Last SUMO BINGO of 2024
Hakuho wants you to play SUMO BINGO
Halloween? Hoshoryu.
November? Nishikigi.
Raffle? WINNERS!
Congratulations to our raffle drawing winners, Hannah in Canada and Tyler in Minnesota. THANK YOU everyone who bought raffle tickets. You sent such hilarious and warm messages along with your donations, and we adore you.
Things We Learned in Japan
If you think that sumo wrestlers sweat so much due to the exercise, maybe. But also, JAPAN IS FRIGGIN’ HOT & HUMID. Pocari Sweat (a gatorade type of drink that is sold everywhere) will save your life.
Asakoryu has the thickest head of hair you’ve ever seen. Also the thiccest traps.
Shonnanouni’s thighs are ENORMOUS.
In person, Chiyomaru is just as nice as you would imagine.
There’s a sneaky way in and out of the sumo arena so the top ranked guys can avoid crowds, but many of the lower ranked ones just walk right into front gate area like the rest of us. You can stand on the street in the front of the arena and get great shots (and sometimes an autograph) with the guys entering or leaving the arena. Not all the guys like the attention though, so be cool about it.
It’s just as much fun to watch sumo wrestlers walk down the street as it is to watch them wrestle.
Japan is the cleanest country you’ve ever seen.
Japanese food is delicious. I have no idea what half of it was, but lotus salad is now a favorite.
How Konishiki says hello to us:
Hey Sumo Sistas. Sumo Ka-boom boom boom!
Hakuho said that he hopes you play SUMO BINGO with us.
He also said “PICTURE??” We didn’t manage to say anything to him due to celebrity overwhelm. He really is HUGE. Instead, we stared and nodded and giggled and touched his back like idiots.
BINGO BINGO BINGO
BINGO CARDS ARE AVAILABLE for the November sumo tournament. It takes luck, speed, and skill to win in this super duper, difficult game.
Ganbatte!
How to PLAY SUMO BINGO:
CLAIM YOUR CARD. (1 per person please)
Watch the November sumo tournament and mark a wrestler when he gets 8 wins (kachi-koshi) and/or 8 losses (make-koshi).
5 across/down/diagonal of the same type is a BINGO (all kachi-koshi or all make-koshi).
When you get a BINGO, email us a photo/screen shot of your completed winning card sumokaboom@gmail.com ASAP. We’ll let you know if you were the first BINGO.
The biggest prizes go to the 1st kachi-koshi and make-koshi BINGO winners, so speed is of the essence. Send in your BINGO fast if you think you might be the winner. But, if you BINGO later, your name goes into a drawing for additional prizes at the end of the basho. SO KEEP PLAYING.
Feel free to share your good fortune with the world over social media, too. Go ahead - share your win!
Reminders
***IMPORTANT*** Your BINGO card is filled with wrestlers who are on the current banzuke. If a wrestler never wrestles in this tournament, it's NOT a make-koshi or kachi-koshi. It's a dead square. It sucks, and we don’t like it either!
A sense of humor is appreciated and will earn you special sumo points from us. And sometimes a prize! Decorate your cards. Redesign them. Take pictures of them surrounded by all your sumo merch.
Play to the end of the basho! Every BINGO enters your name into the drawing for prizes at the end of the basho. We give away 2-4 prizes to folks who BINGO late.
If your wrestler wrestles at least 1 day, his record counts. He might be make-koshi, but he could be JUST the loser you need to win BINGO.
Stay true to your style of sumo bingo! Ganbatte!
WHAT DO I WIN?
IF YOU WIN SUMO BINGO, you get BRAGGING RIGHTS as the basho’s reigning BINGO champion. You also receive homemade jam and a chance to spend some $ at bigSUMOfan.com. With a gift certificate, you can choose what you’d like from the shop, but sometimes, Robert offers an item in particular, the popular sumo calendar, for example.
BINGO SPONSORS
bigSUMOfan
Robert at bigSUMOfan.com carries many authentic Japanese sumo products that are likely to be of interest to fans worldwide. Online store in the USA for sumo fans all over the world. Hear more about bigSUMOfan in our episode: “BINGO, Yutakayama and bigSUMOfan.”
X (Twitter) @bigSUMOfan
Sumo Kaboom
Sumo Kaboom is a podcast about all things sumo. Give us a listen! Leslie makes a mean jar of homemade jam and offers it to a SUMO BINGO winner. The flavors change - orange, fig, strawberry, grape, depending on what’s in season.
Stay true to YOUR BRAND of SUMO BINGO.
I love sumo wrestling. I discovered that it is my favorite sport this year (and wow has this been a personally defeating, emotionally hard year). Being able to be distracted by the details and excitement of sumo has, in many ways, been a lifesaver...BTW, my favorite stable is Futagoyama & my favorite wrestler is Roga (but Soga and Mita are also great). It makes me so happy to be subscribed this substack. Thank you for sharing the sumo joy. 💕💟💜