Book review

Abstract

Too few academics study sports. As I know from my own experience of writing an undergraduate dissertation about the creation of the J.League and the plans to host the 2002 World Cup in Japan, many are happy to deride sports as not a serious subject, and that is part of the reason why I have yet to return to doing much work in this area. Yet, as Kelly (p.1) notes, ‘sports are far more than fun and games’. Kelly’s study, therefore, is a very welcome addition to the field. The first thing to consider in relation to the book, is who is it for? Is it for academics (and if so, which discipline)? Is it for sports fans? Is it specifically for Hanshin Tigers fans? Of course, these three readerships (and there may be others) are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, as an academic who likes a variety of sports and who has been supporting Hanshin Tigers for nearly 30 years, the book particularly appealed to me. I have been looking forward to its publication since I was aware of its development, having heard Kelly give a presentation at Oxford Brookes back in 2011. It’s been a long wait and the issue of timing is one of the issues that any reader needs to be aware of when reaching for this book. Even when Kelly gave that paper, some 8 years had passed since he had completed the last of eight main fieldwork trips to Japan, having started the work in 1996. Does this mean that the book is out of date, therefore? I would say most certainly not – so long as you approach it in the right frame of mind. After all, the reality is that many academic studies can become dated in some form soon after publication, regardless of when fieldwork has been done. But most will have lessons for readers, even if there have been some significant changes (as applies in this study, which Kelly addresses in the final chapter which based on additional research done in the years since 2003). During much of the time that Kelly conducted his fieldwork, and most of the years prior to that, Hanshin Tigers were not a successful team. In fact, they often finished bottom of the League. Kelly admits (p.21) that when he began his research he was ‘fixated on and somewhat blinded by this apparent thematic of failure’. But, Kelly, through his fieldwork, came to appreciate that Hanshin Tigers is more than a matter of performance in the Central League standings. Given how many times Kelly presses home the poor performance of the Tigers over the decades, I find it somewhat ironic that in years I have been supporting them, the Tigers have been the most successful of the three professional sports teams I support (Cincinnati Bengals have only been to one Super Bowl, which they lost, and