So 2011 is turning out to be the year that I've all but abandoned blogging it would seem. I've had long stretches without posts before but not so many this close together. Through the mists I put up a post every month or so. That simply will not do. I'm supposed to be a writer, damnit! So write I shall. Whatever the subject may be I'll just let it flow.
At the moment I should comment on the non-event that happened on Saturday. The no-pocalypse. I was ready for that to happen. Knowing that I wouldn't fit the bill for what an evangelical, American Christian organization would consider "salvation-worthy" I had to be prepared for what would happen down here. Zombies. Even if there wasn't some manner of rapture (which there wasn't) I was at least expecting some playful mad scientist to shatter a vial or two of zombie plague in the major urban areas. That's a reasonable expectation right? That didn't happen either. The day before all this hubbub the CDC released a plan for a possible Z-Day. An official government organization has a plan for zombies! The timing seemed right. Certainly anyone 30 or younger already has a detailed plan for surviving a Z-Day scenario, probably a few plans. It was kind of the CDC to give the older folks a quick how-to guide as well.
Despite so much foreshadowing and buildup nothing happened. The clock rolled over to a new day and I sat in my basement, cricket bat in hand, for nothing. Zombies did not devour the earth. While I couldn't have cared about the lack of a nutball cultists version of the rapture not transpiring the lack of a zombie invasion was more distressing. It's odd to think of being disappointed by a lack of zombies since I would almost surely die, as would anyone who already thinks they're an expert, but that's how it goes. No, I think life continuing in a normal manner is just fine in the end.
Seeking the apocalypse is something that some people do as a form of escapism. Can't handle the pressures of their life so they join some sort of death cult. Then these creeps claim to be the voice of God, or to understand secret messages in the Bible and lead the weak willed down a bad road. False Prophets. That's the most artistic term I've heard used. Cult leader is the most "modern" I would say. I'll go with false prophet since it paints a picture of these manipulative crazies as being another in a long, long line of deceptive liars. I feel sorry for those that contributed their life savings to this effort and now see their lives in ruin. They get to keep on living and really is that such a bad thing?
I never believed, though just before the "appointed hour" I did listen curiously. Of course there was nothing. And for that I'm grateful. American evangelists are so exclusive and ready to damn the whole world for not being them that they feel the apocalypse is always just around the corner. They can have that life of constant fear and judgment. Me, I'll take the life with a cricket bat in one hand and the Zombie Survival Guide in the other. I'm ready you undead bastards.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Trouble in Time
Okay okay okay so I know I've been neglecting this little blog of mine for several months, several critical months. I haven't got a good reason why. Laziness would be the largest reason, maybe apathy. However, those aren't good reasons. Now I'm going to get back into the grooooooove of blogging. I might have to gimmick it up at first in order to find my rhythm again. A blog a day like last year during the World Cup? Perhaps. That's how I do things
This ghost town is going to be alive again. No more gold prospector spirits roaming around scaring tourists!
Here's some things to expect from this blog in recent future.
- Stuff
- Things
- Whatzits
- Serialized stories?
I've had a LOT going on right now and tons of ideas floating around my head. So trust to see some proper content here real soon.
P... probably.
This ghost town is going to be alive again. No more gold prospector spirits roaming around scaring tourists!
Here's some things to expect from this blog in recent future.
- Stuff
- Things
- Whatzits
- Serialized stories?
I've had a LOT going on right now and tons of ideas floating around my head. So trust to see some proper content here real soon.
P... probably.
Monday, April 18, 2011
#CWC11 Aftermath
In a post that is now long past due I have to talk about the recently ended Cricket World Cup, which was one by India for the first time since 1983.
I don't really have much more to say than I've already said except congratulations to the Indian team for winning the trophy for the first time in my lifetime. I'm still very young in my cricket fandom so I honestly can't comment on individual performances or players because I only know the basics. Some of the names of other countries are familiar to me now. I know five times as many players now as I did when I attended The Ashes. I can't wait for the summer series' in order to catch some of these players in other forms of the game.
I'm particularly impressed by New Zealand. They managed to progress further than any other "Anglo" nation and faced off against Sri Lanka in the semis. Though the Black Caps didn't make the final they still made a good showing by beating South Africa in the knockout round. This team were definitely the underdogs of the semi round but managed to make it longer than either England or Australia, which came as a surprise to me and likely the residents of those countries. Still a good showing for New Zealand.
India are almost certainly jubilant all around the country even now as a billion people celebrate a great win for a very good team. Sachin Tendulkar manages to pick up one last(?) trophy to top off what seems like a phenomenal career. Good for him as I'm sure he deserved it.
Certainly India performed well throughout their matches and really made their claim for greatness. Matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the knockout round proved this team is the power in Asian cricket. While I didn't support them at the beginning I absolutely applaud this wonderful victory for a deserving team and a impassioned group of fans. I'd love to go to India someday.
The tournament seems to have been a success based on what I've read around various sport blogs. The horrible hiccups and failures of the previous two World Cups are well documented and this one seems to be empty of any similar issues. In fact there only seems to be praise for this tournament and that is probably very god for the sport, and especially so for the ODI format. I'll never understand the war between the various forms of cricket, but at least I understand this tournament gave the ODI format a much needed boost. England in particular made this an exciting tournament. Each of their games came down to the wire and could have gone any way at any point. I would like to hear some thoughts from long time fans if you'd like. Feel free to comment and tell me how you felt the tournament went.
Now that this tournament is over I have the IPL and the summer series' to look forward to watching. As a complete IPL neophyte I don't know who is on what team or which team to "support". I'll be a neutral and just try and watch for fun. I will try my damnedest to find a place to watch the games but I'm not holding my breath. Rest assured I will be watching both England and Australia's games this summer.
