Sumo story

Robin went to the Tokyo Sumo Tournament on Saturday. He went with 2 of his buddies- his college roommate who now lives there working for Merrill Lynch, and another guy who works with Robin at Corning. The College roommate, Chris, stands about 6 foot 6, and Kirby is about Robin's height and build. So there they were: three humongous gaijins watching Sumo. This time though they managed to get a box on the floor near the ring, so they were very close. They paid a little more for these "seats," which are actually boxes on the floor without seats. These boxes are designed for tiny Japanese men and women who are completely comfortable in small quarters and being seated on the floor. So now you can imagine these three middle aged GIANT men trying to get comfortable in their tiny box on the floor. With their box seats came drinks, food and gifts, all stuffed into 3 big shopping bags. The stuff from the bags did not fit into their box (that was filled with squirming, restless and uncomfortable legs) and so in Robin's words, "The stuff rolled around all over the place." They stuck their bums in 3 corners of the box and tried to stretch their legs out but their legs completely filled the space.
When being told this story this morning, I nearly cried, I was laughing so hard. For you see, I married the most inflexible man on the planet. He really can't sit on the floor at all. And he informed me he did better than the other 2 guys. When Robin and I went to watch Sumo before, we stayed until the end of the day's matches, and all the people on the floor stood and threw their red cushions in the air. It was quite a sight to behold. Well, at the end of yesterday's match, Robin and Chris stood, grabbed their cushions, were psyched to throw and then...no one threw their cushion.

Robin loves going to Sumo, and managed to purchase a yukata robe that fits! No surprise there, as he is shaped in a slightly smaller than average Sumo size, and the shops around the arena cater to large men. But as far as box seats go, Robin says, "Never again!"