This may disappoint all the aspiring hooligans out there, but Japanese sports fans are oppressively polite. They don’t get drunk, jeer the opposing team, or yell slogans about the refs’ mothers (with the exception, perhaps, of Hanshin baseball fans). Oftentimes there are special team songs that you can learn, but for the most part you can just stick to the following simple cheers:
Go!
gambarē!
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1004_r1.gif)
Fight!
faito
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1005_r1.gif)
Hurray!
furē furē
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1006_r1.gif)
Put ’em away
shimattekō
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1007_r1.gif)
Banzai!
banzai
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1008_r1.gif)
Where is the cheering section?
ōendan wa doko ni irundesu ka
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1009_r1.gif)
Will you teach me the team cheer?
ōenkyoku oshiete kuremasu ka
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1010_r1.gif)
The ref is a retard!
shimpan no boke
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1011_r1.gif)
Swwwing, batterbatterbatter!
battā ga senpūki da
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1012_r1.gif)
* This literally means “the batter is an electric fan”—he flails around and hits nothing but air.
Where can I find a scalper?
dafuya o sagashite irundakedo
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1013_r1.gif)
For which team are you a…
dochira no. . .
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1014_r1.gif)
supporter
sapōtā
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1015_r1.gif)
fan
fan
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1016_r1.gif)
hooligan
fūrigan
![](/files/03/94/07/f039407/public/matt_9781569750674_oeb_1017_r1.gif)