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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Tainan baseball fans out in force for Lions’ parade
Tainan residents cheer their home baseball team, the Uni-President Lions, as they ride a bus through the city yesterday to celebrate winning this year’s Taiwan Series. Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
There was a festive atmosphere as Taiwan’s pro baseball champions, the Uni-President Lions, paraded through the streets of Tainan yesterday.
Large crowds greeted the Lions players and coaches at the start of their victory parade at the team’s home park, Tainan Municipal Stadium.
They traveled in two open-top buses and major stops along the route included the Matsu Temple at Anping Harbor （安平港） and the Tainan Art Museum. A reception was also held for them by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che （黃偉哲）, and lawmakers and other politicians from the city.
Tainan residents enthusiastically supported their heroes, with scooters and cars jammed along the parade route, as it had been seven years since their home team had won the CPBL’s Taiwan Series, and previously no victory parade had been held.
It was also the 10th championship win for the Lions in the franchise’s history.
The team came back from a 3-1 deficit, winning three straight games against the Taichung-based CTBC Brothers to capture the Taiwan Series title.
Referring to the crowd turnout, Lions manager Lin Yueh-ping （林岳平） said: “I will remember today’s scenes with such fervent support on display. This will turn into motivation for us to win the title again and have another victory parade next year.”
Lions star outfielder Chen Chieh-hsien （陳傑憲）, who had the most hits this season and the highest batting average, said that he was surprised by the huge turnout.
“Yesterday I was worried if people would show up, but today I am really shocked by the masses who packed in at the ballpark and along the parade route... Many Lions fans followed the buses on their scooters and cars; my teammates and I felt very honored by their devotion and their passion,” he said.
“The biggest winners are the baseball fans who have followed the teams for so many years... I must congratulate the Lions team for winning the title, and we hope to see more exciting games next year,” Vice President Willaim Lai （賴清德）, a former Tainan mayor and well-known supporter of the Lions team, said on Facebook.
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） also congratulated the Uni-President Lions and CTBC Brothers.
“This year, Taiwan’s CPBL was the world’s first pro baseball league to start their season, which brought much joy to fans around the world. After seven months of 2020 season action, plus the full seven games of the Taiwan Series, this year’s pro baseball champions were finally decided,” she wrote on Facebook.
The Lions coaches and star players also met their fans at an event in Taipei on Friday.
They have organized another event for fans in Kaohsiung today.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
