I. Am. Going. To. SEE. Yuzu.
Author’s Note: This post was written prior to the 2019 Autumn Classic in Toronto. FanyuFanme hopes (wishes, prays…) to one day see Yuzu in person again, but, for now, we will remember with a +5 GOE of fondness.
I. Am. Going. To. SEE. Yuzu. Not on YouTube. Not on NBC (thank God, ’cause the commentators–YEESH). Not on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. Not even on my wall. Or my other wall. Or my other wall. Or my refrigerator. Or my computer. Or my phone. You know, all the usual places he likes to turn up. No. I am going to see him IN PERSON.
For weeks, I have had the tickets, the passport, the rental car and the hotel room. Yep. I played that Figure Skating Roulette, and I finally WON. (Well, barring anything crazy, and we all know to knock on ice to ward that off.)
My friends don’t understand the difficulty in getting to see Yuzu. The mere base value is higher than they can comprehend. I’ve tried to explain it to them this way:
Imagine there is a band you really like (love, obsess over, imagine lives with you…you get the point…).
Now imagine that a list of less than 10 cities is released for their upcoming tour. All you need to do is book your travel and buy a ticket and you’re good. Same with figure skating; right?
違う. [WRONG.]
Your band will not play in all of those cities. Your band MIGHT play in 2-3 of those cities. But which ones? You won’t know until the “Band Overlord” assigns their cities to them. No big deal. You can just patiently wait until they assign the cities; right?
違う. [WRONG.]
Because there are OTHER fans who really like-love-obsess over-imagine this band lives with THEM. And while you are “patiently” waiting they are buying tickets and booking travel. Lest you sleep on the pavement or subject yourself to ticket scalpers, you better get in on the action before it’s too late. And then, let’s say you get lucky and the “Band Overlord” assigns your band to a city where you have a non-pavement reservation and still-crazy-expensive-but-not-illegal tickets. You’re guaranteed to see your band now; right?
違う. [WRONG.]
Your band still has to decide to show up to that city. And, if they do, even once you’re standing in the arena with your nachos, your band could still come on stage, strum the first chord of your favorite song, break a guitar string and leave…never to return to the stage in that city to which you may have flown thousands of miles and spent thousands of dollars to get to. That’s a survivable heartbreak though; right?
違う. [WRONG.] Though, keeping it real, I’d still fly to Finland to see Yuzu strum one guitar chord if I could…and buy the tour T-shirt.
And this is why, as I’ve said before, being a Fanyu is not for the faint of heart…or the low of funds.
But I did it! And…
I. Am. Going. To. SEE. Yuzu.
It was announced this morning that Yuzu would start his 2019 season at the Autumn Classic. I was at my desk at work wallowing in my “I-work-in-corporate-America” sadness when the news hit. How did I find out? CloneMe, of course. We’re tight now. I immediately went into my boss’s office and started to cry from happiness. Luckily, he was out on a business trip or that could’ve been somewhat awkward. I finally pulled myself together and returned to my desk. But the remainder of the day was spent letting out tiny gasps of joy that I simply couldn’t contain.
I. Am. Going. To. SEE. Yuzu.
It’s exciting and fantastic and amazing and…bizarre. This is like telling an English major she’s going to see Mr. Darcy or Hamlet in the flesh. Let’s face it. Yuzu is like a figment of my imagination. But, come September, barring injury or Japan choosing to gift itself to him on that day…I will be IN THE SAME ROOM as Yuzu. THE SAME ROOM, people.
The real nervousness begins now…
PLEASE. DON’T. GET. HURT. YUZU. I’m begging you. Can someone please wrap Yuzu in bubble wrap until September?
Wait.
I volunteer.