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Norwegian duo wows baseball fans again with their fox dance

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters baseball team from Sapporo had big plans for this season. Things aren’t going well this year in terms of play, but the team is still making a lot of headlines. At the beginning of the season, the Fighters sign the colorful manager “Big Boss” Tsuyoshi Shinjo.

Most likely, the Fighters will end the season at the bottom of the baseball table. If it doesn’t work on the field during a match to make the hearts of the spectators beat faster, the show has to be right all round. Last weekend, 36,000 fans celebrated again with their team in the Sapporo Dome, which was mainly due to the show by the cheerleaders, who performed the so-called Fox Dance again at the opening.

The show before the show becomes an event

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters cheerleaders took social media by storm in June with their dance. The title comes from the Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis. The two Norwegians were flown in especially for the game at the weekend to play their well-known song. The song, which actually makes fun of a fox’s cry, was written nine years ago.

After the song appeared on YouTube, it became a real hype, leading to the duo from Norway being invited to shows in Europe and the USA. The title also found its way to Japan, where it was seen by baseball cheerleader Saori Ogure. This came up with the idea of ​​playing the song at a home game for the opening.

The cheerleaders used the song as a template for a special performance that takes the title to a whole new level. An opening dance for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters home games was created in collaboration with the mascot “Fred the Fox”, an Ezo red fox. The popular Sapporo Dome will no longer be the baseball team’s home stadium after this season, instead moving to Hiroshima, home of the Ezo Red Fox.

Baseball fans and teams celebrate the Fox Dance

Saori Ogure choreographed the fox dance. She has been part of the so-called Fighters Girls, the team’s cheerleading team, since the age of six. Because of the corona pandemic, the fans couldn’t really cheer, which is why another version of the fox dance was created, which always causes enthusiasm, especially among the little fans. The “Fox Dance” soon went viral online too, with the matching video being viewed more than 40 million times.

To celebrate the coming end of the season, the Sapporo team decided Ylvis to invite The duo appeared on the pitch in fox costumes, causing excitement in the stands. About 300 students from a dance school danced their popular fox dance together with the cheerleaders. The visitors from Norway were also more than impressed with their welcome.

The comedians stayed to watch the game, because the players on the team are also very enthusiastic about the song and the dance and come out as fans of Ylvis. Both baseball teams really enjoyed the live show, and many players admit they regularly clap along when the song is played.

Ylvis delights baseball fans in Japan again Image: AS

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