At Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi, a booth is set up through syncSPORTS by Rakuten to make the games more enjoyable.A quiz booth based on the contents of the article and a message board to convey feelings to the players were set up.The event was so successful that the gift lottery ended earlier than planned!Furthermore, the message board reached the players, allowing them to express their gratitude to the fans.

On the clear day of September 28th, Masahiro Tanaka had his first appearance of the season with the Rakuten Eagles.The stadium was bustling with many fans who had come to cheer on their team.

In the syncSPORTS by Rakuten booth, they carried out a project called “Athlete Quiz”.This is a feature where we present a quiz by selecting comments from the articles we have published and presenting them in a fill-in-the-blank format.Receive the question from the giant capsule toy inside the booth and have it answered.The correct answerers could participate in a lottery where they could win prizes, which was an added benefit, and many fans flocked to it.

This project was realized from the desire to create a place where people can feel in sync with athletes, expanding on the concept of “sync=empathy, agreement” by syncSPORTS by Rakuten.This booth is also a result of having introduced over 100 articles so far.Perhaps it has become an opportunity to witness the thoughts of many athletes.

Furthermore, an athlete message board is provided with the aim of synchronizing athletes and fans.This involves delivering a message board signed by fans to the players. Fans who happily write ‘It’s delightful when our cheers reach the players,’ and ‘It’s fun to feel a sense of unity when we get hyped up together with the players!’. The stadium was filled with fans who would enthusiastically talk about the true essence of cheering at the stadium.

Furthermore, various restrictions were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but now that those restrictions have been lifted, we can once again appreciate the joy.The jet balloons that are launched before the 7th inning and at the end of the game, were finally permitted this year.I’ve heard from fans saying, “When balloons are launched, I feel the entire stadium is united.” The joy that can only be experienced in this place is precisely why people keep coming back, they say.

The message board was delivered to the Rakuten Eagles players at a later date.The warmth unique to handwritten notes must have been etched into their hearts in a way different from cheers.We were able to get comments from  Seiryu Uchi,  Yukiya Ito, and Hikaru Ohta.

Seiryu Uchi: “When I see the support messages in writing like this, I realize once again how many people are actually rooting for me.This fall and winter, I will work hard and prepare thoroughly so that I can perform in front of everyone in the best possible condition.Thank you for your continued support.”

Yukiya Ito: “Especially this season, I felt more than ever that your support became my strength.Messages like these, or cheers at the stadium, really give me a lot of support.I am very grateful.Thank you.”

Hikaru Ohta: “Receiving messages like this makes us players feel very motivated to try our best. We will work hard to receive lots of your support again next year, so we kindly ask for your continued support.”

The booth exhibition this time, which gave birth to a lot of joy through feeling each other’s passion.I would be delighted if you could develop an interest in all kinds of sports through syncSPORTS by Rakuten!Moving forward, while cherishing the connection between athletes and fans, we want to continue delivering information that can lead to new interests and discoveries.

TEXT: Chiharu Abe
PHOTO: Hayato Kubota
EDIT: Yohsuke Watanabe, Shiori Saeki (IN FOCUS)