If only the Royals had a fight song like this!

When you think about it, there are a lot of spiffy things about the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Nippon Pro Baseball League.

Their manager is living legend Sadaharu Oh. They play at a beautiful location on the shore of the ocean in a park that looks like the Terrordrome. They are one of Japan’s richest teams, and are perennial postseason contenders.

Not to mention, they also produced major leaguers Kenji Johjima and Tadahito Iguchi. And helped the great Tony Batista find a home away from home last season. And being from Fukuoka, of course they have the hottest fans.

But perhaps the coolest thing about the Hawks is their awesome fight song:

sb-hawks-new.mp3

It turns out that all Japanese teams have a team fight song. Most of these songs are patterned after old prewar Japanese military marches, and have extremely militaristic lyrics. The Hawks song actually refers to the team as a gundan, or “war group,” which is literally the same term the Japanese Imperial Army used to use to refer to its main armies.

Japan may have become a pacifist country since World War II, but you wouldn’t know it when you see 30,000 fanatical fans belting out these war songs at the top of their lungs in the echo chamber that is the Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome.

Here is my English translation of the the amazing lyrics to this amazing song:

In the salty wind of the broad unfathomable sea,
mighty wings are forged,
which, like a squall, fearlessly
striving for glory, soar!
Let’s go, you invincible battalion of young hawks!
Let’s go, you fiery battalion of young hawks!
Our, yes our Softbank Hawks!

In the grand pennant race,
fighting spirit aflame, striking down the enemy,
each pitch, each hit a streak of fire,
the ball calls forth a passionate storm!
Let’s go, you invincible battalion of young hawks!
Let’s go, you fiery battalion of young hawks!
Our, yes our Softbank Hawks!

Give a victory shout!
Give a victory shout!

If we fight to the limits of strength
victory will always reside here,
and in the shining sky, the deeply emotional
championship banner will flutter.
Let’s go, you invincible battalion of young hawks!
Let’s go, you fiery battalion of young hawks!
Our, yes our Softbank Hawks!

If only the Royals had a fight song like this! A fight song about being an invincible battalion, and striking down the enemy with a fighting spirit aflame in order to capture the deeply emotional American League pennant. They’d never lose!

And powerful and passionate free agents like Tony Batista might sign with them, instead of running off to Japan.