KAWASAKI -- There was anxiety and issues quickly piled up. But a first step is always like that in sports, especially when you build a team that represents a country.
"If they remain on the final (national team) roster and wear the Hinomaru (rising sun) uniform, I guess they show tears in their eyes," Japan head coach Toshiaki Abe jokingly said on Sunday after the Japanese National Team's 36-17 win over the combined Nihon University/Hosei University team in the first warmup game for this summer's third IFAF World Championships at Kawasaki Stadium.
Three quarterbacks that appeared in the game -- Takahiro Kojima (Onward Skylarks), Manabu Tatsumura (Obic Seagulls) and Kentaro Namiki (Asahi Beer Silver Star) -- combined for 421 yards on a 33-for-51 passing to lead Japan's 564-yard offensive attack.