2010 Sportsman No. 1 Monster Box Special - Navi

Makoto Nagano 長野 誠 doing Sportsman #1 Monster Box Special

As you know by now there was an announcement made in November that the Sportsman #1 competition for 2010 was on January 7th. Of course being right in the middle of my mammoth 21 part Sasuke 24 Blog.. I had to delay the blog for Sportsman until now. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to do the blog but then I got this note and it perked my interest.

Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 also doing the Monster Box Special

Last year I was exhausted from watching my first Sportsman #1 competition (that Ube Blogged) so I thought I might as well make up for not doing last year's and do this years instead but only concentrate on the Monster Box portion of the show. That's what I'm doing. Having watched Sasuke 24 and watched the commercials over and over I figured I'd like what I was going to watch and as a matter of fact I did to an extent.

4 hours before the actual show they had a Special 1/2 hour Navi. What it turned out to be was a huge Monster Box recap of the past 15 years of the event. That part was actually cool since I didn't know the history of the Monster Box. This is the blog that will cover that first. The beginning of Navi started with pictures of what would be happening in the latter part of the main show but for now I'm concentrating on Monster Box to keep it to one blog and less pictures :p I don't expect many people to read this so I'm doing this blog mostly for myself (and reference in the future).

It all starts back in 1995 when the first show featuring the Monster Box was a part of the old Muscle Ranking TV show.

I believe this was Iida Tetsuya 飯田 哲也 - a baseball player and also the first winner of the Pro Sportsman #1 competition (Google translated the name for me so let me know if it's incorrect)

Already apologizing since there will be names I miss.. Going between Japanese wiki, Ube's old blogs entries and my own Sasuke blogs that had the same competitors.. Feel free to message me on this blog if I get some names incorrect. This was way before my time so I'm half guessing here with people I'm not that familiar with. The first show was shown on January 1, 1995.

Yukio Iketani 池谷幸雄 - back in his prime.. was in the first Pro Sportsman #1 by virtue of his multi-medal Olympic Career in Gymnastics

Yukio here making his jump. Both men made the 16 boxes (2 meters and 36 centimeters or approx. 7.7 feet) making that the height for future Sportsman competitors to beat

The next competition in 1995 was held on March 29, 1995.

Holy crap.. I love this guy.. okay I don't even need a wiki to know who this Gymnastics powerhouse is.. THIS is Vitaly Scherbo .. and zomg forgive me if I fangirl a moment.. and if you don't know who this is.. Arguably the greatest or most successful male gymnast of all time, he is the only male gymnast ever to have won a World or Olympic title on all 8 events.

He was there showing off how easy the Monster Box was to him. (cough... something Iketani does now.. sorry.. digressing)

Speaking of Iketani.. there's Yukio.. wow.. cheering for him? Jerk don't make me like you now.. (shakes fist)

LOL and a very young Naoki Iketani during his many haircuts and hair colors.. back when he was nothing more than Yukio's kid brother who also did gymnastics

Koji Murofushi 室伏広治 - Olympic Gold medalist for Japan in Hammer Throw (and the 8th winner of Sportsman #1 (2002))

We all know who this guy is - Naoki Iketani 池谷直樹 - Muscle Musical マッスルミュージカル

Yukio also made his mark in this competition

Vitaly here is now motioning to raise the Monster Box higher .. higher than before!

It's now at 20 boxes - 2 meters 76 centimeters (approximately 9 feet high) which at that point obviously no one had ever gotten to let alone beat it

Vitaly taking a shot at 20 boxes

And.. an epic clear!

Disgusting the crap out of Yukio...

So at this point in 1995 the box to beat was 20 boxes high!

Bring on 1996

This is really funny.. now they are doing the taking the Monster Box on the road.. Ube was joking that they won't pass overpasses... LOL Gotta love the publicity though!

We are in Atlanta, Georgia in the USA on October 2, 1996 for a special Monster Box competition on Olympic Year

Rocking the parking lot in downtown Atlanta yo!

Vitaly Scherbo is back to kick some a$$

I'm assuming 12 people are involved? or is it 8? Enquiring Minds want to know :p

Yeo Hong-Chul of South Korea (KOR) - Silver Medalist in the Atlanta Olympics on Vault (cough.. btw.. he's cute.. cough)..

HE ties 20 boxes with an impressive jump

Vitaly going up against his mark of 20 boxes

And he easily clears!!

Now they raise it to 22 boxes which is 2 meters and 96 centimeters (approx. 9.7 feet)

Yeo Hong-Chul tries again.. but DING! YOU WIN.. lol sorry.. just they really ought to put a ding whenever they nut-shot it..

Vitaly putting his game-face on..

And he raises the bar to 22 boxes!!

