Make Believe Bonus: Es Con Field

A Magical Place Where Ylvis Is Always Relevant

There’s something special about spending upwards of six hours inside a place and hearing Norwegian duo Ylvis’ 2013 smash hit “The Fox” played upwards of a dozen times. To some, that might sound like hell, and certainly in some venues it would border on some kind of musical rights violation. Yet it felt right at Es Con Field, whether being played as ambient background before the Nippon Ham Fighters even took the field for warmups, as soundtrack to a goofy “fox cam” meant to get children and old people acting foolish on the big screen, or as between-innings entertainment.

It’s thanks to this team — and specifically said club’s dance squad — that “The Fox” found a second life in Japan, and became one of the most defining songs of the decades in the country so far (no, really).

From the Wednesday, May 15 game between the Saitama Seibu Lions And Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

Every Japanese professional baseball team has its own musical identity. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows lean in to a summer-festival-traditional sound. The Saitama Seibu Lions (my favorite team) generally feel indebted to older Japanese rock and like Aughts-era cheeseball pop, which I’d argue makes for a “cool dasai” vibe. The Chiba Lotte Marines, as previously discussed, love EDM. The Fighters present something a little more challenging to decode. Everything about the songs the team rolls out as part of the ballpark experience feel built for the TikTok era…but then again, what does that even mean? Can’t anything go viral now? Why not city pop, or sea shanties?

That’s because the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters’ speciality isn’t stuff geared for the internet…but kitsch. Which, turns out, is geared for the internet.