Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAist Hearts Hans Borg
()
It’s the day after the 2007 US Sumo Open, and we have officially drank the Kool-Aid. We'd seen those documentaries on TLC about how sumo wrestlers are celebrities in Japan, and how its top practitioners are afforded the life of rock stars, and we giggled about how kooky the Japanese are. But now we understand their obsession, and we've decided that if Sumo were simply exposed to more Americans, it would be just as much of a hit here as it is in Japan.
The Open had everything the American sports crowd wants and loves. It had heroes, like SoCal sumo lightweight Trent Sabo, a 5'8", 180 pound fireplug who drew a standing ovation when he darted around 6'5", 400 pound Mark Sagato, then forced his opponent from the ring from behind. It had villains, like the almost Ivan Drago-like competitors from Bulgaria. Bulgarian lightweight Valentin Gogov had to be coaxed into the ring by the announcer after his loss because he refused to bow to his opponent, and heavyweight Peter Stoyanov chucked local Sabo from the ring like a flea, almost sending the little guy into the announcer's table.
Stoyanov got his comeuppance in the heavyweight finals, when world champ Byamba of Mongolia ended the match in one second flat by delivering what amounts to a "sumo bitch slap" and putting the Bulgarian on his knees.
Support for LAist comes from
The Open also had serious crowd participation, with the excitable masses pulling off the wave during one match, then becoming as rowdy as a Texas bar crowd during a raffle that liberally doled out bottles of sake and cases of Sapphoro beer. And, best of all, the Open had Hans. As in Hans Borg, the 6’3”, 331 pound seven time Norwegian sumo champ who preened and gestured his way into the crowd’s hearts en route to the heavyweight bronze medal.
Photo of the Hans-meister by Darin Riggs
During one of Hans' matches, he actually lifted and carried his 365 pound opponent out of the ring, an impressive sumo feat, before blowing kisses to the crowd. In between matches, he could be seen holding giddy USC co-eds high in the air for photo ops and posing with shirtless audience members. Even when Hans lost, he showed the crowd love. If this were the old-school WWF, Hans would be Hulk Hogan, and the crowd would be his little Hansamaniacs.
The ladies matches were most impressive for their technical skills and speed. SoCal native Lindsay Hood nabbed women's heavyweight silver while fighting with a prosthetic leg (in your face, Heather Mills!), and middleweight gold (and openweight silver) champ Florence Bannout is our official sumo hottie of the year. We're not kidding. With a dancer's body, this girl looks good enough to be on a calendar, so it was equal parts disturbing, impressive and arousing to watch her dart into her opponents and then throw them onto their heads. Whoah.
The Mongolian wrestlers dominated the day overall, with only the odd wrestler giving them even a minor challenge. Mongolian sumo won gold in every single division in which they participated, and world champ Byamba took his opponents to school.
Overall, we couldn't have thought of a better way to spend a Saturday. This is one of those annual events that people should be traveling to Los Angeles to see. LAist will definitely be returning to the Open in 2008, and we'll be bringing more friends. And we'll be damned if we're not going to win us some sake next time.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist