The SoftBank Hawks FTW!

This year-old but new-to-me promo for the Japanese professional baseball team the SoftBank Hawks is easily the best baseball related commercial I’ve ever seen (even including that Ken Griffey Jr. Nike ad that made me cry when he retired).

The Hawks website is full of delightful tips on how to enjoy baseball, such as this perfectly joyful sentence: “after the top of the 7th inning, it’s time to sing the team song and release thousands of yellow balloons together with other fans.” We should all be so lucky. Additionally, their stadium is home to a Sadaharu Oh museum, and their team currently features Brad Penny.

I’m sold! Given that the Astros have seemingly given up on even trying to promote themselves at all, I may or may not be considering myself primarily a SoftBank Hawks fan after I watch this video a few more times. My favorite part is the [SPOILER ALERT] hat-wearing dog at the end.

H/T to Buzzfeed.