A more expansive Washington Post opinion piece for anyone interested: The greatest figure in sports, maybe ever, just retired. You probably haven’t heard of him. One thing incorrect in the article...
29-year-old Tobizaru, who somewhat annoyingly brands himself “The Flying Monkey,”
...Tobizaru didn't brand himself anything. Just as you, dear reader, may have a nickname given to you by friends (or enemies) that you had no choice in. The same goes for Tobizaru, it was given to him by his fan club because even when he wins, he tends to fly out of the ring.
In other news, Hakuho is now the oyakata of Magaki stable, meaning he was immediately given elder stock and his own stable. Now technically Magaki stable has been defunct and had no owner since 2013 when it was closed, so this is most likely just a procedural thing as oyakata elder stock has to be attached to a stable and he'll just have it as a technicality for a year until his current stable's oyakata retires next August and he takes over. Otherwise he'd be completely starting from scratch with a new stable and finding new wrestlers, etc.
That said, this wasn't without its hiccups. First of all, for the first time I can recall, his oyakata elder stock approval was not universal (other elders vote to give someone stock or not) and instead a split vote with some of the protesters showing their blatant xenophobia of the GOATcomplaining about his in-ring conduct and his oyoakata status being subject to a written oath, which he agreed to.
cc: @AugustusFerdinand. No doubt you have heard this news already, but I'm curious what your thoughts on it are... especially in light of Hakuho having just won that last tournament you posted...
cc: @AugustusFerdinand. No doubt you have heard this news already, but I'm curious what your thoughts on it are... especially in light of Hakuho having just won that last tournament you posted about. Was this retirement expected, or did it come as a bit of a surprise?
I have. I can't talk about it right now. I'm still in mourning. Not really... Just super busy today between my normal job and my dentist's server going kaput, it's 11pm here, I just got home. Will...
I have.
I can't talk about it right now.
I'm still in mourning.
Not really...
Just super busy today between my normal job and my dentist's server going kaput, it's 11pm here, I just got home. Will chime in tomorrow after much needed sleep has been acquired.
@cfabbro So coming back to this. After the July basho resulting in Hakuho's utterly dominant zenshō-yūshō (perfect record tournament win) many thought he'd be in for at least another tournament or...
After the July basho resulting in Hakuho's utterly dominant zenshō-yūshō (perfect record tournament win) many thought he'd be in for at least another tournament or two, or until his oyakata (stablemaster) retired at the mandatory age of 65 (he's 64 now, turns 65 next August) where he'd be the obvious choice to take over the stable. Sure, he did a lot of random stuff the last basho, but many (myself included) saw that as him pulling out all the tricks in his first full basho back from a long string of injuries and surgery, but aside from the first nervous matchup he looked generally unstoppable. He proved to himself, as obvious from the yell at the end against Terunofuji, and the fans that he was still the GOAT.
However, there's no way to deny the toll taken on his body from over two decades of near-daily training, 20 years of professional sumo, 13 years at the top of the game, 122 tournaments and 1,434 matches, 1,028 of those at Yokozuna where every single other wrestler is doing all that they can to topple the king and take home the not-inconsiderable amount of cash linked to doing so.
Overall the announcement came as a surprise, many wrestlers, yokozuna included just less so, retire after it's become apparent they can no longer compete and on a bad day Hakuho is still better than 80% of the rikishi active today. That's not to say that his retirement was unexpected. The clock was ticking, he wasn't going to be around much longer, but I don't think many thought it'd be right after the last tournament (he was out this tournament due to a COVID outbreak at his stable that due to protocols keeps all the rikishi there out of the basho).
That's a hell of a lot of career bouts, so it makes sense to me that he called it quits. If not now then at least soon, but going out on a big win is always preferable to sticking around long...
That's a hell of a lot of career bouts, so it makes sense to me that he called it quits. If not now then at least soon, but going out on a big win is always preferable to sticking around long after your prime (IMO). Thanks again for providing your insight into the sport!
A more expansive Washington Post opinion piece for anyone interested: The greatest figure in sports, maybe ever, just retired. You probably haven’t heard of him.
One thing incorrect in the article is this...
...Tobizaru didn't brand himself anything. Just as you, dear reader, may have a nickname given to you by friends (or enemies) that you had no choice in. The same goes for Tobizaru, it was given to him by his fan club because even when he wins, he tends to fly out of the ring.
In other news, Hakuho is now the oyakata of Magaki stable, meaning he was immediately given elder stock and his own stable. Now technically Magaki stable has been defunct and had no owner since 2013 when it was closed, so this is most likely just a procedural thing as oyakata elder stock has to be attached to a stable and he'll just have it as a technicality for a year until his current stable's oyakata retires next August and he takes over. Otherwise he'd be completely starting from scratch with a new stable and finding new wrestlers, etc.
That said, this wasn't without its hiccups. First of all, for the first time I can recall, his oyakata elder stock approval was not universal (other elders vote to give someone stock or not) and instead a split vote with some of the protesters
showing their blatant xenophobia of the GOATcomplaining about his in-ring conduct and his oyoakata status being subject to a written oath, which he agreed to.cc: @AugustusFerdinand. No doubt you have heard this news already, but I'm curious what your thoughts on it are... especially in light of Hakuho having just won that last tournament you posted about. Was this retirement expected, or did it come as a bit of a surprise?
I have.
I can't talk about it right now.
I'm still in mourning.
Not really...
Just super busy today between my normal job and my dentist's server going kaput, it's 11pm here, I just got home. Will chime in tomorrow after much needed sleep has been acquired.
Also, I love you too, cfabbro.
@cfabbro
So coming back to this.
After the July basho resulting in Hakuho's utterly dominant zenshō-yūshō (perfect record tournament win) many thought he'd be in for at least another tournament or two, or until his oyakata (stablemaster) retired at the mandatory age of 65 (he's 64 now, turns 65 next August) where he'd be the obvious choice to take over the stable. Sure, he did a lot of random stuff the last basho, but many (myself included) saw that as him pulling out all the tricks in his first full basho back from a long string of injuries and surgery, but aside from the first nervous matchup he looked generally unstoppable. He proved to himself, as obvious from the yell at the end against Terunofuji, and the fans that he was still the GOAT.
However, there's no way to deny the toll taken on his body from over two decades of near-daily training, 20 years of professional sumo, 13 years at the top of the game, 122 tournaments and 1,434 matches, 1,028 of those at Yokozuna where every single other wrestler is doing all that they can to topple the king and take home the not-inconsiderable amount of cash linked to doing so.
Overall the announcement came as a surprise, many wrestlers, yokozuna included just less so, retire after it's become apparent they can no longer compete and on a bad day Hakuho is still better than 80% of the rikishi active today. That's not to say that his retirement was unexpected. The clock was ticking, he wasn't going to be around much longer, but I don't think many thought it'd be right after the last tournament (he was out this tournament due to a COVID outbreak at his stable that due to protocols keeps all the rikishi there out of the basho).
That's a hell of a lot of career bouts, so it makes sense to me that he called it quits. If not now then at least soon, but going out on a big win is always preferable to sticking around long after your prime (IMO). Thanks again for providing your insight into the sport!