To distract from an eerie, empty stadium, the Japanese baseball team Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks brought in more than 20 robots to liven up the otherwise dead atmosphere when they played against the Rakuten Eagles. But the robots only made the game eerier for some fans, while they delighted others.
From Japan Today:
Fans on social media had mixed reactions.
“I think this is like a dystopia,” wrote one Twitter user.
Another called the performance “insanely beautiful.”
Boosted by the supportive robots, the Hawks won 4-3 as they look to defend their 2019 NPB title.
Of course, the stadium is empty because of coronavirus fears. Baseball fans in Japan haven’t been permitted to watch games live, but that will change tomorrow, according to Japan Today, when professional baseball games will start letting in up to 5,000 people to watch.