Hanshin Tigers

We recently found out Cory and Amy know someone playing baseball in Japan's major leagues - for the Hanshin Tigers, in fact. The Tigers are based in Osaka and are the closest major league team to Himeji.
Coincidentally, I recently read an amusing story about the Tigers. I was going to share it when we got over there, but Chelsey liked it and thought I should put it on the blog now. So, here goes:
The Tigers are something like the pre-2004 Boston Red Sox of Nippon Professional Baseball. That is, they were founded in 1936, the first year of professional baseball in Japan, but achieved little success - especially compared to the Toyko-based Yomiuri Giants, the Yankees of Japan.
In the early 1980s, the Tigers brought over Randy Bass, one of the first big American stars in Japanese baseball. He hit 54 home runs one year, just one shy of the Japanese seasonal record. With Bass as part of the team, the Tigers claimed their first Japan series in 1985.
The fans, understandably, were extremely excited. As part of their celebration, they headed to the river in Osaka. Somebody decided that for each member of the Tigers, a fan who resembled that player should jump in the river. This worked fine for most of the players, but apparently it wasn't that easy to find a Tigers fan in Osaka who resembled a bearded American. The Tigers fans, naturally, did the next logical thing: they went to a local KFC, tore down a statue of Col. Sanders (a white guy with a beard and therefore clearly Bass' twin), and threw it in the river.
Sadly for Osaka, the Tigers haven't won the Series since, leading some to speculate on the curse of Col. Sanders. Earlier this year, his upper body was found during some dredging work in the canal, leading fans to hope the curse can finally be broken.
-Jason