‘The Ascending Tigers’, ‘The Ascending Bombers’메이저사이트…
Whenever a Tigers player appears in the KBO, the name ‘Mt. Musan’ is always mentioned. The symbolism of the name Mudongsan, which proudly protects Gwangju, the center of Honam, is great. Known as “Mother Mountain” by the people of Gwangju, the mountain is an integral part of the KIA Tigers.
The name ‘Tigers’ is also inseparable from the city of Gwangju, just like Mudongsan. The team was founded in 1982 with the catchphrase, “Let’s instill Honamese pride through baseball”. The Tigers, the pride of Honam, have been both awe-inspiring and terrifying to baseball fans across the country, as the unstoppable team that won all 11 Korean Series from 1983, the second year of professional baseball, to 2017. This history continues to live on after the team changed its name from Haetae to KIA.
The 2023 KBO League game between the KIA Tigers and the Kiwoom Heroes was held at the Gwangju KIA Champions Field on July 17. Major General Yoon Ji-ho and Director Shim Jae-hak pose for a commemorative photo on the occasion of Musan Mountain Day. Gwangju=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.08.17/
On the 17th, Musan and the Tigers promised a healthy partnership at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju. Kia, which signed a business agreement with Mt. Asan National Park in April, held a ‘Mt. Asan Day’ event to invite officials. The company also signed a donation agreement with Kim Do-young (20) and Yoon Young-chul (19), the future pillars of Two-Ta, to raise funds to protect the mountains.
Baseball, which was launched with the catchphrase “Dreams and hopes for children,” is now well into middle age, over 40 years old. Each team grew up with a distinctive color and a lot of local love, and it has become the representative sport of Korea with 8 million spectators. However, while professional baseball has become a huge industry, the teams’ unique colors and sense of community have faded.
Cheering culture has become the code of the ballpark, but the love for a team that is not like ‘me’ is bound to wane, and it is becoming a factor that makes it difficult to step into the ballpark. The question mark over the future of professional baseball is whether it will remain as popular as it is today. That’s why teams are working to strengthen their local communities and take steps to keep up.
The 2023 KBO League game between the KIA Tigers and Kiwoom Heroes was held at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on July 17. Na Sung-bum, Chairman Song Hyung-geun, Director Yoon Ji-ho, and Director Shim Jae-hak pose for a commemorative photo on the occasion of Musungsan Day. Gwangju=Park Jae-man 기자pjm@sportschosun.com/2023.08.17/
Teams with a long and storied tradition and history often create a spectacular picture when they engage with the local community. The Lotte Giants, who have been protecting Busan since the beginning of the KBO, have become one of the league’s specialties, with their camellia-colored uniforms dyeing the entire stadium red every year. The Tigers, who boast an unrivaled history and are the most decorated team in baseball, could make an even better picture.
Gwangju-Honam’s pride, Myeongsan Mountain, and the Tigers, Gwangju-Honam’s national team. It was a short meeting of 15 minutes, but it had a lot of meaning.