The Japan Series-winning run by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles was one of the best feel-good stories in Japanese pro baseball in 2013.
And, of course, it made the die-hard fans in Tohoku delighted and proud.
"I'd never imagined a day like this would come," said Hiroko Takami, a 32-year-old company employee from Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, of the fact the Eagles were one win shy of clinching the Japanese Fall Classic, title before Game 6 on Saturday.