It’s fun for promising players to grow up.”

In particular, in sports leagues that introduced a draft system, such as the KBA league, as the dark period continues, higher draft numbers are received and high-quality prospects are gathered in the team. It could be said that it was the desire of the fans who supported the club in such a dark age to see famous players from the amateur days gather in one team and see the potential of the players burst and win the playoffs and eventually win.

Of course, watching and enjoying the growth of promising players was not the privilege of only weak teams, but unlike fans of strong teams who could find fun by winning games, it was all the more so because fans of lower-tier teams had only the growth of promising players.

That is why fans who endured the dark ages always had in their hearts the phenomenon of simultaneous growth and explosion of promising stars, also known as the ‘Golden Generation’ or ‘Golden Generation’.

Although the players of this golden generation are not of the same age, it could be said to be an eternal romance of sports fans in that such players debuted on the team, spent their rookie lives, enjoyed the same team spirit, and had their heydays overlap.

In addition, since such cases were common in each sports club, the hearts of fans who hoped for the golden generation were not vain.

Looking at the case of other sports, Manchester United in the 90s succeeded in achieving the feat of treble based on the so-called ‘Class of 92’, led by superstars Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, and the youth of the club called ‘Fergie’s Children’ did.

Barcelona, ​​which led the football trend in the 2010s, also actively appointed talented club youths such as Messi, Pique, Busquets, and Fabregas, centering on veterans such as Puyol, Xavi, and Iniesta, who were from the club’s youth, and made their names in the history of football. Left

It was no different than basketball. The Chicago Bulls, which was called the best team of all time, also commanded the NBA in the 90s, centered on Jordan and Grant, who were from the club, and Pippen, a rookie who was no different from the club. Thompson, Green, aka ‘Cutamg’, thanks to the performance of the three people, commanded the league.

In addition, although the case is different from the golden generation described above, a promising prospect who had no choice but to leave the team in tears for a team with difficult financial circumstances became the best player and tasted the championship, but could not fill the void in his heart and returned to his original team to lead the team. The case of LeBron, who led to the championship, was enough to touch the hearts of many fans.

It was fans’ pleasure to imagine such a stark bone prospect leading their team to victory, and it was every fan’s dream for such prospects to dominate the league at the same time in their prime.

Fans have always hoped that a prospect from a club who shares the same history, shares the same pain, shares the same joy, and perfectly understands the spirit of the team will become a player who commands the league, and the prospects burst out simultaneously and the team It was only natural that it would be difficult to imagine the catharsis felt by the fans cheering for that team if they led the team to victory.

Then how about baseball? The history of making fans’ hearts hot by conquering the league was the same in baseball.

One of them was the powerful batting line of the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s, which was called the “Big Red Machine” In the major leagues. Great hitters such as Bench, Rhodes, Pérez, Concepcion, Foster, and Griffey seniors who debuted in Cincinnati led Cincinnati’s golden era by winning six district championships, four league championships, and two World Series championships.

In addition, the New York Yankees, which is called the Empire of Evil and won the most championships in the major leagues, also laid the foundation for the team through the growth of these youth. The team’s legends, Gehrig and DiMaggio. Vera and Mantle were the stars who made their debut in the Yankees, and the key players called the ‘Core 4’, including Williams, Jeter, Petit, Posada, and Rivera, who ended the long dark period of the Yankees, were also a romantic team made up of prospects who debuted at the club. It was a collection

However, this kind of romance that everyone who watches sports dreams of was gradually disappearing in front of the logic of the market. Teams that have acquired good prospects are in a hurry to run their clubs by selling them, and it is a common trend in the sports world these days that prospects who have reached the ranks of good players chase after the team for money.

In particular, in the case of leagues with payrolls (a system that prevents players from exceeding a certain amount by summing up the total annual salaries received by sports clubs), the best players deliberately pay cuts (receiving less than they are entitled to) through There were often vicious acts contrary to the romance of the sports world that creates a super team.

Of course, even if a player leaves his or her team for money or for a championship, words like ‘A little child whispered in my heart’, ‘I’m taking my talent to South Beach’, ‘If you can’t win, join me. It was a trend in the modern professional sports world that fans had no choice but to understand the players, unless they were doing vicious interviews that turned the insides of the cheering fans upside down.

In the sports world, the unit of capital was growing day by day, and from as little as hundreds of millions to as many as hundreds of billions were at stake in one such contract, and the impact of a winning career line on players was enormous, so the players could not be blamed.

However, unlike the trend of the sports world, the romantic league still existed.

It was the KBA League, the Korean professional baseball league. Most of the KBA leagues were operated for the fun of owners or to give back to society, so unlike other leagues that follow the flow of capital, romance remained.

A league that trades a promising player whose happy hour is running out to another club to make money, the club’s bus burns down, and the front desk who led the trade is likely to be stoned by fans. In the KBA league, a romantic league in which franchise stars give up more than 1 billion won and stay with their parents’ team, until relatively recently, simultaneous explosions of prospects dreamed of by fans used to dominate the league.