Wife looking on and is excited

Vitaly Scherbo now holding the 22 box mark

A year later..

The Olympians are back! But this time indoors! (April 2nd, 1997)

Doh.. Vitaly can't match last year's glory of 22 boxes

BUT there is someone left who wants to try 23 boxes!! 3 Meters and 6 centimeters (approx. 10.03 feet)

Cutey-pie from South Korea is back - Yeo Hong-Chu going for 23 boxes

And HE does it.. (wait.. isn't 23 boxes what Naoki Iketani is best known for? LOL I guess we find out that there are a few people with this World Record :p )

Yeo Hong-Chu holding the World Record at 23 boxes ya'll

Vitaly showing his appreciation for a glorious jump!

Fast Forward 2 years

Oh yeah.. speaking of Iketani.. Naoki Iketani 池谷直樹 with his new haircut and hair color.. (March 26, 1999)

This is the first time he tied the World Record at 23 boxes!

Fast forward another year

This time we are in Sydney, Australia just after the 2000 Summer Games (January 1, 2001)

.. On the road again..

Ahaahhahahah now they are having way too much fun showing how they pass some bystanders in Sydney with a friggin' box on top of a truck..

Meanwhile.. back in some place by the port..

Vitaly is back with a few new friends to kick some Monster Box Butt!

This part they go pretty fast with a bunch of Medalists from the Sydney Games all beating the 20 box height

Going so fast I can't recognize who they are

And so far they are not giving names..

Wait.. I know that face! Alexei Nemov (RUS) who kicked some serious butt in Sydney with an All-Around Gold medal, another gold and 3 bronzes

In the middle of the competition it seemed that they had to cancel it

As they tried to dry off the runway..

.. because of horizontal rain...

Yeah.. that's a certifiable washout..

So they move the competitions indoors in Japan (oh check it out.. it's Jordan Jovtchev in front there wearing green).

Dangit.. he seems familiar..
Gervasio Deferr ゲルバシオ・デフェル (Spain)

Yeo Hong-Chul of South Korea (KOR) still kicking butt

We skipped 3 years (seems they are keeping the Kane Kosugi domination (cough he holds 22 box record for a celeb.. cough) to the actual main show)

We are in Athens, Greece now! Hello Parthenon!

Just about a 1/4 mile or so away from that.. is this thing..

January 1, 2005 broadcast of the next Olympic year Monster Box World Championship!

Yeo Hong-Chul of South Korea (KOR) showing he still kicks a$$

Hmm.. seems to be a indoor (Japan)/outdoor (Greece) event. They had a few of those during the Sportsman #1 airings.

Hisashi Mizutori 水鳥 寿思 - He was part of the Japanese team that won the gold medal in the team competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Isao Yoneda 米田 功 - also part of the Japanese team that won the gold medal in the team competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics

They bring back the 23rd Box..

Back in Greece they have Morgan Hamm - He was part of the United States Silver Medal Team in Athens, Greece

LOL HE is tied with Iketani at 23 boxes..

Celebration all around

Indoors.. Hisashi Mizutori 水鳥 寿思 joins the list of the 23 box club!

So.. that's how many .. let us count officially who is tied at 23 boxes:
FOUR PEOPLE! (unofficially it's 6 but officially there are 4)

.. but no one seems to get past the elusive 24 boxes..

Fast forward to this show!

We see Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 again (this commercial was going on every other break)

Now present day.. I think Chiba, Japan (don't quote me on that :p ) and I think December 21st (again don't quote me on that..)

Daisuke Miyazaki 宮﨑大輔 - Handball dude who now plays for Spain

What begins now is a huge list (50 guys) all doing the monster box. You see their names in Kanji and their ages and what sport they represent, etc. I didn't take screenshots of all the guys in the list.. I'll be here until Kingdom come trying make sense of what is essentially stick figures to me..

Tomoki Kitagawa 北川智規 - Rugby player and placed 4th in the 2009 Sportsman No. 1.

Junichi Miyashita 宮下 純一 - Olympic Bronze medal Swimmer (cough.. double fail guy)

Kazuyuki Toda 戸田和幸 - Soccer player

Friggin familiar but I can't place his name..

Leszek Blanik of Poland レゼク・ブラニク - the gold medal winner in the vault at the Beijing Olympics.

Wakky ワッキー - Comedian and part of the duo Penalty ペナルティー

Masaki Nomura 野村将希 - Actor

Wait.. it's those Menudo guys again.. boy band Shinsengumi Rien 新撰組リアン

SASUKE Allstars - Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩, Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟
LOL Takeda and Nagano are carrying big a$$ duffle bags that can hold bodies.. and Shingo is totally not bringing jack :p

Naoki Iketani 池谷直樹 - Muscle Musical マッスルミュージカル

This is him back in 1999 where he did the 23 box jump for the first time

That was when he had auburn hair.. LOL

He repeated it again in 2002 ..

