New baseball team in Changwon divides Lotte fans

The forthcoming entry of a pro baseball team in the southern industrial city of Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, has fueled subtle competition among baseball fans in the city and Busan.

Busan Lotte Giants fans showed stronger loyalty to the new team than those in Changwon. Nearly 55.6 percent of 72 people who called themselves Giants fans said they will continue to root for Lotte, while just 20.6 percent of them said they would back the Changwon team.

More than 44 percent of Changwon residents said they will cheer for both the Giants and the NC Soft team, whose mascot remains pending. Busan fans were relatively more loyal to Lotte, however.

The subtle difference in attitude was also visible in their hopes of players they want to see play for the NC Soft team. Changwon fans showed stronger attachment to Lotte players than those from other teams.

The top three players Changwon fans hope will play for NC Soft were all Giants players: Lee Dae-ho, Hong Sung-heon and Kang Min-ho. Changwon fans also want other major Lotte players to play for NC Soft, including Jeon Joon-woo and Cho Jung-hoon.

By contrast, Lotte fans insisted that Lotte keep at least Lee. On which player they would never want to see play for NC Soft, 26 of 68 people chose Lee, followed by Hong (13), Kang (11), Jeon (7), and Sohn Ah-seop (2).

Lotte will probably not allow its major players to be recruited by NC Soft, but the survey showed competitive feelings between fans in Changwon and Busan.