I don't really have much more to say than I've already said except congratulations to the Indian team for winning the trophy for the first time in my lifetime. I'm still very young in my cricket fandom so I honestly can't comment on individual performances or players because I only know the basics. Some of the names of other countries are familiar to me now. I know five times as many players now as I did when I attended The Ashes. I can't wait for the summer series' in order to catch some of these players in other forms of the game.
I'm particularly impressed by New Zealand. They managed to progress further than any other "Anglo" nation and faced off against Sri Lanka in the semis. Though the Black Caps didn't make the final they still made a good showing by beating South Africa in the knockout round. This team were definitely the underdogs of the semi round but managed to make it longer than either England or Australia, which came as a surprise to me and likely the residents of those countries. Still a good showing for New Zealand.
India are almost certainly jubilant all around the country even now as a billion people celebrate a great win for a very good team. Sachin Tendulkar manages to pick up one last(?) trophy to top off what seems like a phenomenal career. Good for him as I'm sure he deserved it.
Certainly India performed well throughout their matches and really made their claim for greatness. Matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the knockout round proved this team is the power in Asian cricket. While I didn't support them at the beginning I absolutely applaud this wonderful victory for a deserving team and a impassioned group of fans. I'd love to go to India someday.
The tournament seems to have been a success based on what I've read around various sport blogs. The horrible hiccups and failures of the previous two World Cups are well documented and this one seems to be empty of any similar issues. In fact there only seems to be praise for this tournament and that is probably very god for the sport, and especially so for the ODI format. I'll never understand the war between the various forms of cricket, but at least I understand this tournament gave the ODI format a much needed boost. England in particular made this an exciting tournament. Each of their games came down to the wire and could have gone any way at any point. I would like to hear some thoughts from long time fans if you'd like. Feel free to comment and tell me how you felt the tournament went.
Now that this tournament is over I have the IPL and the summer series' to look forward to watching. As a complete IPL neophyte I don't know who is on what team or which team to "support". I'll be a neutral and just try and watch for fun. I will try my damnedest to find a place to watch the games but I'm not holding my breath. Rest assured I will be watching both England and Australia's games this summer.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
World Cup of Cricket 2011
Just when my blog has the most potential for viewers I disappear completely. I haven't been posting much lately and I'm about to turn that around. February was a hard month. I never managed to get my head around writing as I was too busy looking for a job. Sadly writing should be my job but I can't seem to make much money at it. Today I'm going to write one more cricket post and then follow it up with some proper travel articles.
If I'm talking about cricket there is only one event in the world drawing the attention of every fan and that is the Cricket World Cup. Already under way for over a week the tournament is my first full event as a fan of the sport. The tournament is taking place in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which is making it very hard to follow. Huge time zone difference means matches happen during sleeping hours. It's not a big problem since most of the matches aren't over by the time I wake up so the second innings is usually still happening. I get to watch the chase each morning which tends to be the exciting part of the matches anyway.
I was spurred to write this article by a huge upset that happened just today, Ireland beat England. Ireland is not a test playing nation and should not be on the same level as England. Yet today they managed to come from 5/120ish at 25 overs to end up 7/329 and complete a huge upset. Kevin O'Brien hit a century that set this win in motion. I was following on Test Match Sofa and Cricinfo and decided to call it quits halfway through the Irish batting. I'm a fool. From what I saw it didn't seem like Ireland was going to overcome the huge score set up by England. Then I guess O'Brien stepped up and went crazy with the runs and England completely bombed in the fielding. I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised by this result.
Events like this are apparently not going to occur in the near future because the Cricket World Cup is shrinking. After the next cup it will only be test playing nations allowed in the tournament. It's a shame because when these sorts of upsets happen it is exciting and creates an atmosphere that anything can happen. To me this is exciting but I can understand how the organizers wouldn't care. The minnows don't bring the money like the big teams. In 2007 it seems that India and Pakistan, two of the larger audiences, were ousted from the tournament early by lesser teams. Two former championship nations providing a potential viewing audience in the billions disappearing in the opening stages mean a drop in ad revenue and viewership. I'm certain that Ireland doesn't have quite the passion for cricket that India holds. So it makes sense to protect these stronger teams for monetary and viewership purposes, especially when cricket is at war with itself over the various forms. That's an entirely different issue though, and one I don't quite understand yet.
Despite the future all I can comment on is the present, and I must say I'm enjoying the Cricket World Cup. I think I had more fun following The Ashes thanks to it being in a more convenient time zone. I am getting behind the events of the World Cup though. There are so many teams and so many match-ups that I'm getting a crash course in the world of cricket. I get a small taste of each of the major teams, from West Indies to India. The schedule is a busy one with at least one match ever day from the likes of Canada vs Kenya to England vs India. I can't say that every match is a thriller but there are quite a few exciting games. All of the strongest teams are there and it's my first time seeing many of them, only being a fan for a few months now. I have first hand experience with the Australian and English teams. As for the rest I hadn't seen anything out of them and this tournament is great exposure to the sport.
Imagine yourself, a cricket fan, if you got to see everything for the first time with no prior knowledge. What if your first time seeing Sachin Tendulkar play was him batting a century against England? If the first game you saw Ireland play was a huge victory over England would you feel like they were minnows? Just imagine viewing cricket through the eyes of a complete neophyte.
I'm watching a stream most mornings and listening to the crazy TestMatchSofa commentary and learning a lot. I still have a long way to go. I've had dozens of people tell me it would take a decade to truly appreciate cricket. I owe it to the world to become a fan and learn the game. How many people can be taught the nuances of the game by Steve Waugh while watching The Ashes at the SCG? Not many. I'm reading articles on Cricinfo and match reports on BBC Cricket. I'm doing everything I can to understand everything I'm seeing. Extras, fours, sixes, wickets, powerplays, ODIs, and centuries are a few of the terms that I've picked up. The World Cup is providing a great learning experience since there are such a variety of different teams playing at a wide range of grounds. It's primarily a learning experience, but I will admit the sport has me hooked.
