August 23, 2008 11:38 AM
A Stretch By Any Other Name
They don't sell peanuts or Cracker Jacks at the Wukesong Baseball Field. They do sing about them, though.When the middle of the seventh came around last night, Cuba was leading the U.S. men's baseball team by two runs. The crowd had settled in, grabbing a final beer or one of those hot dogs on a stick for the final innings. The PA announcer came on with a long introduction, maybe a minute of straight Mandarin in which I didn't understand a word.
I do not know if the Wukesong PA announcer speaks English, but last night, he managed to sound out six familiar words at the end of his introduction. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame!" he called out excitedly. The Americans cheered. The Chinese went silent. Only a third of the stadium bothered to stand for the seventh inning stretch.
A few -- in particular, the Japanese fans -- started singing along to the pre-recorded version of the song. The Chinese fans mostly clapped off-beat. The Cubans stood in silence, except for one fan, beer in her left and Cuban flag in her right, trying to keep pace with the song. Consider it a Tsingtao-enhanced version.
Here's the two-verse version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" from last night's game:
