Who should you support - Part 6

Left - Vimpelin Veto, Right - Sotkamon Jymy

In this post I look at the final 2 teams in Superpesis:

1. Sotkamon Jymy; and
2. Vimpelin Veto

Sotkamon Jymy

Home town/location: Sotkamo is a municipality in Kainuu province in northern Finland and is home to 10,334 people (as at 31st January 2019). Because the municipality covers such a large area, the population density is only 3.9 inhabitants per km². Sotkamo is known for its untouched landscapes and natural beauty (even by Finnish standards), despite having 2 working mines. The mines include works to extract one of the largest nickel deposits in Europe. Previously, Sotkamo was also famous for its diary produce and the name was still used well into the last decade despite the diary closing in 2003. Pesäpallo is a big industry for Sotkamo and the team is integral to the community. 

Team History: Sotkamon Jymy were founded in 1909, making them technically the oldest sporting club in Superpesis. In the beginning the club focussed on alpine sports and other pursuits, before taking up pesäpallo at its inception. Sotkamon Jymy are by far the most successful team in Superpesis. SoJy has won 28 men's major league Championship medals between 1990 and 2019, 17 of them were championship wins. The club has won the Finnish Championship 18 times, all in the Superpesis era, except for its first championship in 1963. Success has built more success for Sotkamo, who are the only team you could say is close to building more of a franchise model than any other team. Sotkamo has a great deal of connections and avenues for growth, with a second team that plays in Ykköspesis (the second division) and several farm team agreements. It is not surprising that Sotkamo boasts some of the most successful players in the game amongst their numbers, including Toni Kohonen, Antti Hartikainen and current manager Jani Komulainen.  

Team colours: Purple and Orange!

Current top players: Roope Korhonen, Joni Rytkönen, Niilo Piiponniemi... I could go on! SoJy has a vast pool of players it can draw on, thanks to it’s second team that plays in Ykköspesis and the various farm team deals it has.

Last season’s position in the table: 2nd - SoJy had a solid season, despite some curious losses to lower ranked teams. They made it all the way to the final, but were beaten by the more consistent and equally talented Joensuun Maila.

East (Itä) or West (Länsi): East (Itä)

Who does the team remind me of: The number of championship wins immediately screams New York Yankees, but I hesitate to jump to that conclusion. The late 2000’s to 2017 reminds me of the “Gas House Gang” era St Louis Cardinals - a sensational and incredibly talented generation with a big personality, with great names like Jani Komulainen, Toni Kohonen, Jimi Heikinen and Antti Hartikainen. The obvious comparison for me is Kingussie who are a Shinty team from the highlands of Scotland due to their dominance in the game; however this reference is probably more obscure than Sotkamon Jymy...

Social media presence: SoJy are probably one of the easiest teams to follow because they have a strong social media platform and shop that delivers worldwide. There is an awful lot of information and YouTube videos about SoJy as well, owing to how successful they have been.  

Why you should support them: If you love the idea of purple and orange alone then SoJy is ideal. If you want to follow a team that has a lot of information available to read and a big presence, then Sotkamo is the team for you. If you want to support a team you know will be in the mix for a championship year on year, then Sotkamo is one of the team’s you can count on. The biggest drawback is that people will think you are a “glory supporter” and only in it for the titles - Manchester United fans during my childhood endured a similar fate.  

Website: http://www.superjymy.fi 

Vimpelin Veto

Home town/location: Vimpeli a town located in Southern Ostrobothnia with a population of 2,896 (as at 31st January 2019) with a population density of 10.08 inhabitants per square kilometre (26.1/sq mi). Vimpeli was crucial in the Winter War (between Finland and USSR (30th November 1939 - 13th March 1940) due to its ski-factory that created over half of the skis used in the war. The town itself is dominated by the presence of the Pesäpallo team - in simple terms, the team is integral to the community and means the wold to them. That is not to say that other teams don't enjoy that level of community feeling, but for Vimpeli the team is huge. In winter sports, Vimpeli became known for skiing thanks to the Vimpeli Skiing event, which was once organised by the Vimpelin Veto Ski Division. Nowadays, the Vimpeli Ski Club (ViHs), which has made vimpeli a great place to ski in the winter. 

Team History: Vimpelin Veto was founded in 1934 as a sports club generally. At the time it was founded, the club's sports range included athletics, skiing, wrestling and bandy. Today the key sport for ViVe is pesäpallo, as well as basketball and eSports. In the early days of the club, the lack of training places and funds caused people from Vimpeli to be represented in neighbouring clubs. ViVe has won the championship 5 times, 3 of which are in the Superpesis era (1960, 1965, 2010, 2016 and 2017). In fact ViVe has won 25 medals in total, from 1940 to 2018, including a run of 8 consecutive finals (7 of which were against Sotkamon Jymy). The modern rivalry between Vimpeli and Sotkamo is such that mlb fans liken it to the Yankees v Red Sox (although I prefer to think of Cardinals v Cubs). ViVe are cherished by fans to such an extent that they have had several songs written about them. 

Team colours: White and Royal Blue.

Current top players: Vimpeli has a solid core of top players and it is no wonder they are continuously challenging for the championship. Som of the key players include - Perttu Ruuska, Janne Mäkelä and Mikko Kanala.

Last season’s position in the table: 1st - Despite leading the league, Vimpeli were knocked out of the playoffs by champions Joensuun Maila and then fell short of the bronze medal to KPL.

East (Itä) or West (Länsi): West (Länsi)

Who does the team remind me of: If you think of Sotkamon Jymy as the Yankees, then Vimpeli are definitely the Red Sox. With the most iconic and exciting field to play at, the team fondly look to their rivalry with Sotkamo and the 2011 championship series is seen as perhaps one of the greatest in history. If you use the Kingussie analogy for Sotkamo (and i don’t suggest you do), then Vimpeli is Newtonmore. 

Social media presence: Vimpeli’s Facebook follows the clubs sports generally, so it is a great way to see what else is going on in Vimpeli. ViVe are also active on Twitter and instagram. ViVe do have a YouTube account, but many of the videos are now 2 or more years old.

Why you should support them: Vimpeli are one of the most passionate teams in Superpesis. Their success on field is phenomenal when you consider their tiny population. The team plays on an island! How cool is that. The ball sails into the river ad all of a sudden fielders are diving in to try and retrieve the ball and stop a kunniajuoksu. If you want to support a team that is challenging for the title, but has the charm and character of a small town, then Vimpeli could be for you. If you like the idea of watching some of the sport’s biggest yet humble names, the maybe Vimpeli is your team. Like Sotkamo, there is now a growing amount of information available on Vimpeli. Plus friend of the blog and fellow podcaster Ron Bronson is a Vimpeli fan!

Website: https://www.vimpelinveto.fi 

So that’s all of them

I hope you have enjoyed this series of posts, it has been a lot of fun getting to know some of the teams and towns and cities that i knew very little about before. I came into this series with a love for pesapällo and an enjoyment watching any team play. Having completed this series I can honestly say that all the teams have a special and unique reason to support them and I love each and every one for it.