I've witnessed test cricket with The Ashes, watched T20 with the Caribbean and Big Bash and now covered ODIs with the World Cup. What form is my favorite? I'm not sure, though I'm partial to test because that was my first experience. Not the answer you'd expect from an American I would think. After the Cricket World Cup I'll summarize my thoughts and write an analysis. All that can be said right now is that I really, really like cricket.
If I'm talking about cricket there is only one event in the world drawing the attention of every fan and that is the Cricket World Cup. Already under way for over a week the tournament is my first full event as a fan of the sport. The tournament is taking place in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which is making it very hard to follow. Huge time zone difference means matches happen during sleeping hours. It's not a big problem since most of the matches aren't over by the time I wake up so the second innings is usually still happening. I get to watch the chase each morning which tends to be the exciting part of the matches anyway.
I was spurred to write this article by a huge upset that happened just today, Ireland beat England. Ireland is not a test playing nation and should not be on the same level as England. Yet today they managed to come from 5/120ish at 25 overs to end up 7/329 and complete a huge upset. Kevin O'Brien hit a century that set this win in motion. I was following on Test Match Sofa and Cricinfo and decided to call it quits halfway through the Irish batting. I'm a fool. From what I saw it didn't seem like Ireland was going to overcome the huge score set up by England. Then I guess O'Brien stepped up and went crazy with the runs and England completely bombed in the fielding. I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised by this result.
Events like this are apparently not going to occur in the near future because the Cricket World Cup is shrinking. After the next cup it will only be test playing nations allowed in the tournament. It's a shame because when these sorts of upsets happen it is exciting and creates an atmosphere that anything can happen. To me this is exciting but I can understand how the organizers wouldn't care. The minnows don't bring the money like the big teams. In 2007 it seems that India and Pakistan, two of the larger audiences, were ousted from the tournament early by lesser teams. Two former championship nations providing a potential viewing audience in the billions disappearing in the opening stages mean a drop in ad revenue and viewership. I'm certain that Ireland doesn't have quite the passion for cricket that India holds. So it makes sense to protect these stronger teams for monetary and viewership purposes, especially when cricket is at war with itself over the various forms. That's an entirely different issue though, and one I don't quite understand yet.
Despite the future all I can comment on is the present, and I must say I'm enjoying the Cricket World Cup. I think I had more fun following The Ashes thanks to it being in a more convenient time zone. I am getting behind the events of the World Cup though. There are so many teams and so many match-ups that I'm getting a crash course in the world of cricket. I get a small taste of each of the major teams, from West Indies to India. The schedule is a busy one with at least one match ever day from the likes of Canada vs Kenya to England vs India. I can't say that every match is a thriller but there are quite a few exciting games. All of the strongest teams are there and it's my first time seeing many of them, only being a fan for a few months now. I have first hand experience with the Australian and English teams. As for the rest I hadn't seen anything out of them and this tournament is great exposure to the sport.
Imagine yourself, a cricket fan, if you got to see everything for the first time with no prior knowledge. What if your first time seeing Sachin Tendulkar play was him batting a century against England? If the first game you saw Ireland play was a huge victory over England would you feel like they were minnows? Just imagine viewing cricket through the eyes of a complete neophyte.
I'm watching a stream most mornings and listening to the crazy TestMatchSofa commentary and learning a lot. I still have a long way to go. I've had dozens of people tell me it would take a decade to truly appreciate cricket. I owe it to the world to become a fan and learn the game. How many people can be taught the nuances of the game by Steve Waugh while watching The Ashes at the SCG? Not many. I'm reading articles on Cricinfo and match reports on BBC Cricket. I'm doing everything I can to understand everything I'm seeing. Extras, fours, sixes, wickets, powerplays, ODIs, and centuries are a few of the terms that I've picked up. The World Cup is providing a great learning experience since there are such a variety of different teams playing at a wide range of grounds. It's primarily a learning experience, but I will admit the sport has me hooked.
I've witnessed test cricket with The Ashes, watched T20 with the Caribbean and Big Bash and now covered ODIs with the World Cup. What form is my favorite? I'm not sure, though I'm partial to test because that was my first experience. Not the answer you'd expect from an American I would think. After the Cricket World Cup I'll summarize my thoughts and write an analysis. All that can be said right now is that I really, really like cricket.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Cricket Observations
It's the day after the Superbowl and what a more appropriate topic to talk about than... cricket!
My latest sporting obsession more than merits my attention and has it more so than some silly gridiron (a way cooler name for our own sport) game. I have a few things to talk about with cricket today, mostly just my casual observations made in the last several months. I'm still very much a cricket newbie and I've been told that it takes years to truly appreciate the game. After paying attention and following closely all of the action out of Australia I can say I completely agree. There are nuances to the game I still don't get but at least I know what is going on and what the teams are trying to accomplish.
The basic theme of cricket is very simple. The variation on that theme is great which is why cricket seems so hard to understand when standing outside looking in. Three forms of the game based on the amount of overs drastically change the way the teams play the game. I'm not quite to the point of my fandom that I can try to figure out what the fielders are doing. I know that based on the situation the teams position themselves either to prevent runs or to take wickets. Test cricket is five days and unlimited overs, which means the strategy has to be a long one. The focus is on taking wickets and the play is very defensive, unless I've read the game wrong which is possible. In the limited over format the aim appears to be preventing runs. Again I could be wrong. There are multiple layers to the strategy that I'm simply not aware of yet. I'll get there.
