Erstens bin ich ein Fan von Wonyoung und habe nichts gegen sie. Aber ich habe gerade einen Unterschied zwischen den Ländern bemerkt.
In Korea ist das Werfen des zeremoniellen ersten Wurfs ein großer Meilenstein, der beweist, dass man ein Star der Spitzenklasse ist. Als Starship ankündigte, dass Jang Wonyoung vom IVE das Eröffnungsfeld für das Spiel Mets vs. Dodgers im Citi Field werfen wird, waren die koreanischen Fans außer sich.
Aber ganz ehrlich: Ist die First-Pitch-Kultur in der MLB nicht völlig anders? Für Amerikaner fühlt es sich meist wie eine weitere lokale Gemeinschaftsveranstaltung oder ein gelegentlicher Werbeauftritt an und nicht wie ein historischer Superstar-Moment. Wird es die MLB-Fans wirklich interessieren, oder handelt es sich dabei nur um ein Standard-K-Pop-Medienspiel?
IVE Jang Wonyoung wird den ersten Pitch für die New York Mets werfen!
Jang Wonyoung throwing the first pitch at Citi Field: Is this a big deal in the US, or just a K-pop bubble?
byu/StickyRiceLondon inkorea
12 Kommentare
Not really just another promo. If it was during the playoffs or World Series then yes.
Wonder girls threw out the first pitch a decade ago.
This is a nothing burger
In the US, no one cares. It could be game 7 of the World Series and no one would care. Most of the fans won’t even be in their seats yet.
Each team plays 162 regular season games every single year, there’s a lot of random mini celebrities throwing out first pitches. World Series first pitches are a bigger deal though.
Not really, many groups did this. Usually when they have concert in town they arrange this kind of event with sponsors
a gardening youtuber threw first pitch at a game a while back so no, it’s not a big deal here lol.
The Mets had Grimace (McDs) and Hawk-tua throw the first pitch a week apart 2 yrs ago before they went on their 2nd half hot streak….so yeah, its not as a big deal for US teams. Plus the team is in shambles and will be sellers at the trade deadline, throwing the 1st pitch for a shitty team is a nothing burger.
Literally nobody cares lol
Nothing on the US side, but the fact that she’s throwing out the first pitch in a game for the MLB is going to be a big deal for her in Korea, imho. It’s the *perception* that changes. There’s definitely a sense of prestige for long-running institutions, and while Americans don’t really care, I’m willing to bet her brand goes up in the eyes of Koreans (at least from a marketing perspective).
Always makes me laugh when Koreans talk about someone attending an American university – 미국 명문대 – and while it’s not a bad school, they act like it’s the American equivalent of SKY or KAIST. No, it’s a private university and I don’t even think it breaks top 50 but sure, let’s call it a top-tier school.
No one here cares
It MIGHT make the news in the U.S. if it was some major celebrity throwing out an embarrassing pitch (e.g. Fifty Cent throwing into the ground) but with 30 MLB teams and 163 games (compared to 10 teams and 144 games in KBO) there are just a ton of non-celebrities throwing out a first pitch because there are just so many games. As someone commented earlier though, on the flip side I think it is still a milestone for Jang Wonyoung’s international career because it is a valid recognition of her career as an artist in a Western market. Other Kpop artists have had their MLB first pitches recently as well: BTS V, NMIXX Sullyoon, Enhyphen, ATEEZ Yunho, etc. Teams seem to reach out whenever a Kpop group has a concert in town
No one cares. It could be some dude in a cat outfit or a retired politician.