SF Giants Fans to Celebrate Jung Hoo Lee’s Return with ‘Hoo Lee Gans’

Meet the Hoo Lee Gans, the Newest fan craze to hit SF sports.

“Rarely do we, mere humans, stuff of stardust, amalgamations of primordial soup, have an opportunity to make history,” says die hard Giants fan and organizer Kyle Smeallie. “Monday, April 7 will be one such day.”

Even those of us who don’t closely follow baseball know that the Giants played a mediocre season last year. But now Smeallie is giving Giants devotees something to rally around: Jung Hoo Lee, the returning outfield superstar and fan favorite.

“We want to welcome back our hometown team, and our returning outfield superstar Jung Hoo Lee, by taking over a whole ass section of Oracle Park,” Smeallie explained in a recent email to fans. “And we will do it in style — fully decked out in matching ‘Hoo Lee Gans’ t-shirts and fire-inspired wigs. Here’s the best part: commit to the bit, and your tickets are fully free.” The target game day is April 7th, giving fans a month to get ready.

Who is Jung Hoo Lee?

It’s funny. You can find out a baseball player’s height (6’1”), weight (192), stats (killer but cut short by injury), whether they favor left or right (lefty), or even that their nickname is “Grandson of Wind” without learning a whole lot about what makes them such a fan fav. For that, you’d need to do an aggressive social media deep dive into the MLB comments section, where you’ll quickly learn exactly why Jung Hoo Lee is beloved.

“Bro is a ray of sunshine,” user king_gemini_zy comments on a video of the player giggling and whooping a loud yell at someone off cam. “He got that asmr voice,” says user kylspnn on another video following the player around while he hugs, hops, and tries on gloves and narrates it with a low, soft, and frankly soothing voice. 

“We’re huge fans,” Smeallie explains. “We were so excited when he joined the team last year and we had this plan to show up to Oracle all wearing the same shirts and matching wigs.” Tragically, Lee got a shoulder injury and didn’t get to keep playing last year. Smeallie says he was “devastated.” But now, Lee is returning and it promises to be a special season. 

Why The Wigs?

San Francisco loves a good wig and an excuse to dress up. And now, our sports lovers and wig aficionados can wear one outfit that encompasses both a passion for dress-up and a love for ballgames.

Smeallie explains that part of the underlying idea here is celebrating irreverent joy. “We’re living through a time where there’s so much negativity, darkness, and sad things. Part of what that produces is people who feel alone, people who feel like the world is falling apart.” But there’s always a silver lining to the storm clouds. “I do think that there is a lot of positivity to being our weird, normal selves and celebrating each other. If that means putting on a wig, that’s what it means.”

They’re calling themselves the Hoo Lee Gans, borrowing from the soccer term hooligans. Smeallie promises to be “there in full force, in full regalia for our favorite player.” 

Optimism

Smeallie has an unshakeable optimism about the team’s chances this year. He says, “We’re so excited he’s coming back! The Giants are gonna be better. We’re gonna run it back and show up in matching wigs to be loud and proud for one of our favorite players.” 

In his email, Smeallie invites supporters to: “Join me in picturing how epic this will be. We have 50 tickets, Section 325, rows 5-9. All of us in matching Hoo Lee Gans shirts and wigs. Guaranteed to get on the jumbotron. Might even make SportsCenter. You want to be in on this.”

So What’s Smeallie’s Deal?

Smeallie is the perfect person to organize something like this. He plays in a Bay Area baseball rec league, but he also has a background in organizing and community building. “One of my favorite organizers, his name is Saul Alinksy. He has one of my favorite principles of organizing. If it’s not fun, it’s not sustainable.” That’s why Smeallie is investing so much of his time and energy in the project. “I want to make sure that as we’re doing this serious resistance work and showing up for communities against displacement, we’re also organizing to be joyful and to celebrate each other and be a little weird about it.”

Smeallie hasn’t met Lee yet, but he shares, “I’d love to. Putting it out there. Jung Hoo Lee, let’s grab a beer.” Will Lee be expecting to see this display of love from fans on April 7? “I hope he’s an avid reader of BrokeAssStuart, in which case he’ll be fully aware.” 

What’s the Future of Baseball?

This writer is going to be honest with you. I don’t know any of the other players and I’m not sure what Lee’s position is. Some baseball fans may bristle at this, but a lot of people say the sport is in its twilight years. To that, Smeallie says, “I think it’s a fair critique. The sport writ large hasn’t done enough to attract younger fans, fans with families… This is not a San Francisco Giants problem. It’s a Major League Baseball problem.” According to the Pew Research Center, most people say that football is America’s sport; only 27% think it’s baseball. 

Smeallie speculates that a large reason behind it is that the cost of going to a game has become astronomical. “There’s a lack of accessibility that’s endemic to the sport so there’s work to be done to make it a place where you can afford to see a ballgame,” he reckons. 

But the Giants have a loyal fanbase and a storied franchise, and it doesn’t hurt that we have the most beautiful ballpark in the world. “There’s a cliche that there’s not a bad seat in the house [at Oracle] and that’s so true,” says Smeallie. “Even the upper deck in most stadiums is not a fun viewing experience but here you either see the sun setting over the Golden Gate Bridge or you’re looking out into the Bay. It’s a magical place that is such a joy to watch the sport.”

Smeallie also notes that even if the MLB is having trouble attracting attention, the sport of baseball is alive and well. “DIY rec leagues here, in New Orleans and Philadelphia, [are taking a] back to basics of the game that I find inspiring,” he explains. 

So What’s Next?

If you want to be a Hoo Lee Gan, let us know. “Right now we have a limited amount of tickets. I’m basically fronting for all the wigs and shirts. We’re starting small,” Smeallie explains. But this might just inspire a new fan craze. “If this catches fire I want to make this as big as we can possibly go.”