The amount of ball control at the highest levels is simply amazing. The batsmen I watched at The Ashes could do some very skilled things. The ability to simply drop a ball straight to the ground that is coming at you at 60-70 mph is impressive. Credit must be due to anybody that is able to get a good swipe at a ball that, thanks to bounce, could be coming at you from any direction. In baseball we have a small box and players know that's where the ball is going to be pitched. Cricketers have to be ready for anything, hell I saw a ball go behind a player and bounce back in to knock the stumps (that can't be the right way to say that). The only chance I've had at bat was in backyard cricket at Hart's Pub and I was batting against my girlfriend. She bowled me out.
Cricket is exciting, despite what even some of the supporters claim. If the play on the field isn't producing anything worth watching then you can be sure that something is going on in the crowd worth watching. I might be bias as I had only a decisive Ashes test to be at live, but it seems that the fans are a colorful bunch wherever the game is played. The Barmy Army were lively and always loud in a good way. There was something entertaining coming from the larger pockets of Barmy Army people at any time. Perhaps these sorts of crowds are only present at the big matches but to know that fans like that are out there shows the power of the game. One day perhaps I'll be able to understand the play on the field well enough that I can be so wild about the game as the Barmy Army. Maybe.
There's a lot to the game and I'm only getting started. Fortunately I have all the time in the world and a very supportive group of fans following my girlfriend. I've rarely seen groups of fans so passionate about a game as I did for international cricket. There has to be something behind that passion and I am determined to figure it out.I'm going to learn the depths of this game out if it takes me the rest of my life!
My latest sporting obsession more than merits my attention and has it more so than some silly gridiron (a way cooler name for our own sport) game. I have a few things to talk about with cricket today, mostly just my casual observations made in the last several months. I'm still very much a cricket newbie and I've been told that it takes years to truly appreciate the game. After paying attention and following closely all of the action out of Australia I can say I completely agree. There are nuances to the game I still don't get but at least I know what is going on and what the teams are trying to accomplish.
The basic theme of cricket is very simple. The variation on that theme is great which is why cricket seems so hard to understand when standing outside looking in. Three forms of the game based on the amount of overs drastically change the way the teams play the game. I'm not quite to the point of my fandom that I can try to figure out what the fielders are doing. I know that based on the situation the teams position themselves either to prevent runs or to take wickets. Test cricket is five days and unlimited overs, which means the strategy has to be a long one. The focus is on taking wickets and the play is very defensive, unless I've read the game wrong which is possible. In the limited over format the aim appears to be preventing runs. Again I could be wrong. There are multiple layers to the strategy that I'm simply not aware of yet. I'll get there.
The amount of ball control at the highest levels is simply amazing. The batsmen I watched at The Ashes could do some very skilled things. The ability to simply drop a ball straight to the ground that is coming at you at 60-70 mph is impressive. Credit must be due to anybody that is able to get a good swipe at a ball that, thanks to bounce, could be coming at you from any direction. In baseball we have a small box and players know that's where the ball is going to be pitched. Cricketers have to be ready for anything, hell I saw a ball go behind a player and bounce back in to knock the stumps (that can't be the right way to say that). The only chance I've had at bat was in backyard cricket at Hart's Pub and I was batting against my girlfriend. She bowled me out.
Cricket is exciting, despite what even some of the supporters claim. If the play on the field isn't producing anything worth watching then you can be sure that something is going on in the crowd worth watching. I might be bias as I had only a decisive Ashes test to be at live, but it seems that the fans are a colorful bunch wherever the game is played. The Barmy Army were lively and always loud in a good way. There was something entertaining coming from the larger pockets of Barmy Army people at any time. Perhaps these sorts of crowds are only present at the big matches but to know that fans like that are out there shows the power of the game. One day perhaps I'll be able to understand the play on the field well enough that I can be so wild about the game as the Barmy Army. Maybe.
There's a lot to the game and I'm only getting started. Fortunately I have all the time in the world and a very supportive group of fans following my girlfriend. I've rarely seen groups of fans so passionate about a game as I did for international cricket. There has to be something behind that passion and I am determined to figure it out.I'm going to learn the depths of this game out if it takes me the rest of my life!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Cricket in America? Maybe in a Generation...
"There are three forms of cricket. Five day tests, fifty overs and twenty overs," Steve Waugh once said to me, "Twenty20 is about to be big in America soon." I really don't want to disagree with him here but I don't see that happening. However I think there is definitely room for cricket to slowly muscle its way into the American sports conciousness. Though it may seem like America has determined what to follow there is always room for more.
Certainly our country will always find fascination in new forms of sport every few decades. NASCAR and MMA have experienced huge booms in the last ten years. It was thanks to some very clever marketing and strategic connections to popular brands that pushed these sports into the national spotlight. MMA has eclipsed boxing in terms of coverage and popularity, partially as a result of branding itself as modern. NASCAR has been around for a long time but was, I believe, considered a fringe sport for many years. In the early 00s there was a jump in popularity which led to a lot more national coverage. These are just two recent examples, but it is a positive sign for cricket fans. There is room.
The problem with cricket is that we view it as too foreign yet vaguely familiar. Since too many similarities exist between baseball and cricket it would be hard for most of us to accept both on a significant level. While some sports are seemingly fading fast, like hockey, it isn't likely that baseball will face a drop in popularity. I've been told it's like "weird baseball" but honestly I don't like that description. Cricket is cricket. Trying to learn cricket by comparing it to baseball confused me to no end. When I stopped trying to learn the rules in relation to baseball I finally started getting a handle of what I was seeing. While some of the terminology may be the same, the differences are great.
