How long have you been interested in sumo?

[Kenneth Minami 70]

Hello from Honolulu!

So, write your stories down: How long have you been- and how did you become interested in sumo.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Kenneth Minami

[Churaumi 745]

Watched it a little back in the '90s when ESPN would show it late at night, Then a few years ago my wife and I went back to Okinawa. We took refuge from the heat of the afternoon in our hotel room, and there happened to be a tournament at the time. We fell in love immediately and haven't rarely missed a day since.

[ryafuji 815]

Almost 20 years. Channel 4 in the UK began their coverage with the Aki 1987 basho. I was ten years old and I was hooked.

[orandashoho 720]

Since I caught "the bug" after discovering the Eurosport broadcasts. I think it was 1996 or so. 
What made me interested? The combination of skill, speed and power that is needed to get to the top.
When Eurosport stopped broadcasting my interest was starved out. Then, one boring evening in 2014, I googled some old favourites and stumbled on this Forum. It took about ten minutes to get hooked again.

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by orandashoho

[Bumpkin 438]

43 years. July 1974. Nagoya basho. Senshuraku. Musubi-no-ichiban. Yokozuna Wajima (12-2) vs Ozeki Kitanoumi (13-1). Wajima won to force a playoff. Wajima won the playoff. Kitanoumi is promoted as the 55th Yokozuna. I was hooked.

[PawnSums 59]

Started way back in my wee little irish years of the 90's and eurosport. took a break, and came back in 2009. I was a nerd, and I got into it because it was just sooo organized. now I like it for the exoticness, the action, and still the organized-ness ;-).

Edited May 2, 2017 by PawnSums

[PawnSums 59]

2 hours ago, ryafuji said:

Almost 20 years... the Aki 1987 basho.

that would be thirty years.

[Kintamayama 45,529]

1960. I was six. TV. Grew up in Tokyo between 1955 and 1967. Wakanohana. Asashio. Tochinishiki. Then Taihou and Kashiwado. Tsurugamine (Terao's dad), Wakachichibu, Myobudani, and other exotic names. Left in 1967 and lost contact. Eurosport etc brought me back, and then the internet. Total hook since 1996.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Kintamayama

[Benihana 1,937]

Eurosport late 80s, early 90s.  Lost touch after Eurosport cancelling it. Found Kintamayama sensei's yt-channel early 2016 and subsequently this forum.

[Sakura 1,495]

2016. NHK World last July. It's the only channel we could get on TV. It just happened to be day 4 or so of the tournament. We got hooked very easily.

[Chijanofuji 113]

I too first discovered Sumo (and became an instant fan) in 1995 when Eurosport (the European cable sports channel) covered the 2-day Paris-Bercy Jungyo in 1995.

They subsequently broadcast the hon-basho between 1996 and 2007.

[ryafuji 815]

 

7 hours ago, PawnSums said:

that would be thirty years.

Shhh.... I'm not 40, only 30. 

[Gaijingai 1,597]

30 years, when I moved to Japan. I was a big Daitetsu fan. Since I was teaching English all day, I could not watch the action in tv in the afternoons, so I would watch Sumo Digest at 11:00pm, a half-hour highlights show. I was a so- so fan, but with the emergence of the Internet? I  became rabid!

[WAKATAKE 2,671]

Twenty years ago when I first moved to Japan. It was actually my dad who got interested in it first, and then after that I got hooked on it. It was one way I learned how to read and write kanji. Dad's favorite wrestler was Mainoumi, my brother's was Konishiki, mine was Tochiazuma.

[Swami 245]

15 hours ago, ryafuji said:

Almost 20 years. Channel 4 in the UK began their coverage with the Aki 1987 basho. I was ten years old and I was hooked.

Same here, I then subscribed to Sumo World in 1991. Sadly Channel 4's coverage only lasted until 1992, and then Sumo World dried up around 2002, so I have to make do with online coverage now.

