After dinner, Hiroki tagged along with Ken and Daichi to their room under the pretense of watching the United States vs Mexico match online. Of course his real goal was to avoid his roommate Aki, though no one called him out on it.
“How did you even get a laptop anyway?” Hiroki asked.
“Dad said we could borrow it most nights if we wanted to review the games online.” Ken said dismissively. He was trying to find the link on the website.
Seeing that he was bothering the technician, Hiroki looked around the room a little.
“I wonder if they have any portable mattresses in the hotel?”
Daichi raised his eyebrow in response, “I’m sure they would… Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason…”
“There it is!” Ken called out, finally getting it to work.
The first thing they noticed was that the stadium was smaller than the one they’d played in today. At a glance, there was far less seating capacity, meaning it was probably a minor league stadium.
“Welcome folks to U18 World Cup broadcast. We have our home team United States taking on Mexico in the group stages this afternoon.”
The narrator spoke as the camera zoomed in on the players as they lined up. The first thing that Ken noticed was that a lot of the United States players looked tall and athletic. There was a layer of confidence in their gazes.
Though some might translate it as arrogance.
“Ken, what is that guy saying?”
“Hmm?”
Ken turned around and saw both Daichi and Hiroki with confused looks on their faces. Since the broadcast was hosted in America, the commentator was speaking in English, something he hadn’t noticed right away.
“Man, you guys need to learn English some day.” He complained.
While Hiroki was in his 2nd year of High School, English was his weakest subject. At least he was better than Daichi who couldn’t understand almost anything.
Just as Ken was about to try and find a Japanese hosted live stream, the camera settled on a figure wearing the United States National jersey. He had gray hair and a stern expression with deep brown eyes.
“Hey, does that old man look familiar to you guys?” Ken asked, pointing at the figure.
However, neither Hiroki nor Daichi had seen him before.
Ken scoured his memories, yet nothing seemed to pop up right away. It was then that the name appeared on the screen, labeling him as the Head Coach for the United States team.
“Mark Williams…” Ken muttered.
He wasn’t sure where, but the name definitely sounded familiar. Perhaps this coach was someone he’d seen in his previous life, someone who would become famous in the future?
Either way, he quickly put it to the back of his mind. It took him a few minutes, but he managed to find a Japanese website that was hosting the World Cup.
“Ah can finally understand the commentators.” Daichi said with a grin.
“First up to bat is Keith Anderson. He’s been solid all year and already has offers from various colleges though he has yet to commit.”
The trio watched closely as the Mexican pitcher sent a wicked cutter on the very first pitch.
DONG
The camera zoomed out as it followed the ball’s trajectory all the way into the stands.
“On the very first pitch, Keith smacks the ball for a home run. This is why the United States is one of the most feared teams, not many can compete with their strength and athleticism.”
The commentator was animated as he seemingly blew smoke up the rears of the US team.
It wasn’t just Ken who thought so. Both Hiroki and Daichi looked at each other with odd expressions on their faces.
“Maybe we should go back to the English website.” Daichi suggested.
“I agree.”
However just as he was about to, a familiar voice interrupted the male commentator’s tirade.
“I don’t think we can count out or Japanese team. Both Ken and Daichi Takagi scored 2 home runs each in their match, blowing out a top tier South Korea out by 15 runs.”
“T-That’s very true Miya. Forgive me, I seem to have gotten ahead of myself.”
“Ah that’s Miya Fukuda!” Ken said, his eyes shining.
It seemed the two other boys were aware of her too since they straightened up.
“Thank goodness she came on to talk some sense into this guy.”
With the addition of the pleasant and capable voice of Miya, the game actually became watchable.
From the beginning, the US dominated the scoreboard. Every one of the players could hit big and often did so, even if it resulted in a catch in the outfield.
Ken felt that there was hardly any strategy involved in their approach, yet it seemed effective. It was almost like the coach had told them just to go out there and hit it big no matter what.
For some reason it left a bad taste in his mouth.
When it came time for them to pitch, he felt like he could understand why they weren’t trying.
“Ryan Smith…” Ken murmured.
This was one of the players who would go on to have a successful pitching career in the Majors. Ken could still recognize his face, despite seeing the teenage version of him.
“That guy is good.” Daichi said, his expression turning grave.
The trio continued watching the game, yet their expressions continued to darken as the game went on.
By the time the game finished in the 5th inning, they were all stunned.
“With that, the game has been called by the umpires and finishes at 16-0 in favor of the US. From the beginning, it didn’t look like Mexico were given a chance were they Miya?”
“Mmm, that Ryan Smith truly is a great pitcher. Not only is his pitching arsenal large, he also has a killer fastball that tops out at 100mph.” Miya sounded a little worried, but she kept her professional air.
“What do you think Japan’s chances are against this United States team?”