I will agree with Steve Waugh in one respect, if there is a form of cricket that could ever be popular in America it would be T20. The idea of Test cricket is too much for our American minds. At least at first. T20 is the perfect length and format for audiences over here to get their heads around. It's a bite-size chunk of cricket. Considering the growth of this form of cricket in recent years it would also let America in on the thing of the moment. T20 is something this nation could understand given time. Perhaps after America gets a handle on the limited overs stuff the idea of Test cricket would make sense.
The best way to accomplish this would be the same way that soccer has found success, and that is a slow youth oriented process. Soccer had always been present in America with a small amount of awareness and care. In the 70s the North American Soccer League tried to bring the sport to the national stage by bringing in the biggest names in the world. Ultimately that league was a failure thanks to trying to do too much from the start. So the focus shifted to the youth. At all levels of school soccer was available right alongside traditional sports, and so children grew up playing the game. This generation of children had no place to continue following soccer when they got older, especially since foreign sports were impossible to find at the time. This, coupled with the 1994 World Cup, led to the formation of Major League Soccer in the early 90s. MLS started off slow with each team focusing on its own market in an effort to build awareness. Once the MLS had been operating for a few years they started to receive coverage on ESPN, with the championship game being broadcast on NBC. Games in certain markets routinely pull very large crowds, particularly areas with no other major teams. It was a slow process that took dozens of years, but the success of MLS shows that "foreign" sports can succeed.
So how could cricket follow this model? The first step is for enthusiasts to form youth leagues, which will teach children the rules and create an attachment for the sport. This would be best done in areas that don't have many major league teams in other sports. With the awareness created through youth teams a generation of children would grow up following cricket. If the demand became great enough a proper league could form over here. Those that had grown up with the game would have a lifetime of practice, and a league would allow further development of their skills. With success would come acceptance. There is always resistance to that which is new or that which is foreign, but if enough people cared then it wouldn't matter what the bullheaded folk say.
Not everyone is as open-minded as myself when it comes to sports. I'm willing to give it a shot. If there's a passionate following somewhere in the world for it, there must be a pretty damn good reason why. I found that out about cricket at The Ashes. If only the rest of America could have a similar experience.
Certainly our country will always find fascination in new forms of sport every few decades. NASCAR and MMA have experienced huge booms in the last ten years. It was thanks to some very clever marketing and strategic connections to popular brands that pushed these sports into the national spotlight. MMA has eclipsed boxing in terms of coverage and popularity, partially as a result of branding itself as modern. NASCAR has been around for a long time but was, I believe, considered a fringe sport for many years. In the early 00s there was a jump in popularity which led to a lot more national coverage. These are just two recent examples, but it is a positive sign for cricket fans. There is room.
The problem with cricket is that we view it as too foreign yet vaguely familiar. Since too many similarities exist between baseball and cricket it would be hard for most of us to accept both on a significant level. While some sports are seemingly fading fast, like hockey, it isn't likely that baseball will face a drop in popularity. I've been told it's like "weird baseball" but honestly I don't like that description. Cricket is cricket. Trying to learn cricket by comparing it to baseball confused me to no end. When I stopped trying to learn the rules in relation to baseball I finally started getting a handle of what I was seeing. While some of the terminology may be the same, the differences are great.
I will agree with Steve Waugh in one respect, if there is a form of cricket that could ever be popular in America it would be T20. The idea of Test cricket is too much for our American minds. At least at first. T20 is the perfect length and format for audiences over here to get their heads around. It's a bite-size chunk of cricket. Considering the growth of this form of cricket in recent years it would also let America in on the thing of the moment. T20 is something this nation could understand given time. Perhaps after America gets a handle on the limited overs stuff the idea of Test cricket would make sense.
The best way to accomplish this would be the same way that soccer has found success, and that is a slow youth oriented process. Soccer had always been present in America with a small amount of awareness and care. In the 70s the North American Soccer League tried to bring the sport to the national stage by bringing in the biggest names in the world. Ultimately that league was a failure thanks to trying to do too much from the start. So the focus shifted to the youth. At all levels of school soccer was available right alongside traditional sports, and so children grew up playing the game. This generation of children had no place to continue following soccer when they got older, especially since foreign sports were impossible to find at the time. This, coupled with the 1994 World Cup, led to the formation of Major League Soccer in the early 90s. MLS started off slow with each team focusing on its own market in an effort to build awareness. Once the MLS had been operating for a few years they started to receive coverage on ESPN, with the championship game being broadcast on NBC. Games in certain markets routinely pull very large crowds, particularly areas with no other major teams. It was a slow process that took dozens of years, but the success of MLS shows that "foreign" sports can succeed.
So how could cricket follow this model? The first step is for enthusiasts to form youth leagues, which will teach children the rules and create an attachment for the sport. This would be best done in areas that don't have many major league teams in other sports. With the awareness created through youth teams a generation of children would grow up following cricket. If the demand became great enough a proper league could form over here. Those that had grown up with the game would have a lifetime of practice, and a league would allow further development of their skills. With success would come acceptance. There is always resistance to that which is new or that which is foreign, but if enough people cared then it wouldn't matter what the bullheaded folk say.
Not everyone is as open-minded as myself when it comes to sports. I'm willing to give it a shot. If there's a passionate following somewhere in the world for it, there must be a pretty damn good reason why. I found that out about cricket at The Ashes. If only the rest of America could have a similar experience.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Aussie Aussie Aussie! 3/3: More Cricket, Sailing and Gillard
With the excitement of the first day of the Sydney Test behind us, on January 4 we both were in need of a rest. Thought the first day of cricket was actually fairly relaxing it still took a toll on our bodies. Fortunately we were provided with a great opportunity that was exactly what we needed.
