The 2022 season will be my second as a season ticket holder. The local team is AC Nagano Parceiro - the name is Portuguese, and the meaning of the word translates into English as “Partner.”
Parceiro play in the J-3 league. That is the third, and lowest division of the Japanese pro soccer league. As with many international soccer leagues, the J-League features relegation and promotion. This means that teams can move up or down a division based on performance. That means that each year, there are a few new teams in each division.
Two years ago, Parceiro was looking to be promoted to J-2 for the first time. My kids and I went to the last two games of the season hoping to see a big win. Unfortunately, Parceiro failed to score a goal in either game and did not get promoted. But, we had a good time and decided to get season tickets the next year.
Last year, the season started with hopes of promotion. However, the team struggled to score goals and finished in the middle of the pack.
This year, there will be a new coach, and four teams have been relegated from J-2, including Matsumoto Yamaga, also from Nagano prefecture. The competition will be tough, but my kids and I will be there cheering them on.
The price of season tickets is ridiculously low compared to American professional sports. Because the team wants to get promoted, they build a stadium that meets the requirement for the top division, J1. It is called U-Stadium, and features nice views of the mountains. Half of the seats in the stadium are general admission, so we can sit basically anywhere we want to.
The entire season ticket is the cost of about one field-level ticket to an NFL game in my hometown, Seattle.
Basically, we get to watch soccer in a first-class stadium at a reasonable price. I love it.
My favorite part is that instead of cheering for millionaire soccer players, we are cheering for a team that is made up of professionals and semi-professionals. The team has yet to experience much success. So, it is exciting to imagine being there for their first taste of promotion.
I honestly don't know what to expect from this season. Either way, the point of me being a fan of this team is to root for the home team, and enjoy the ups and downs over time; not to worship a bunch of professional celebrity-level athletes. Go, Nagano!
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