Friday, 29 March 2024

Vegatta-kun

Vegatta-kun Vegalta Sendai's mascot, Vegatta-kun, is a golden eagle -- a very suitable mascot for any sports team. Some might complain that he looks a bit more like an owl than an eagle, but that may be an attempt to make him look a bit more "cuddly". And dont knock the "cuddly" factor. Vegatta has consistently ranked among the most popular of J.League mascots, in nationwide surveys. 

Vegatta-kun's popularity is not only based on appearance, however. The person who wears the eagle suit has established himself as a local celebrity, based on his oddball sense of humour and mime acting. His most common tactic is to "photobomb" reporters doing interviews with players at half time or after the game, and despite his plastic beak and sewn-on eyes, he manages to express a hilarious range of emotions. 

His most famous performance, though, came during a halftime appearance with Miki Sato, an attractive young woman who was the J.League's "official female manager" for a few years. As she motioned him onstage he pantomimed a sense of thrilled amazement, then began searching furiously through his clothing and feathers until finally he found what he was looking for. Carefully and tenderly he withdrew a magazine from inside his pants and held it up for her to see -- it was Ms. Sato's photo layout for Playboy Japan!


 

Vegalta Sendai -- Team Uniforms (2001-present)

Click on the small pictures to see a larger-size image

2001 (H) 2001 (A) 2002 (H) 2002 (A) 2003 (H) 2003 (A)
2004 (H) 2004 (A) 2005 (H) 2005 (A) 2006 (H) 2006 (A)
2007 (H) 2007 (A) 2008 (H) 2008 (A) 2009 (H) 2009 (A)
2010 (H) 2010 (A) 2011 (H) 2011 (A) 2012 (H) 2012 (A)
2013 (H) 2013 (A) 2014 (H) 2014 (A) 2015 (H) 2015 (A)
2016 (A) 2016 (H) 2017 (A) 2017 (H) 2018 (A) 2018 (H)
2019 (H) 2019 (A) 2020 (H) 2020 (A) 2021 (H) 2021 (A)
2022 (H) 2022 (A) 2023 (H) 2023 (A)