The team had received a message from the PR guy for the sailboat known as the Holy Cow offering to take Ashes, myself and up to a dozen others on a trip around the harbor. I suppose this was just another benefit of popularity and media coverage, people wanted to jump on board. This meant that we got the chance to jump on board the Holy Cow (lame joke!) and spend the day in relaxation. There was no day we could turn this down so LJ picked us up in the morning and off we went to the docks. We boarded the boat and met the couple that ran it, who were very nice. Besides us there was also Brad and some of his family, the boats PR guy and his GF, and a few office people from our team. After departing we sailed under the Harbor Bridge and towards the seafood market. Along the way I had a chance to talk to the guy who ran the ship who gave me a pretty detailed description of what we were seeing along the harbor. He also talked about the charity work and musical gigs in which he and his wife were involved. He was a really cool, easy going guy.
The boat docked at the seafood market and after disembarking everyone split up in order to pick up lunch. Ashes and I went with one of the office girls, Alison I think, to pick up some sushi. This was my first time at the seafood market and the place overwhelmed me at first. It was absolutely bustling not only with people purchasing various denizens of the waters to eat, but also sitting down and indulging themselves right there inside the building. I'd never been to any open air market aside from small farmers markets, so this was a new experience. Fish out in the open, other creatures swimming in tanks, guys rolling fresh sushi right at the counter and a thick salty smell in the air. It was pretty crazy. After picking up our first bit of sushi and sashimi Ashes got a call for another interview, so we went outside. We sat on the fake grass outside while she did her interview. Seagulls and incredibly ugly Ibis birds crowded the area, hassling all the folks eating outside. Finishing the interview and snapping a few shots of these foul scavengers (and a creepy pelican) we headed to the boat. Lunch was very laid back and so delicious. In particular I gobbled about 20 pieces of sashimi. Ashes took another interview during lunch while everyone watched on, which didn't seem to stumble her for a second. She even managed to plug the boat we were on much to everybody's amusement. We finished lunch and headed back towards the dock. At this point the guy steering the ship handed the wheel, and control of the ship (and our lives!) over to Ashes. It was a lot of fun and she actually did pretty well (barely missing Fort Denison). The trip was a really special experience and so relaxing.
Ashes piloting the boat.
Ashes and LJ at the front of the boat as we head towards the bridge.
The cow theme even extended to the sail.
Our next priority after the trip around the harbor was a television show. Ashes had been booked (by LJ presumably, she's really good at stuff like that) onto a new game show called The Trophy Room.
It's a sports trivia show featuring two teams that change week to week, except the captains. Since it was primarily questions about Australian sports Ashes would certainly be out of her depth, but it was really more about having fun and getting more exposure. She was to be the "mystery sub" which meant a regular contestant would be swapped out for her at some point. She was even one of the questions! She got a chance to wear a cricket helmet in order to hide her identity. When the sub was used she came out and replaced Lewis Hobba, a local comedian, and they actually had a pretty funny little back and forth. After filming was done she had her picture taken with a couple of the other contestants who were genuinely excited to meet her. Jacqui Cooper, an aerial skiier, was extremely nice and seemed stoked to have a chance to talk with Ashes. After some brief conversations and some pictures we left the studio.
That night I believe we had a stroll around Chinatown, as we always do in large cities, and had some really great ramen bowls from Ajisan. We also found a printclub/purikura sticker machine in an arcade on the third floor of Market City, which we had to do. There were also some amazing shops that had various video game and nerd figurines. I wanted to buy so damn many of them, but alas I'm a pauper. One place even had a lifesize Solid Snake statue.
The next day was another big day for us. We were going to be returning to the Sydney Cricket Ground for more action, and more television coverage. The biggest story developing for us was of course Ashes getting a chance to meet and interview the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard. I'm not even sure how this came about or what was involved in it coming up. All I know is we had to get up early because Ashes was going to meet the head of state of the country we were visiting. This was a very big deal! LJ, Ashes and I headed to the SCG early enough that we should have had the time to be prepared. In the end the producer we were working with ended up leaving LJ and myself in the dust, but at least Ashes got out there to do her thing. The whole country got to see her ask the PM questions about cricket. It was very, very cool. She'd probably have a better account of the story, as at the time I was standing out in the heat watching the players arrive since our press credentials never arrived. Lame.
After she finished with the PM we went out for some brekky with LJ. After breakfast we made our way back to the SCG to start our day of shooting. We had a camera crew from Channel 9 following (or rather leading) us around all day. I'm not going to go into the specifics of the shooting since I didn't really enjoy it. I'm not cut out for entertainment it turned out. We had to do certain shots a few times to get it right. The heat was baking me since I was extremely over dressed, for High Tea later in the day, and most of our shots were in direct sunlight and in crowded areas. I kept myself in the background in most shots since the highlight was on Ashes. The crowd was really wondering why the hell a camera crew was following us around. A lot of the fans were actually really funny and I had trouble not laughing through the filming. Ashes signed a few more autographs while were around the SCG that day (I remember one guy in a Hull City shirt). We also met a cool guy from New Zealand who was sitting in front of us, who had heard about her story on the way over. She did some stuff with the Barmy Army, which really riled them up.
We met up with Steve Waugh again just after the stadium unveiled a statue of him. He seemed to be in a great mood as he took us to the museum and gave us a personal tour of everything on display. The highlight was when he brought us over to the display that had his floppy green captain's hat. When he talked about it you could really tell that he had strong feelings about the memories attached. Just seeing the hat made him perk up a bit. The film crew's producer seemed to be irking Steve a bit, but Ashes managed to keep everything very chill. It was a lot a fun and a great privilege that many Australians would die to get.
At noon we headed to the High Tea since it was Jane McGrath Day. The McGrath Foundation is Australia's answer to Susan Koman, it's a high profile group dedicated to breast cancer research and treatment. Everything was pink that day, from the players to the fans to the stumps. The High Tea was an invitation only event hosted by Glenn McGrath whose late wife the day was named after. Arriving early Ashes had a couple of interviews to do, with the wife of cricketer Shane Watson and Glenn himself. During the tea we got a couple of much needed snacks and water, plus some pink swag in the form of a yearly planner. We stayed for a little while before leaving.
