The new Star Wars movie is sweeping the world, and the sports world is feeling the whirlwind. Fans eagerly awaited the film as if it were their most die-hard team. The team launched a variety of "Star Wars" theme nights to attract "Star Wars fans" who want to forget the distress of life in movies and games and find a sense of justice.
▲ "Darth Vader" kicked off a baseball game at Chicago's Wrigley Stadium in 2014.
In a war of good versus evil, the two sides of the battle line up and fight openly and secretly. As soon as the hero appeared, he killed all four sides, causing the crowd to cheer. The enemy was also prepared, and the two sides were inextricably separated for a while. This scenario applies to any sport and is the plot line for the latest star wars episode: The Force Awakens.
On January 9, the seventh star wars movie "The Force Awakens" landed in Chinese theaters, and sold $33 million in movie tickets on the opening day, setting a box office record for the opening day of Chinese mainland cinema history.
In espnon senior author Jim Caple's view, sports and "Star Wars" are in the same vein. Gregg Greene, senior marketing director for the Seattle Mariners at MLB, explained the fit: "They all have heroes for whom people are excited, both focus on a war of good and evil, and provide an outlet for people to escape from ugly real life." ”
In the United States, many movie fans grew up watching "Star Wars". Before Netflix was born, a teenager named R.A. Dickey came home from school and often relished watching old-fashioned home video tapes. The strings of the master score, John Williams, luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Obi-Wan Kenobi all appear to face off against Darth Vader, the Dark Warrior.
Young Dickie has been in love with "Star Wars" ever since. He watched the film over and over again. "Since then, I've been firmly drawn to it," he says, "and it's amazing to be addicted to it!" The film's development takes me layer by layer to the heart of the story, which is an exciting revenge story. ”
Years later, the MLB Toronto Blue Jays "butterfly ball pitcher" bought tickets for The Force Awakens a few weeks before the premiere, but he was hesitant to go because he didn't want to be spoiled by the audience that joined in the excitement at the premiere.
"Maybe I'll wrap up the whole auditorium and go in and see it myself," he joked, "but even if I go alone, I'll wear costumes." ”
Dickey is not an outlier. Unlike other films, the entire sports world can feel the whirlwind of "Star Wars", and fans and teams eagerly look forward to this movie as if this is their most die-hard team.
Major League Baseball and Minor Leagues like to hold "Star Wars" theme nights: "Storm Troopers" entry displays, fan shops sell "Star Wars" themed T-shirts, "Dark Knights" to kick off games ... In 2014, Major Leagues' Star Wars-themed nights attracted an average of 35,000 fans per night, about 5,000 more than regular games.
▲ Portland Fur SEAL members wear Chewbacca-themed jerseys to play.
The promotion of teams in the minor leagues is even more than enough. In 2014, members of the minor league Durham Bulls appeared in golden C-3PO costumes. Birmingham Barons' men dressed as Storm Troopers attracted attention. The Buffalo Bisons put on Jedi robes. The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs are all transformed into Han Solo.
▲ The cheerleaders of the Anaheim Ducks dressed up as Princess Leia to infect the fans.
Fans love all Star Wars themed elements. A fan of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals wears an orange Storm Troopers costume every game. His Faceook homepage describes himself this way: "A long, long time ago, I was a die-hard tiger in the distant galaxy. ”
Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, has long been known as Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars. This is not only because he loves to wear pullovers, but also more or less from the Patriots' recent frequent media cheating scandals.
Still, it's always the New York Yankees that are considered the evil empire of sports. In 2002, Larry Lucchino, then CEO of the Boston Red Sox, referred to his opponent as "Evil Empire." However, the Yankees seem to be very popular with the term, and they have also started a lawsuit with a company that tried to use the name. During the game, the New York Yankees will play the Star Wars theme music "Empire March" when introducing the opposing team, and the closing song when introducing their own team.
Fans and teams seem to agree – the opponents are dark forces.
"March of the Empire" was played on the stadium as often as Gun Rose's Welcome to the Jungle. When the NCAA's Georgetown University Exclamation Team (Hayas) played the song in the 1980s. The NHL's Montreal Canadiens also played the song on penalties. When L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant returned from injury in 2013, the song was played in the arena.
The Imperial March also accompanied tennis king Roger Federer to the 2007 U.S. Open. At that time, Federer was wearing an all-black jersey, quite a bit of a dark samurai style.
Djokovic appeared on the pitch wearing a mask of Darth Vader.
Another tennis superstar who excels at fun, Novak Djokovic, appeared at the stadium wearing a Darth Vader mask at the 2012 BNP Paribas Masters. It happened to be Halloween. Before the game could begin, he took off his mask. If only he could have worn a mask all the time or swapped his racket for a laser sword, because in that match he lost to opponent Sam Querrey. The following year, when a reporter asked Him why he was no longer wearing a mask, Hedd replied, "I have to pretend to be myself this year, not Vader." ”
Fans want to forget the troubles of life in "Star Wars", and the players also try to put themselves into the movie, looking for inspiration on the pitch and in life.
"Butterfly ball pitcher" R.A. Dickey says he loves Darth Vader because he can find resonance in it. "I think he (Vader) best embodies the (Star Wars) narrative, Han Solo can embody it, Luke can embody it, but no one can represent Star Wars more than Vader. He surrendered himself completely to the forces of darkness, but in the end he turned back and saved his son's life. I can understand how a person who has made all kinds of mistakes in various ways hopes to get a chance to reform. When he gets this opportunity, even if his life is already twilight, he still has to fight. Dickie said.
Finally, let's take a look at ESPN's star wars starting list for the six major ball sports and see which stadium characters your favorite characters are up to.
▲ Football
▲ Basketball
Rugby
▲ Cricket
▲ Baseball
▲ Ice hockey
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