In the case of Hancheol Grizzlies, who succeeded in advancing to the Korean Series for 5 consecutive years from 2015 to 2019, the main focus was the explosion of promising players such as Si-Hwon Ahn, Lee Yong-Ki, Kim In-Ho, Park Joong-Ki, Kim Hyun-Sik, Jung Tae-Hwan, starting with Ki Sang-Joo, a franchise star from the club. UG Overlords, who had not missed first or second place in the league for several years, was also driven by the explosion of pitching prospects from the club.

And another club dreaming of such romance existed in the current KBA league.

Excluding the miraculous 5th place in 2018, it was the Volcano Falcons, which have been tossing and turning in the lower ranks in recent years. There is a joke that the national No. 1 goes to Seoul National University and the No. 1 in baseball goes to the Volcano Falcons. The Volcano Falcons have been supplying and receiving many promising players in the battle for last place that has lasted for several years. It was exploding.

Finisher Shin Su-ho, who made most of the saves in the few games where the team won, and exceeded 20 saves, and one-two punch Chae Jae-hyun and Kim Min-joon, who combined for 20 wins in a difficult team situation. And even first baseman Choi Si-woo, who announced the birth of the Geopo by already hitting 25 home runs.

In particular, starting pitcher Chae Jae-hyeon was the player who raised the expectations of Hwasan fans to the limit, winning all five games he pitched in August and being named MVP in August, beating Ji Maeng-ho, who was short of games due to disciplinary action.

These four players were expecting not only volcano fans but also league officials. For the Asian Games held in 2023, even though there is a principle of selecting up to three players per team, all four players were selected for the Asian Games.

Naturally, the club’s rookie players who were selected for the national team became the pride of volcano fans.

In a gloomy situation where if you win one game out of the 6 games played in a week, it is an ordinary week, and if you win two games, you are happy. In the midst of this, since their favorite promising players were selected for the national team, the pride and joy that volcano fans felt was considerable.

“Hey, if you really select mercenaries next year, you’ll be able to work?”

“Honestly, we don’t have the strength to be in last place, but both the pitcher and the mercenary will leave. If we really support the mercenaries next year, we can go to the playoffs.”

And to watch the growth of such promising players, many fans gathered at Daejeon Stadium where the match against AT was held. Hwasan’s fans gathered before the game to watch their lovable youngsters train, and smiles that they couldn’t hide were on their faces.

“Siwoo! Fighting in Gyeonggi-do today!”

However, the smiles of the fans disappeared when a player came out of the opponent’s dugout with a glove.

“Oh, it’s Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Ah, that bitch. I hate to see you.”

Records bombing the league, clearing the bench like a real man, and a ceremony never seen before in the baseball world. And even an interview that makes the fa and kka go crazy. There were many baseball fans who liked Ji Maeng-ho, the hottest superstar in the current league, but few fans of the volcano liked Ji Maeng-ho. The incident in which Maeng-Ho Ji broke the leg of second baseman Lee Won-Hyung and did not apologize properly still remains in the memories of Hwasan fans, and it is all the more so because the team that seemed hopeful has sunk after Won-Hyung Lee’s injury.

“Ha, the AT bastards are lucky enough to pick Ji Maeng-ho and do well.”

“Honestly, there’s nothing special about AT unless it’s Ji Maeng-ho, damn it.”

“Admit. Is that kid not hurt?”

“Anyway, since today’s selection is Jaehyun, that bastard won’t be able to use much strength. Ji Maeng-ho was originally dedicated to Western education. Not for Jaehyun. Jaehyun! Let’s destroy Ji Maeng-ho!”

“AT is fucking shit anyway! Gaza!”

So, the fans of Hwasan began to send rough cheers to the romantics who make them laugh these days, wishing them victory in today’s game.

*

‘Is the weather nice today?’

It was September, so the heat had gone and the cool breeze was blowing. While playing catch while feeling the autumn wind, somehow Rossby quickly finished watching her girl and came to her side.

‘Mr. Rossby, why are you back so early? Was she a pretty girl?’

‘No, today is a bad day.’

‘But why is your expression smiling?’

‘The stadium is filled with sounds cursing you, so I can’t help but feel good. Hehe.’

Ha ha, this little boy. Are you saying that you had sex with Soyoung over the weekend? No matter how many days I haven’t felt the mood to have sex, I can’t believe I’m laughing when I hear my student swearing at me. Certainly, Rossby had a idioty side to him.

‘Well, what can I do? I have to understand But, those bastards were swearing at me?’

I looked up and saw where the volcano fans were sitting. Of course, it’s the fans’ right to curse at their opponents. I could fully understand.

‘Do these bastards dare to curse at me?’

… But I couldn’t stand cursing at me.

‘Okay, I’ll make you look good today. Motherfuckers.’

I was determined to fight while watching the first base where the fans of Hwasan were sitting.