March 6th, 2006 | The lowdown by Matthew Hernon

S-Pulse vs Oita

At the end of the game they looked exhausted. For 90 minutes they gave it their all. At times it must have seemed like a struggle, but they kept going right until the end. It seemed nothing could dampen their enthusiasm. Yes, the Japanese supporters are somewhat unique in modern day football.

Last Sunday I witnessed a game between two mid-table teams in the J-League: Shimizu S-Pulse and Oita. Hardly a game to whet the appetite of the neutral; however, sitting amongst the S-Pulse supporters, you would have thought it was a Cup Final. It had that kind of atmosphere.

The first thing that struck me as I entered the stadium was the sea of orange. It seemed everyone, bar me and the man dressed in a beetle outfit, was wearing the colour of their beloved side. There was almost a dutiful feel to it. You shouldn't turn up to just to watch a football game in any old clothes. You are there to play a part in the proceedings. This was also reflected in their singing and actions. Everything was done in tandem; no one stepped out of line. We often hear of how fans can act as the twelfth man, and you get the sense that they firmly believe that here.

At times the fans are more engrossing than the action on the pitch. They simply seem to be enjoying themselves, and that's a little strange to me, having sat through many stressful games in England. You don’t hear so many groans or complaints here. That's not to say they're not passionate about what's happening on the pitch. They are desperate for their team to win; they just display their passion in a different way. Mistakes are greeted with encouragement rather than complaint.

They are simply trying to help the stars that they love. It must be hugely inspiring for the players to see fans arrive so early just so they can show their admiration. The two men sitting next to me mentioned that they had arrived at 9:00 a.m.-4 hours prior to kick-off. When I inquired as to what they had been doing for so long, they simply said ‘looking at the pitch.’

Professional football may be relatively young in Japan, but the fans have taken to it with a dedication that would befit a league that was a hundred years old. On Sunday S-Pulse beat Oita 4-1. The Oita fans had traveled hundreds of miles to watch their team put on a terrible performance, yet they kept on singing and were there at the end to clap the players off. It really does seem that nothing can dampen their enthusiasm.