Superpesis will open the 100th anniversary of baseball this weekend. After a couple of corona pandemic seasons, the main baseball series will be launched again under the Spanish sun.
The idea of playing Superpesis on the Spanish Sunshine was born Imatra Pallo-Veikko’s sports director Jani Valkeapää already in 2014. IPV’s representative team often practiced in the heat of southern Spain before the start of the season, so the idea of opening the main season in front of Fuengirola’s large Finnish community was crazy and fascinating enough that Valkeapää, known as an actual think tank, was ready to take on the challenge.
Over the years, Valkeapää has had time to carry out one event, even if it was considered insane. One of these has been the Snow Plane event, where, in connection with a baseball match, the summer snow track built next to the stadium has been used to compete in biathlon and cross-country skiing.
Immediately, the idea of Superpesis and Aurinkoranta did not materialize, as IPV only made it to the main series for the 2017 season.
– This will give new spectators to the species, visibility for the species and start the season a little earlier in exotic conditions. This has been received as the opening of the season and as an East-West-style carnival, Valkeapää, who was reached by phone from Spain, told Sport.
Let’s build the pieces towards normal
The first Fugepesis was played in the spring of 2017 between IPV and Sotkamo Jymy at Campo Elola Stadium. The Superpesis website at the time said that according to eyewitness accounts, there have never been as many people on the field as there were in that match. According to official statistics, the match attracted 16 spectators to the sports center, with a capacity of 2,700 spectators.
Over the next two years, Fugepesis opened the Superpesis season for both women and men, and at its best, the weekend’s two matches were watched by more than 5,000 spectators. With a good reception, there were also plans for the next two years, but the corona pandemic messed these up.
Now the world has opened up again, so the 100th anniversary of baseball is kicking off the heat of the south, Fuengirola.
In previous years, Fugepesis has attracted nesting fans and supporters of clubs, but above all, the opening matches have been targeted at the Finnish community on the Costa del Sol. There are about 20 to 30,000 of them living in the area.
– We have very moderate expectations for the event. After the pandemic, tourism and events have not yet returned to their former levels. Here, pieces are only being built towards normal, Valkeapää said.
– I think there will be a lot of people in the games, but I don’t think we will get to the readings of previous years. I hope I’m wrong.
This year’s teams were Imatra’s Pallo-Veikot and Sotkamo’s Jymy, the same teams as in Fugepesi’s first year. The IPV advanced to the playoffs last autumn after a break of 28 years, while Jymy has won as many as 19 Finnish championships during its history.
Pure risk-taking for IPV
On the women’s side, Roihuttaret from Helsinki and Maila-Jussi from Seinäjoki open their season under the Spanish sun. Both teams will leave this season under the leadership of the new game managers, Roihuttaria will lead Pasi Niemelä and Maila-Jusseja Juha Antikainen.
According to Valkeapää, tickets for the men’s game have been freely purchased in advance. Both matches will be televised and the men’s match will be shown on the free Jim channel in Finland.
2017 Sotkamo Jymy – Imatra Pallo-Veikot 2–0 (5–4, 12–1), audience 2716
2018 Lappeenranta Nest Nines – Lapua Virkiä 0–2 (0–1, 1–5), audience 2089
2018 Imatra Pallo-Veikot – Vimpelin Veto 0–2 (3–6, 0–9), audience 2914
2019 Rauma Fera – Manse PP 0–2 (1–5, 3–5), audience 1256
2019 Seinäjoki JymyJussit – Joensuu Maila 0–2 (0–9, 6–7), audience 2278
Valkeapää admits that organizing Fugepesis is a big wrinkle from both the Baseball Association and the participating clubs. However, the greatest risk and responsibility lies with IPV.
– This is purely risk-taking for us. We have succeeded in previous years, hopefully we will succeed this year as well, Valkeapää said and stated that he has not decreased the turnover of the event.
– What is below the line must be at least as much as what would be left in the home match if we played the home game against Sotkamo Jymy in Ukonniemi, Imatra. At least the same, preferably more.
The superpesis will start in Finland around mid-May, but Valkeapää thinks the time is optimal for Fugepesis. Many teams have been camping in the south of Spain and preparing for the season, so the baseball team has had time to spend together.
There have been no complaints in the circumstances either, although the weather has been cloudy at times.
– It’s been warm. On Thursday, the weather was such that the white face was already taking on a red color. There is a warm Finnish summer weather here, Valkeapää said with satisfaction.