(no subject)
Sports Day was really fun! The stadium was huge and there were SO MANY fans gathering outside even two hours before it started. Everyone tended to gather in their clubs so it was like a patchwork of pink, purple, green, blue, yellow, and black all along the pathway to the stadium.
They got us all in fairly quickly and it was neat to see the sections colored by shirts. It went VIP seating, Senka, Hanagumi, Tsukigumi, regular seating, Yukigumi, Tsukigumi, and then Soragumi. Each section had different cheers and cheering items. (And for some reason Hanagumi had two people dressed up in full on rabbit mascot costumes …)
The show started with Soragumi, who were dressed up as the Ginga characters. They kicklined and pretended to “fire” on the other troupe sections. It was pretty good. Next was Hoshigumi’s. Theirs was funny and upbeat (I think the theme was “We are Yuzuki Reon”). I can’t recall if Tsuki or Senka came next. I think it was Tsuki. They did a “gangster/biker band” thing and Masaki had to ride a fancy bicycle that had a moon on the back. Magee had to ride around on a unicycle with a flag, which was pretty amusing. Theirs was my second favorite performance. Then I think Senka/TMS school went. It was very nice. Obviously not as upbeat but everyone looked very slick and cool. Then Yukigumi did a nihonmono thing where the happy Yukigumi people were attacked by evil samurai representing the other troupes. At the end the evil samurai all decide they want to be cool like Yukigumi too and join them *laughs*. Last was Hanagumi who basically redid Osa’s opening act but with it being like Yakuza der Tod.
After that they all entered as a group and did the opening ceremonies.
The first game was a couple of 75m races. (I can’t remember who won, though I know Soragumi won the first race). This was followed by the big ball game (where people from the troupes have to push the giant ball along with winners from the Sky Stage lottery down the field and back). Next was a game where two siennes and two Sky Stage winners had to “ride” a horse down the field. Do to the size of the horse and that all four had to carry it the trick was to keep in sync and not fall down.
Then was the “Dancing Ball Toss” game. The teams could throw balls trying to get them in the net for a couple of seconds, then music would start playing and they all had to do a coordinated dance routine before running back to the balls. It was pretty funny. I really enjoyed Maa-kun's dance *laughs*
Next up was a jump rope competition where, I think 20 people from each troupe had to jump a rope together. Soragumi won that one ^-^v Kitarou was "leading" the Soragumi jump rope team so I'm very happy for her. She was SO CUTE doing her little jumps with claps. And, whenever Yukigumi would mess up during their turn, she would pretend to be be super relieved *laughs* It was funny.
Then it was the “Halftime” show where each troupe did an inspirational cheer and mini-routine. Yukigumi’s was super cool because they actually got their fans involved! Smart move Yukigumi!
After that was musical chairs, which was won by Tsukigumi. For awhile there it was like a million Hanagumi mususmeyaku to one Hoshigumi, one Yukigumi, and one Tsukigumi person so it definitely looked like they almost had that one! This was followed by an obstacle race that started with nibantes (or whoever is closest for troupes that don’t have one yet), then lead musumeyaku, and then lead otokoyaku. The nibantes had to grab lines from a show, then pass a banner with the show’s name on it to the musumeyaku who had to grab two photos from that show then hand it off to the otokoyaku who had to get a prop or costume from that show then read a line from it. Kaname ended up with Nova Bossa Nova, Chie got Berubara, Mirio got Me and My Girl, Masaki got RomiJuri, Chigi got Phantom, and Tom ended up with Utakata no Koi.
Next was Tug of War. The first match between Hanagumi and Hoshigumi had to be repeated due to the carpet they were standing on bunching up (Hanagumi had won but Hoshigumi challenged it due to the carpet malfunction. The second time they did it (after taping down the carpet) Hoshigumi). Soragumi won next which eventually led to a show down between Soragumi and Hoshigumi, which was pretty impressive. Hoshigumi, however, managed to pull through though! Kitarou was in the front for the Soragumi team and I felt really bad for her losing to Hoshigumi. She was clearly trying her best and they actually held out for a long time.
Finally it was the relay race which was won by Tsukigumi. Hoshigumi had a pretty impressive compeback for second place after a fumble of the baton about halfway through the race which put them pretty far back.
Three and a half hours later it was all done and they did the closing ceremonies. Poor Chie cried so hard she was shaking. It was really sweet. If Soragumi couldn’t win I am glad it was Hoshigumi. They really put their hearts into it (and all the troupes worked very, very hard so it wasn’t an easy win!). Props to Tsukigumi for managing to climb to 2nd! And extra props to Senka/TMS students who actually had a couple of wins by halftime! Everyone was shocked at how well they did! (Also, Natori Rei on taiko during their cheering bit was amazing). Chie won MVP (though I think all the top stars eventually won in some category though I can’t really remember what everything was. Chigi was super excited for her award *laughs*).
Partway through the ending ceremonies Kitarou ended up with the Soragumi flag and just spent the rest of the time amusing herself by waving it. A woman of simple pleasures. *laughs*
All in all it was a lot of fun and I (and all the other fans) enjoyed it immensely. Good job everyone! I look forward to seeing it again in another 10 years!