Struggling Korean Baseball Team Replaces Fans with Cheering Robots

A struggling South Korean Major League
baseball team has come up with a novel
idea to boost players’ morale. They’re
replacing human fans with robots called
‘Fanbots’, all in a bid to improve the
atmosphere at their matches.

The promo video for ‘Fanbot – the world’s
first cheering robot’ rides high on the
emotions involved while watching a
match. “Fans of Hanwha Eagles always
come to the stadium to cheer for the
team,” the video states. “But those who
cannot come to the stadium watch the
game on the web or on their phones and
cheer through commenting online. What if
there was a robot cheering for those
fans?”
It’s not easy being a fan of the Hanwha
Eagles – most fans are subject to ridicule
because of the team’s poor performance.
The Hanwha Eagles have suffered over
400 losses in the past five years. Fans of
the team are regarded with sympathy –
they’ve even been dubbed ‘Buddhist
Saints’ and ‘Hanwha Chickens’ by fans of
other teams. The humiliation has been so
great that many fans don’t feel like
attending games anymore. Others simply
do not have the time.
But it doesn’t matter anymore if Hanwha
Eagles supporters aren’t able to make it to
the stadium – they can now control
robotic versions of themselves through an
online interface and even upload their
photographs on to screens on the bots’
faces, as a personal touch. The bots are
designed to cheer, chant and even
perform a Mexican wave, but unlike their
real-life counterparts, the bots will never
invade the pitch.
According to an expert, the bots give
more fans a chance to ‘attend’ matches,
making the stadium full, which is quite
important for players and professional
clubs. “If you look at all the big clubs, you
can’t just get a season ticket – you have to
sit on a waiting list,” said Matt Cutler,
editor of SportsBusiness International.
“There is also potential monetisation. You
can charge, even if it’s a small amount, to
give fans a different kind of viewpoint.”
Fans’ reactions to the bots have been
rather mixed – some think it’s a brilliant
idea, while diehard fans are dismissing
them as gimmicks. “What happens if a
robotic fan misbehaves?” joked football
fan John Hemmingham, who runs the
famous England supporters brass band.
“Gets aggressive, abusive, spills a drink… I
can see it being fraught with danger. What
if it sits in the wrong section? A robotic
hooligan!”
Interestingly, South Korea happens to be a
powerhouse in international baseball –
they even won the gold at the 2008
Beijing Olympics. Given how popular the
sport is among the Koreans, it is indeed
surprising that the Hanwha Eagles fans
don’t attend many matches. “Everyone’s
got a phone with them, checking other
things,” said Cutler. “The days have gone
where people are completely engrossed in
the match.”