Fans celebrate bronze medal as if it were gold

For the country's sports fans, Taiwan's bronze medal in the 34th Baseball World Cup was an almost perfect ending to the 13-day tournament.

Cuba trounced the US in the final game yesterday to win the championship for the seventh time in a row, while Taiwan regained its position as one of the top three baseball powers, a position it last held in 1988.

During the closing ceremony, International Baseball Federation (IBAF) President Aldo Notari praised Taiwan for hosting a successful tournament and thanked the fans for their support.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) congratulated the Taiwan team, saying it had "lived up to the nation's expectations and brought glory and joy to all people in the nation."

Chang also expressed his willingness for future federation games to be held in Taiwan.

Also present at the closing ceremony, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said: "We are No. 1 in Asia. Though we did not win the championship, we did win the hearts and enthusiasm of baseball fans."

Thanking the fans for their support, Ma also promised to start the construction of the Taipei Sports Dome (巨蛋體育場) soon, to accommodate more fans and baseball tournaments.

In the playoff for the bronze medal yesterday in Tienmu, Taiwan edged its old rival Japan 3-0. Left-fielder Chen Ching-fong (陳金鋒) batted in all the runs with two home runs.

More than 10,000 fans, mostly supporting Taiwan, chanted and waved flags throughout the game. At the end of the game, fans threw out thousands of blue stringers on to the field to celebrate the victory. The celebrations were even more passionate than for Taiwan's previous seven wins in the tournament.

"Such strong and moving support from local fans has been the most important factor leading to our victory," Taiwan's head coach Lin Hua-wei (林華韋) said yesterday.

After the game, thousands of fans took to the street to cheer the Taiwan team as the team bus travelled along Chungcheng Road. Amid the flag-waving, some Tienmu residents set off firecrackers along the road to welcome the victorious team.

"Since Taiwan won the silver metal in the 1992 Olympic Games, Taiwan has done badly in international baseball games, going downhill in a rather sad manner," said famous sports commentator Tseng Wen-cheng (曾文誠).

"It has been a long time since we saw such a moving scene with so many fans welcoming the return of our baseball players, whom we regard as national heroes," Tseng added.

The public were not the only ones to get caught up in the excitement. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has also become a baseball fan during the 13 days of the tournament.

Though the upcoming legislative election will have a decisive influence on Taiwan's future, the media, the public and even politicians who have spent all their energy trading barbs over the past year, have expressed their support for the national team.

The president, while campaigning for DPP candidates around the country over the past few weeks, told his aides to keep him abreast of the latest information about the games.

"On Friday night, the president was on the road to Hualien County when Taiwan was edging ahead of the Netherlands 2-0," a Presidential Office aide told reporters. "He ordered aides to update him on the situation via mobile phone.

"After receiving news of Tai-wan's victory," the aide added, "he congratulated the team's head coach by mobile phone, then proudly entered the rally to announce the victory."