 

Swami

[Kaiomitsuki 408]

As a french, I discovered Sumo in 1995 on the french TV (some videos on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/SumoParis.... key words Sumo Paris Bercy 1995) when the NSK came in France for the Paris Bercy Jungyo (I still remember the Sumo posters on the Metro walls !) ...    I chose to follow a favourite rikishi with a short Shikona and born the same year than me.... My choice was Kaio !

But It was really in 1998 (when Wakanohana became Yokozuna) with Eurosport that I really became fan.

[Jakusotsu 6,049]

16 hours ago, orandashoho said:

Since I caught "the bug" after discovering the Eurosport broadcasts. I think it was 1996 or so.

So why didn't you cast a vote?

[orandashoho 720]

2 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

16 hours ago, orandashoho said:

Since I caught "the bug" after discovering the Eurosport broadcasts. I think it was 1996 or so.

So why didn't you cast a vote?

Sorry. Done.

[Kenneth Minami 70]

I was born in Japan (I'm half-Japanese as you can see).

My first basho I clearly remember was Natsu 1977, when I was 8 years old.  Wakamisugi (Later Wakanohana II) won his first Yusho. I have great impression from that time. But I became a big fun in early 1980-s. Since that  I watch (and if I can - go to) all the tournaments.

[Kaiomitsuki 408]

12 hours ago, Chijanofuji said:

They subsequently broadcast the hon-basho between 1996 and 2007.

Eurosport stopped broadcasting just when Nicolas Sarkozy became president in May 2007. Sarkozy hated the Sumo (for him the Sumo was synonymous with Jacques Chirac). As the "best friend" of the boss of TF1 (owner of Eurosport), a little phone call will probably be enough to withdraw this program very quickly. It was the same in May 2007, when the France-Japan Friendship Cup offered to each winner of a tournament in Tokyo, was canceled as soon as Sarkorzy came to the power (incredible to make such a decision so quickly ... as if there were no more urgent or important things to do before for your country !)

[orandashoho 720]

1 hour ago, Kaiomitsuki said:

Eurosport stopped broadcasting just when Nicolas Sarkozy became president in May 2007. Sarkozy hated the Sumo (for him the Sumo was synonymous with Jacques Chirac). As the "best friend" of the boss of TF1 (owner of Eurosport), a little phone call will probably be enough to withdraw this program very quickly. It was the same in May 2007, when the France-Japan Friendship Cup offered to each winner of a tournament in Tokyo, was canceled as soon as Sarkorzy came to the power (incredible to make such a decision so quickly ... as if there were no more urgent or important things to do before for your country !)

I never knew the reason why. BOOOOOO !!!!

[orandashoho 720]

2 hours ago, Kenneth Minami said:

Since that  I watch (and if I can - go to) all the tournaments.

If you're going to Natsu 17 too, we'll be able to meet up.

[Kenneth Minami 70]

2 hours ago, orandashoho said:

If you're going to Natsu 17 too, we'll be able to meet up.

Sorry, but I can't visit Japan so often ( I was there in January)

So maybe next year

Edited May 3, 2017 by Kenneth Minami

[Akinomaki 40,790]

Starting beginning of 1988 with digests of the Takamiyama yusho and one of Chiyonofuji from maybe 1, 2 years ago on a German TV channel with much East Asian contents (became a fan of Hiroyuki/Henry Sanada and Sonny Chiba as well), as I was preparing for a 1st research stay in Japan, Aug 88-Feb 91. Aki 88 was the first basho I followed live on NHK, but mostly with  the Asahi TV digests - live was too lengthy then for my taste and Japanese papers were not yet readable for me. When I was back Apr.92 for the 2nd 4.5year stay my interest had already peaked. Near the end I joined the sumo ML to have something when back to Germany, there I followed the internet papers, later all net broadcasts available and especially JSTV. Eurosport as well, but not very enthusiastic. After a slight slump in interest for maybe 10 years, I got into gear again when I joined the forum 5 years ago.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Akinomaki

[Soichiro 0]

My first tournament was May of last year altough i had been watching single matches on jason's channel.Since i didn't know when the tournaments took place i suddenly noticed how he started posting mid may so that's how i got started.I fell in love with the ranking system and that's when i started watching kintayama.