And again in 2006 where he had a cow... and cried like a baby...

I will pwn 24.. I'm confident.. btw.. I see he's sporting the blond mohawk again...

Awwwwww TBS chick having the fangirl moment with cutie Miyazaki

Daisuke sporting the new doo.. actually I like it! Glad he's back to his normal hair color as well

Back in 2006 when he dyed his hair.. (Ube blogged this battle) this is him getting ready to battle in the final battle: Shot-Gun Touch

Where he won his first of 3 titles

This is him winning his first title of Pro Sportsman #1

Have I explained before how friggin' famous he is?

Btw he's now in Spain

Here he is signing this chick's shirt.. giggles abound!

This is last year's event where he won his 3rd title (I was too tired to blog it.. sorry.. but Ube did a fabulouso job!)

Daisuke's highest Monster Box jump is 20 boxes back in 2008

Will he get higher this time?

TBS designed this event just for me.. I'm injured this year! Er.. uhm.. I will pwn the Monster Box!

Toda looking totally different since he doesn't dye his hair either anymore

Speaking of dying hair.. that's him on the back row to the right wearing 21

Takashi Fukunishi 福西崇史 - Former Japan National Team soccer player back in 2000

We've seen him in Sasuke lately but they are showing him here to say that another soccer player made 19 boxes

He's now hoping to beat 19 boxes

... there's that face.. Yukio's back..

Yukio Iketani 池谷幸雄 - Olympic Gymnast

His top mark is 18 boxes back in 1996

I will pwn 18 boxes!

Meanwhile back in Narita Airport..

Olympic Gold medalist Vaulter...

Previous ones have done very well at this event - Yeo Hong-Chul of South Korea (KOR)

Morgan Hamm from the USA

Hisashi Mizutori 水鳥 寿思

Will Leszek Blanik of Poland レゼク・ブラニク do just as good?

He hopes so!

Er.. dunno.. they look like comedians..

Wakky ワッキー - Comedian and part of the duo Penalty ペナルティー

.. he was a soccer player??

This is him back in 2004

Where he had a great tournament!

And jumped 19 boxes!

Even Naoki was impressed! (yet another hairstyle..)

He's training like crazy again

He's a formidable competitor and has had success in the celebrity competitions - here he is pwning the field in Quick Muscle

And doing fabulous in the Shot-Gun Touch

And thus he won the last Celebrity Sportsman competition (it hasn't been back in 2 1/2 years)

In the Pro version of Sportsman here he is in "Tail Impossible"

An event which he won against the rest of the Pro athletes

Wakky ワッキー - wants to beat 19 again

Boy band Shinsengumi Rien 新撰組リアン

Geez.. who did they pay off to be in this thing?

Masaki Nomura 野村将希 and his swagger.. LOL!!

Awww she thinks he's cute too!

This is him back in 1996 where he was an active participant in the Celebrity Sportsman competitions (doing the Monster Box here)

And the Quick Muscle

And hauling a friggin truck..

Celebrating during the Shot-Gun Touch

In 2003 doing the Monster Box

And his top mark is 17 boxes (which is fabulous especially for a friggin 50+ year old)

I can still do 17 boxes ya'll

SASUKE Allstars - Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩, Makoto Nagano 長野誠 and Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟

If you didn't know they were from the TV Show called Sasuke.. you totally don't read this blog.. :p

Makoto Nagano 長野誠 winning Sasuke 17

Shingo Yamamoto 山本進悟 pumping Gas

He's also the only one to have competed in every single Sasuke event! This is him here in Sasuke 1

He's also a 2-time finalist

Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 is a fireman!

Kawaiiiii... Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 wearing the buzz cut.. here he is in his Junior High Volleyball Team photo (he was a spiker)

Here is Toshihiro Takeda 竹田敏浩 again in another Volleyball Team photo.. looking like a JPop Idol! ROFL

This is him in Sasuke 24 (cries...)

Here in Sasuke 21 he celebrated being the very first person to pass the Shin-Cliffhanger

I see the girl has the hots for him too!

Shingo looking like he just woke up again..

And Nagano sporting his freshly dyed hair :p

Miyazaki looks hammered.. LOL

Naoki Iketani showing off.. as usual...

Blanik taking a break ...

Mmmmmmm... French .. Fries.. from.. McDonald's... ehem.. sorry..

Sportsman #1 Monster Box Special!

Everyone pumped and ready!

There's like 50 people ya'll

I'll get to the blog soon™

GET IT ON!