ABSTRACT
At professional baseball games in Japan, stadium spectatorship consists of three segments: members of private fan clubs, people who join in the cheering around the fan clubs, and people who do not participate in the cheering. The private fan clubs organize and lead the cheering in the stadium during the game. They usually occupy blocks of seats in the outfield bleachers. We assume that private fan clubs have a subculture of cheering. This study is based on participant observation that I conducted with an organized group of fans who support one of Japan’s twelve professional baseball teams, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. The fan club is a member organization of the National League of Hiroshima Toyo Carp Private Fan Clubs which was founded in 1997. It has thirty fan club members. In addition, there are several other fan clubs that support the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
