All tickets for the quarterfinal between Taiwan and the Netherlands were sold out a long time ago. However, the organization's ticket office yesterday morning announced that there were still more than 100 tickets for sale due to some mistakes of its computer system.
The announcement immediately caused a disturbance at the game's venue, the Shinchuan Stadium, as hundreds of baseball fans pushed one another and pressed forward in a mad scramble for the tickets.
Some baseball fans later criticized the computer system, while others complained about facilities at the stadium, which seats only 7,500.
Those lucky enough to get their hands on tickets said that they were extremely excited to see the game in person.
A 21-year-old baseball lover said that he had stood in line since Thursday night in order to claim a good seat. Two female baseball fans said that both of them took a leave of absence from their works to cheer for Taiwan. "Our boss even encouraged us to go after he realized that we were going to the game," they added.
It's Not Our Party
One team that received an invitation to the tournament did not show up -- China. As the fourth-ranked team in Asia, China had the right to participate in the tournament.
Any team has the right to decline an invitation to a competition, and though China was invited to the Baseball World Cup, it declined to come.
In China's place, the Philippines was invited, said Miquel Ortin, the executive director of the International Baseball Federation.
China also boycotted the Asian Baseball Championships held earlier this year in Taiwan, even though the cross-strait rival has sent club teams to the country this year to compete in exhibition contests.
China's absence has been a blessing in disguise for Taiwan.
Without China insisting on strict adherence to standards for the hosting of events by "Chinese Taipei," Taiwan continues to fly the ROC flag at stadiums. And both President Chen Shui-bian (
Such was not the case in 1997 when China sent a national team to the Asian Baseball Championships, the first time any PRC national team competed on Taiwan soil. The PRC flag was hoisted over the old Taipei Stadium, the ROC flag was put in a closet, and former minister of education Wu Chin (
Not to say that China would have done poorly at the tournament. Three years ago at the World Cup in Italy, China finished 12th, one spot better than Taiwan.
Apathetic Americans
Apparently the recent rush of patriotic fervor in the US has not found its way to expatriate Americans living in Taipei.
The turnout of Americans to support their team in yesterday's afternoon game against Panama was disappointing small, well below the numbers that the Dutch, Canadian, Australian and Japanese communities made for games earlier in the tournament at Tienmu Stadium.
While the nearby Taipei American School did not get kids to the game, Team USA did have about 150 young students sitting behind their dugout cheering on Team USA.
Fulin Elementary School in Shilin made the game a field trip for the group of fifth graders, whose members include Taiwan's champion junior team. Why did the school decided to sit on the US side instead of the Panamanian?
"Because we wanted to support the US, said a Ms. Chen, a mother of one of the students who accompanied the group to the game. "We see the Major League games on television all the time and we wanted to see the Americans play."
US manager Terry Francona said the empty stands didn't bother him. ``I didn't look. I just cared about how we played.''
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