Tue, Nov 20, 2001 page16

• Taiwan pays price for success

  LOOKING BACK There were a lot of positive points coming from the Baseball World Cup, but equally lessons in holding a major competition were learned

  • By Jeffrey Wilson / CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
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  After 13 days, 68 games and millions of dollars spent fixing up stadiums and hosting the teams, it's all over.

  Was it worth it?

  

  Shu Ming-chien of Taiwan raises the third-place trophy at the closing ceremony of the Baseball World Cup in Taipei on Sunday.

  PHOTO: AFP

  The tournament was a success on the field for Taiwan, with the home team winning the bronze medal and showing that it can compete on a high level in a major international sport.

  Particularly satisfying from Taiwan's point of view was beating Asian rivals South Korea and Japan, both of whom sent strong teams to Taiwan loaded with players from their professional leagues.

  Most importantly, the tournament will likely reignite Taiwan's passion for the sport, which was hurt by poor international results and a 1997 game-fixing scandal.

  Fans also came back to the stadiums and the television sets, watching Taiwan play in record numbers.

  Young fans

  More importantly, a new generation of fans may have been born. A glance at the stands showed that many younger fans and women filled the seats.

  Also, confirmation that baseball in Taiwan is in good shape should help the country's two professional leagues recapture the hearts of fans.

  Still all was not rosy. Except for Taiwan games and when Japan played Cuba, attendance was very poor. City fathers (and mothers) basked in the political glow of welcoming the foreign teams, but then left them in empty stadiums.

  For those few games that were sold out, ticketing was a mess.

  There was no system to reserve seats and fans were forced to first purchase vouchers, exchange the vouchers for tickets at the stadium and then line up early at the stadiums to get seats.

  Without specific reserved seats, many of the fans were left standing or sitting on concession stands because people with passes ended up taking the seats.

  Stadium security was also lacking. The legions of uniformed police appeared to be more interested in watching the games than keeping the aisles clear.

  The decision to open the gates late for the games was highly questionable, as fans crammed walkways and hung from railings.

  The fire marshals must have been watching the game with consternation.

  The crush of fans was due in no small part to Tienmu Stadium being too small to host a major international competition.

  That the only stadium in the capital city for the "national sport" was built with only 6,000 permanent seats reveals a serious lack of planning.

  The lack of an adequate facility also does not bode well for Taiwan's repeated (and always unsuccessful) efforts to land a major regional international competition, such as the Asian Games.

  The event may have looked "international" to the domestic audience, how much bang Taiwan got for its bucks is questionable.

  While the event did provide President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) with the opportunity to address an international audience, coverage of the tournament overseas was just a blip on the radar screen -- with the possible exception of Japan, South Korea and Cuba.

  A cricket match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies drew more attention on CNN Worldsport than the Baseball World Cup.

  Part of the problem was the lack of a professional public relations effort to promote the tournament overseas.

  Admittedly, part of this problem rests at the feet of the International Baseball Federation -- located in the baseball wastelands of Switzerland -- whose official tournament Web site crashed for much of the competition.

  Top teams and players?

  The Baseball World Cup, did not, as the Tienmu Stadium scoreboard proclaimed at the closing ceremonies, "welcome the finest players from all over the world."

  True, Taiwan fielded the best team possible and Cuba had its best players available.

  But the other teams were not true national teams with the best talent available because Major League Baseball, the players' union in the US and the IBAF have yet to work out details to allow Major League players to participate.

  The problems preventing their participation in a true World Cup, however, are not insurmountable.

  "Dream Teams" of top soccer, ice hockey, and basketball professionals are allowed to compete in their respective world championships. After all, it's only fair to the international players and the fans.

  Such a change would allow Chen Ching-fong (陳金鋒) to play for Taiwan if he is called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

  On the downside, if these changes do take place then it could well be the case that Taiwan would not be given the chance to hold such a competition.

  Taiwan simply does not have the facilities or the organization to host such an event if the major leaguers joined the game.
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