Us at High Tea
The last thing we had to do that day was meet with the man that is the voice of English cricket, BBC's Jonathan Agnew or Aggers as he is publicly known. This was actually an interview that a lot of the English tweeters were waiting to hear. Aggers is a big name in cricket particularly in England. This interview was going to be part of Radio BBC official coverage. We went up into the commentary boxes which was probably my favorite part of the day. The view from up there was brilliant. The whole field was spread beneath us, the action on the field was easily visible. I had never been in a commentary box before in my life so this was very special. While Ashes was busy having admittedly a great interview with Aggers, whom she seemed to have great on air chemistry with, I was fixated on the view. The game was on a drinks break but I still enjoyed myself. At one point I had to step out of Shane Warne's way as he blew past me on his way to the Australian commentary booth. It was such a great time.
Ashes and Aggers
That was it for the day. We caught a bit more of the cricket, but were completely exhausted. The heat and constant running around had taken a huge toll on us. We weren't able to stay for the rest of the play that day and met Graham out front in order to be taken back to our hotel.
The next day was another relaxed day. Ashes, Graham and I started off with a guided tour of the University of Sydney by Brad's wife, an archeologist at the school. It was a great behind the scenes tour of the ground which was beautiful. The architecture was, as she said the Japanese pointed out, reminiscent of Harry Potter. We saw a tree that was unchanged since dinosaurs ruled the earth. Little interesting bits of the university's history were our treats. We checked out a museum of bugs and then a museum of archeology. The ancient artifacts on display in the archeology museum were interesting, particularly the mummies. She told us an interesting story about how it was probably purchased in a shop with mummies in one room and coffins in another, sort of a mix and match.
That was our morning and after we finished up there we went to North Sydney to pick up Brad and headed to the Australian Lawyers Cricket Association game. We had met the Australian team captain in Hart's Pub a few days earlier and he had invited us to the game. The oval they were playing on was absolutely breathtaking. It was set down in the ground and was surrounded by a cement wall that was covered in green ivy. We arrived just in time for lunch, after an over or two, and got some refreshments. Ashes took a call from the US ambassador in Australia. We had some kangaroo kebabs and sausages for lunch. I had a short conversation with an English judge with an outrageously hilarious accent and manner of speech. Both teams lined up with Ashes down on the field and had their pictures taken in front of the memorial stand. Before they took the field again we were off.
We headed back towards Sydney and dropped off Brad at his office. It was time for something we'd been waiting for all week, the Taronga Zoo. We picked up Chris, who had done the streaming stuff, and his GF before heading over. Ashes did her interview with TestMatchSofa during our wait to get into the zoo. We got in for free as a trade for some coverage. Chris and his GF were actually really cool and were nice to hang out with. We were short of time in the zoo since the closed at 5 and we had arrived at 3:30. That didn't mean we couldn't have a good time, and we did. Missing out on holding a koala was a major disappointment for Ashes, but we did catch them at feeding time which meant we saw them during their active time of the day. One koala really laid into another one, smacking him in the face and grabbing all the food for herself.
We checked out the gorillas, mountain goats, kangaroos, tigers, tasmanian devils, elephants and meerkats while we were wandered. We had to skip a lot of the cages since we were pressed for time. Also we weren't able to ride the gondolas. Once we got to the bottom we parted ways with the others and hopped on a ferry to Circular Quay. And that was it for the day.
Our last full day in Australia was going to be a road trip. We felt it necessary to get outside of the city while we were in Australia and so Brad, Graham, Ashes and myself crowded into the Fiesta and set out. Our destination was the Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral, south of the city in the Southern Highlands. The drive was pleasant, though we didn't manage to see any wild kangaroos. The Bradman Museum and Cricket Hall of Fame was full of interesting bits of information about the history of cricket. The highlight was the outside where a statue of Bradman overlooked a fountain in the shape of a cricket field with squirters in the places of the stumps.
She did an interview with a local paper, took a few pictures with the curator and off we went. It was sprinkling ever so lightly which I thought was nice. We picked up some Aussie Mickey D's and road tripped back to the hotel. We had been listening to cricket on the radio the whole way and this was the day when England finished their drubbing of the Australians. Not a proud day for the dwellers down under. It was the last day of The Ashes and the last day of our trip.
The next day we left early in order to get through customs and catch our flight. Brad, LJ and Graham all showed up to see us off. I also got my first chance to try Vegemite and was blown away by how good it tasted! Toast will never be the same. After brekky we said our goodbyes, went through customs, boarded our flight and flew home.
This trip to Australia was the best I've ever had in my life and an experience I will never forget. Being behind the scenes for one of the biggest stories of the tournament was so much fun that I can barely describe it properly. 2011 couldn't have started any better and I know that this is going to be a year to remember. I was more sad leaving Australia than I ever was leaving home or Maine. In just over a week I fell in love with a city and a country. The land down under enchanted me in ways I couldn't have suspected.
The team had received a message from the PR guy for the sailboat known as the Holy Cow offering to take Ashes, myself and up to a dozen others on a trip around the harbor. I suppose this was just another benefit of popularity and media coverage, people wanted to jump on board. This meant that we got the chance to jump on board the Holy Cow (lame joke!) and spend the day in relaxation. There was no day we could turn this down so LJ picked us up in the morning and off we went to the docks. We boarded the boat and met the couple that ran it, who were very nice. Besides us there was also Brad and some of his family, the boats PR guy and his GF, and a few office people from our team. After departing we sailed under the Harbor Bridge and towards the seafood market. Along the way I had a chance to talk to the guy who ran the ship who gave me a pretty detailed description of what we were seeing along the harbor. He also talked about the charity work and musical gigs in which he and his wife were involved. He was a really cool, easy going guy.
