Different strokes

Last Sunday's J-League clash between FC Tokyo and Shimizu S-Pulse revealed that, if nothing else, the J-League landscape is a diverse one.

For those experiencing a J-League match for the first time, the sound of "DJ Stephen" breathlessly announcing the team line-up's in slow, calculated English may have left newcomers feeling slightly confused.

For Shimizu fans, the match was no doubt celebrated as a chance to knock off a team from the big smoke and avenge the 3-1 drubbing that Tokyo handed out to Shimizu at Nihondaira Stadium earlier in the season.

Tokyo fans will have rejoiced as a crowd of over 30,000 piled into Ajinomoto Stadium on grey autumn afternoon, yet the casual observer may have noted the sight of around 20,000 empty seats staring back at them.

Certainly one of the matches of the round produced a carnival atmosphere, with former Tokyo legend Amaral presented to the capital city faithful before the match. His presence seemed to fire up the hosts, who ended Shimizu's six match winning streak with a 2-0 win, courtesy of an own goal from S-Pulse captain Kazumichi Takagi and a volley seconds later from Tokyo striker Shingo Akamine.

What may have stuck in the mind of Shimizu fans, however, is just how different the experience of watching their team play in front of hosts FC Tokyo was, compared to their usual J-League fare.

The cavernous Ajinomoto Stadium was built with the 2002 FIFA World Cup in mind. Sadly for the city of Tokyo, it was finished before FIFA decided that the tournament should be co-hosted by Korea Republic and Japan. With nearby Saitama Stadium hosting a semi-final and neighbouring Nissan Stadium in Yokohama selected as the venue for the World Cup final, Tokyo was axed as a World Cup city - leaving FC Tokyo to try and find ways of filling a 50,000 capacity ground.

Conventional wisdom suggests that actually winning a few games on the pitch would help, but never a team to back away from some on-field mediocrity, FC Tokyo have come up with some other novel ways of attracting fans. Noted for their so-called "English style" of support, earlier this season FC Tokyo promoted an "English Day" - blasting out Britpop tunes and offering traditional British match-day food at their clash with JEF United. They even rounded up as many English-speaking volunteers as they could find, to guide confused gaijin to their seats after offering free entry to British fans (tough luck for this correspondent!).

All of this stands in glaring contrast to Shimizu S-Pulse - a community club that relies on the support of local fans both to fill Nihondaira Stadium and to keep the team afloat. With the "S-Pulse Club Shop" located on "S-Pulse Street" opposite the "S-Pulse Dream Plaza" shopping centre, the locals here are proud that their football team is one of the focal points of the community.

Shimizu, unlike FC Tokyo - are not fighting in a market that also contains fellow J-League club Tokyo Verdy, as well as two popular baseball teams and the myriad other attractions that a cosmopolitan city like Tokyo offers. As such, it's not surprising to see Tokyo reaching out to new markets - in this case English speakers, although one can't help but think that if Shimizu S-Pulse were also willing to think outside the square, they too might attract new fans who, if nothing else, were willing to pump some money into the club.

Repeated requests on my part for Shimizu to produce an English-language version of their website finally yielded a stock-standard Babelfish translation (http://www.s-pulse.co.jp/english/) that overlooks all of the most crucial details - where to buy tickets, how to access the ground and what the fixture list looks like. Contrast this with local rivals Jubilo Iwata (http://www.jubilo-iwata.co.jp/eng/index.php) and one gets the feeling that Shimizu are happier to turn a blind eye to the sprinkling of English-speakers and Brazilians that dot Nihondaira Stadium on a weekly basis.

Yet, grumblings aside, perhaps what makes the J-League such an intriguing competition is its diversity. The J-League could never be accused of being homogeneous, with most away trips likely to be rewarded with an experience unlike any other. Thus while the warblings of "DJ Stephen" might be a novel treat in the capital (except, perhaps, for non-English speaking FC Tokyo fans!), it would be a shame if this experience was recreated throughout the land.

And while FC Tokyo officials might like to see a couple more of those 20,000 empty seats filled - and they would be if Tokyo Verdy got their act together and achieved promotion from J2, they only need to look outside to see what it might be like to be on the periphery in this country - which is where fans of "American Football" seem to be.