Sloppy Sumo
Have you ever visited a patch of woods a few months after a forest fire? You see little clusters of healthy trees surrounded by wide swaths of empty field. That, folks, is what the audience at the ongoing Fukuoka sumo tournament has looked like: sprawling vistas of dead, empty seats.
The folks staying away haven’t missed much in the way of quality bouts. Yesterday, Day 4, featured:
- a blatant surrender by Yamatoyama, who basically walked out of the ring under his own volition when he found himself pinned by Mokonami.
- a hansoku (violation) loss by Toyonoshima for pulling on Tochinoshin’s hair. (There was another one on Day 5, this time by Aran).
- Chiyotaikai taking the gyoji (referee) down with him when he was shoved into the front row by Goeido.
- Harumafuji taking a cheapshot against Kakuryu, applying an extra shoulder butt outside the ring, several seconds after the match was over.
Then again, who am I to complain? So far in fantasy sumo my record is 1-4, and I’ve been losing with very little in the way of style. Unlike Chiyotaikai, I at least haven’t sent anyone to the hospital. Yet.
