FUKUOKA -- The Hanshin Tigers had the beer on ice in anticipation of a wild victory celebration, while the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks' "Japan Champions 2003" logo T-shirts were stacked up next to a Fukuoka Dome dumpster in case they had to be thrown away.
Tadahito Iguchi of the Hawks pumps his fist after hitting a two-run homer in the first inning of Game 6 of the Japan Series against the Hanshin Tigers.
Game 6 of the Japan Series was about to begin, a must win for the Hawks, down three games to two, and certainly one the visiting Tigers could not afford to lose either. That would send it to a deciding Game 7 in a series where the home team had won the first five.