"Is there a KCC match today?"

In 2019, five years ago, the first question a taxi driver asked in Busan to cover the semifinal playoff of the 2018-19 season was, "Is there a Lotte game today?" And five years later, the taxi driver in Busan asked, "Is there a KCC game today?"

Busan is such a city of baseball that it is called the "Gu." Despite the fact that there are many professional sports, baseball was the representative professional sports of Busan. People wearing Lotte Giants uniforms can be easily found, and in particular, Sajik is so dominant that one wonders what will remain if Lotte is erased.

Whether Lotte's performance is good or bad, Sajik Stadium was a must-see for Busan fans and is a landmark in the city center. As such, Busan was Lotte, and these years have passed for decades.

However, it is slowly changing in 2024. Soon, the formula of baseball in Busan is slowly breaking down. This is a change that began with the Busan KCC.

When I visit Busan for coverage, I often use a taxi. When I told the taxi driver to resign, everyone was asked, "Is there a Lotte game today?" However, in Busan, where I visited in 2024, more and more questions are asking, "Is there a KCC game today?"

In addition, KCC's playoff commemorative T-shirts are as frequently seen in Busan as Lotte's uniform. It is difficult to say that Lotte's dominance has yet to be completely eliminated, but it is great that basketball is showing influence little by little in Busan.

The third and fourth games of the championship game held at Busan Sajik Gymnasium were also a "huge success." 10,496 people visited the stadium in the third and 11,271 people in the fourth games. It was the first milestone in 12 years and the moment that proved basketball, not baseball, can cheer up in Busan. In particular, the "Busan Seagull," which resonated at Busan Sajik Gymnasium, resonated differently from Sajik Stadium and conveyed emotion.

What's more surprising is that fans who only loved Lotte began to slowly show interest in KCC. In fact, many fans wearing Lotte uniforms visited Busan Sajik Gymnasium. It means so much that it caught the attention of Lotte fans who live and die in baseball.