Princeton University Athletics
2001 captain Bob Farrell looks back at Princeton's trip to Japan...
September 13, 2001 | General
More than 24 hours after leaving Princeton, we finally arrived at our hotel in Osaka. Knowing we had such a long day and actually experiencing it were two entirely different things. Travel was to become a main theme of the trip as the team covered a large portion of western Japan during the week.
Monday served as the first introduction to our opponent, the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters. We visited both of the school's campuses that were, for the most part, very similar to a typical American university. At the school's main campus we were greeted by the entire KGU football team before attending a banquet for the two universities. Kind words from the administration of both schools made it clear that we have much more in common than we would have thought possible, including the same fervor for academics and athletics and a feeling of responsibility to our community. KGU even shares our school song, Old Kwansei, with the words altered a bit, of course. The dinner served as the first of many interactions between the Princeton and Kwansei football players. A few gift exchanges and a memorable and also indescribable cheerleading display by KGU concluded the evening.
Our first of only two practices took place on a grass/dirt field in Osaka. Apparently the expense associated with the maintenance of grass fields is extremely high in the urban areas of Japan, and many have opted to play on a dirt surface instead. In the afternoon we visited the nearby city of Kobe. A few notes about Japanese urban areas...in the middle of the city golf ranges with massive netting systems can be found everywhere. The city areas are very clean and apparently very safe as well.
We departed for Nara and Kyoto Wednesday for a full day of sightseeing. Our first encounter with ancient Japanese architecture was at the grounds of Horyuji, on which sits the world's oldest surviving wooden structures. More grand in scale was the Todai-ji Temple, housing The Great Statue of the Buddha. Continuing our cultural education, we arrived at Kyoto for a true Japanese cuisine meal. Tofu, tempura, raw fish and miniature lobsters meant to be eaten whole (including the shell) highlighted the meal. "That's not too bad" meant it was one of the more bearable items on the table. The day concluded with a showing of the traditional Japanese kimono dance. While some similarities have certainly developed between Japan and the Western world today, our visits have shown the two traditions to be very, very different. tween Japan and the Western world today, our visits have shown the two traditions to be very, very different.
Putting together an entire game plan with only five total practices proved to be very difficult. Thursday afternoon we were free to tour Osaka. The Kwansei players joined us, showing us around some of the more popular areas. The small differences between America and Japan had begun to accumulate at this point, and we began to realize how different this culture really was.
On our final day before the game, we visited the Himeji Castle. The "castle" had some of the characteristics of medieval European castles such as moats and a series of massive walls obstructing outer entry, but the architecture of the buildings contained within the castle was in traditional Japanese style making for an interesting combination. Plans to visit the Osaka Aquarium and Osaka Dome in the afternoon were cancelled to rest the players before the game. The evening took on a pregame feel, with team and positional meetings. It was hard to believe that we were about to play a full 60-minute game after so few opportunities to practice.
At halftime we found ourselves behind, 12-10. In the minds of many, we were supposed to dominate this team in every phase of the game. We were surprised at the level of talent and intensity shown by the KGU players. True, they had been continually practicing since August of 2000 and they were much more polished than we were after only five practices. The context of the game, however, made it difficult to realize that we were in a real game situation. A week of sightseeing, exposure to a new and different culture and the venue of the game itself all combined to create a somewhat surreal atmosphere surrounding the game. It wasn't until halftime that we realized that we had an important game on our hands.
We concluded our trip with a postgame cruising party on a river running through Osaka. Both teams, school officials and the cheerleaders celebrated the end to an unbelievable learning experience for both parties. We learned a great deal about the Japanese culture. We also were able to take away some valuable lessons from the unofficial first game of the 2001 football season, placing us in an advantageous position this fall.
The entire Princeton football team is extremely grateful for this opportunity. We could not have been treated any better by Kwansei Gakuin University and could not imagine a better way to spend our spring break.