Welcome to Team Jokbal

There are some fans out there that see some weird looking foreigners holding up signs with Team Jokbal (팀족발) written on them or walking around wearing jerseys that have things such as 두산족발 (Doosan Jokbal), 기아족발 (KIA Jokbal), KT족발 (KT Jokbal), and 팀족발 (Team Jokbal) written on them. There is also one that wears colorful wigs to the games, primarily green ones. Sorry, that was a bit of a shout out to me as the green wig wearer.

The Team Jokbal Crew

There are a lot of laughs, smiles, and stares and it's honestly a great thing. It is serving the purpose of making people happy and providing a bit of quirky amusement at games. It's not that KBO games really need to be any more exciting or fun because they are already great, but at least we are doing our part to bring a little more joy to the stands.

Now comes a question that many are probably wondering. Where does the idea of Team Jokbal actually come from? Last year there was a bit of a joke going around within our group about what some of the KBO players might eat after a game to celebrate a big win or a well played game. For some reason we could just imagine players sitting around a table scarfing down big platters of jokbal (pig's feet) and having a few glasses of beer or soju. Why jokbal? To be honest, the better question is why not jokbal? It's a great Korean dish that seems to be highly underrated among foreigners and it's simply delicious.

As a result we decided it would be amusing to get custom jerseys made with jokbal written on the backs. After all, getting custom jerseys done in Korea is pretty easy and very common among the fans. You will see everything from couples wearing jerseys that highlight their relationship status to others wearing custom jerseys that pay homage to their favorite players.

Now on to the most important question about Team Jokbal and the driving factor behind its existence. Does Team Jokbal serve any purpose other than being fun? What most don't know, beyond the comical factor, is that it also serves another purpose. After a friend and fellow Team Jokbal member came across an article about Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos giving away a shirt in exchange for a tray of pork, we thought that we could probably swing something in similar fashion in Korea with jokbal and the KBO. The result has been us offering to give players a plate of Jokbal in exchange for game used jerseys, hats, bats, helmets, etc.

You may now be wondering "what will Team Jokbal be doing with these items that they collect?" While we are fans and collectors that would love to keep these items to add to our personal sports collections, we decided that we could use these items to bring even more joy and fun to others. This lead us to deciding to offer these items for auction in the winter at a fan charity auction and use the proceeds to purchase sports equipment for students in poor areas and orphanages around South Korea.

Our Mission in Korean for Korean Players & Fans

In the short time since deciding to pursue this cause, we have managed to make some connections with some players (Michael Bowden, Pat Dean, and Jeff Manship) that have already donated or will donate and they have also started spreading the message to other players. The KBO is full of a bunch of great guys and I am happy that we are getting to work with some of them to get equipment for kids because we have seen and experienced the joy and benefits that sports can bring to young people. Hopefully with continued work and contributions we can help fill a void by purchasing and donating equipment so that kids get a chance to play a game of catch or hit their first home run. Who knows? They may be future KBOers themselves. At the very least it will provide some healthy fun and memories for them.

Check back often as we will begin to post some of the stories and items here in the future. Thanks for reading and the support!

Cheers,

Team Jokbal 🐖 (George, Tony, Andrew, & Marcus)