The "thunder stix" noise-making instruments used by baseball supporters at KBL games made their debut in the US majors on October 5, in the third match of the playoff series between the NY Yankees and Anaheim Angels at Edison International Field, the home ground of Angels. Spurred on by the noise, the Angels beat the Yankees and then the Minnesota Twins to go to the World Series for the first time since they were formed 42 years ago.

After the Angel's achievement, the "thunder stix" became the focus of American sports media reporting the origin of the instrument each time as their use spread to the game between Saint Louis and San Francisco.

"The thunderous noise made by the 'stix' turns people crazy, bringing great excitement to the field," said a baseball fan living in LA. Actually, several supporting instruments such as the Atlanta Braves' tomahawk, and Minnesota’s homer hankie, and Anaheim's rally monkey had been used in MLB, but the Korean noisemaker brought a new sensation to the home of baseball.

Anaheim's Orange Country Register reported the instrument first appeared in the Korean league in 1993, but supporters hesitated to use the thunder stix for a while due to reports that the chemical source of the instrument could cause pollution; however the instrument became popular again recently. According to OCR, the thunder stix were first exported to the US in late 1990 appearing in Woman’s World Cup Soccer and basketball playoffs in 1999. Also, the thunder stix made their political debut at the 2000 Republican National Convention. It is believed that LG Electronics USA provided the Anaheim Angels with the thunder stix.

(Ko Seok-tae, kost@chosun.com )