Terry Ito Column Vol.16 Even if you can't meet aliens, you can meet Ohtani!

To all student newspaper readers,
happy New Year
Also thank you this year

This year looks set to be a great one! Especially since Ohtani joined the Dodgers. Ohtani expressed his gratitude to the Angels, where he played for six years, and fans also developed a love for the team. While I had hoped he would stay, seeing his smiling face at the Dodgers press conference made me feel better. While each team was competing to lure Ohtani, I worried he might move to the East Coast. In the end, those fears proved unfounded. Ohtani truly suits the blue skies of California. The world was astonished by his 10-year, $1000 million (approximately 1015 billion yen) contract, the largest in professional sports history. Japanese talk shows were abuzz with trolling stories like, "3 billion yen would be enough to build three Tokyo Domes" and "Every citizen could buy 66 Umaibo bars." The economic impact of his joining the Dodgers is already enormous.

Japanese professional baseball has produced many superstars in the past. In the past, players like Tetsuharu Kawakami, Masaichi Kaneda, Shigeo Nagashima, Sadaharu Oh, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro were all considered to be unparalleled players, never to be surpassed. For me, Shigeo Nagashima is exactly that. I spent my youth with him and he inspired me so much. And now, I believe Ohtani is an overwhelming presence that Japanese people will never encounter again. He's sure to have a phenomenal season. He's sure to smash home runs at Dodger Stadium. He's the best player in this century, a once-in-a-century presence, hitting, running, laughing, and feeling frustrated. The good news continues, with Orix's Yoshinobu Yamamoto joining the Dodgers. It truly feels like "Obon and New Year's have come together." This spring is auspicious. They're definitely going to win.

I thought to myself, "You can't meet aliens, but you can meet Ohtani! You can meet him if you go to Dodger Stadium!" Isn't that wonderful? 100 years from now, my family will say, "My grandfather saw Ohtani hit a home run when he was young." It will become a legendary story. If that's the case, I have to join in the legendary story too. I'm going to LA to cheer him on! My only worry is whether I'll be able to get tickets!

Terry Ito (director)

Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1949. After attending Waseda Jitsugyo Junior and Senior High School, he graduated from Nihon University's School of Economics.
In March 2023, he completed the Master's program at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University.
He joined the television production company IVS Television, where he worked on variety shows such as "Tensai Takeshi's Genki ga Deru TV" and "Neruton Benikujidan."
He then went independent and worked on planning and directing a number of television programs, including TV Tokyo's "Asakusabashi Young Clothing Store."
His book "Comedy North Korea" became a bestseller, and he subsequently made numerous media appearances under the name Terry Ito.
In addition to his work as a director, he is also active in a variety of fields as a producer, entertainer, and commentator.
YouTube channelTerry Ito's Comedy Backdrop'
Currently writing a column in LALALA USA
https://lalalausa.com/archives/category/column/terry