The boat docked at the seafood market and after disembarking everyone split up in order to pick up lunch. Ashes and I went with one of the office girls, Alison I think, to pick up some sushi. This was my first time at the seafood market and the place overwhelmed me at first. It was absolutely bustling not only with people purchasing various denizens of the waters to eat, but also sitting down and indulging themselves right there inside the building. I'd never been to any open air market aside from small farmers markets, so this was a new experience. Fish out in the open, other creatures swimming in tanks, guys rolling fresh sushi right at the counter and a thick salty smell in the air. It was pretty crazy. After picking up our first bit of sushi and sashimi Ashes got a call for another interview, so we went outside. We sat on the fake grass outside while she did her interview. Seagulls and incredibly ugly Ibis birds crowded the area, hassling all the folks eating outside. Finishing the interview and snapping a few shots of these foul scavengers (and a creepy pelican) we headed to the boat. Lunch was very laid back and so delicious. In particular I gobbled about 20 pieces of sashimi. Ashes took another interview during lunch while everyone watched on, which didn't seem to stumble her for a second. She even managed to plug the boat we were on much to everybody's amusement. We finished lunch and headed back towards the dock. At this point the guy steering the ship handed the wheel, and control of the ship (and our lives!) over to Ashes. It was a lot of fun and she actually did pretty well (barely missing Fort Denison). The trip was a really special experience and so relaxing.
Our next priority after the trip around the harbor was a television show. Ashes had been booked (by LJ presumably, she's really good at stuff like that) onto a new game show called The Trophy Room.
It's a sports trivia show featuring two teams that change week to week, except the captains. Since it was primarily questions about Australian sports Ashes would certainly be out of her depth, but it was really more about having fun and getting more exposure. She was to be the "mystery sub" which meant a regular contestant would be swapped out for her at some point. She was even one of the questions! She got a chance to wear a cricket helmet in order to hide her identity. When the sub was used she came out and replaced Lewis Hobba, a local comedian, and they actually had a pretty funny little back and forth. After filming was done she had her picture taken with a couple of the other contestants who were genuinely excited to meet her. Jacqui Cooper, an aerial skiier, was extremely nice and seemed stoked to have a chance to talk with Ashes. After some brief conversations and some pictures we left the studio.
That night I believe we had a stroll around Chinatown, as we always do in large cities, and had some really great ramen bowls from Ajisan. We also found a printclub/purikura sticker machine in an arcade on the third floor of Market City, which we had to do. There were also some amazing shops that had various video game and nerd figurines. I wanted to buy so damn many of them, but alas I'm a pauper. One place even had a lifesize Solid Snake statue.
The next day was another big day for us. We were going to be returning to the Sydney Cricket Ground for more action, and more television coverage. The biggest story developing for us was of course Ashes getting a chance to meet and interview the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard. I'm not even sure how this came about or what was involved in it coming up. All I know is we had to get up early because Ashes was going to meet the head of state of the country we were visiting. This was a very big deal! LJ, Ashes and I headed to the SCG early enough that we should have had the time to be prepared. In the end the producer we were working with ended up leaving LJ and myself in the dust, but at least Ashes got out there to do her thing. The whole country got to see her ask the PM questions about cricket. It was very, very cool. She'd probably have a better account of the story, as at the time I was standing out in the heat watching the players arrive since our press credentials never arrived. Lame.
After she finished with the PM we went out for some brekky with LJ. After breakfast we made our way back to the SCG to start our day of shooting. We had a camera crew from Channel 9 following (or rather leading) us around all day. I'm not going to go into the specifics of the shooting since I didn't really enjoy it. I'm not cut out for entertainment it turned out. We had to do certain shots a few times to get it right. The heat was baking me since I was extremely over dressed, for High Tea later in the day, and most of our shots were in direct sunlight and in crowded areas. I kept myself in the background in most shots since the highlight was on Ashes. The crowd was really wondering why the hell a camera crew was following us around. A lot of the fans were actually really funny and I had trouble not laughing through the filming. Ashes signed a few more autographs while were around the SCG that day (I remember one guy in a Hull City shirt). We also met a cool guy from New Zealand who was sitting in front of us, who had heard about her story on the way over. She did some stuff with the Barmy Army, which really riled them up.
We met up with Steve Waugh again just after the stadium unveiled a statue of him. He seemed to be in a great mood as he took us to the museum and gave us a personal tour of everything on display. The highlight was when he brought us over to the display that had his floppy green captain's hat. When he talked about it you could really tell that he had strong feelings about the memories attached. Just seeing the hat made him perk up a bit. The film crew's producer seemed to be irking Steve a bit, but Ashes managed to keep everything very chill. It was a lot a fun and a great privilege that many Australians would die to get.
At noon we headed to the High Tea since it was Jane McGrath Day. The McGrath Foundation is Australia's answer to Susan Koman, it's a high profile group dedicated to breast cancer research and treatment. Everything was pink that day, from the players to the fans to the stumps. The High Tea was an invitation only event hosted by Glenn McGrath whose late wife the day was named after. Arriving early Ashes had a couple of interviews to do, with the wife of cricketer Shane Watson and Glenn himself. During the tea we got a couple of much needed snacks and water, plus some pink swag in the form of a yearly planner. We stayed for a little while before leaving.
The last thing we had to do that day was meet with the man that is the voice of English cricket, BBC's Jonathan Agnew or Aggers as he is publicly known. This was actually an interview that a lot of the English tweeters were waiting to hear. Aggers is a big name in cricket particularly in England. This interview was going to be part of Radio BBC official coverage. We went up into the commentary boxes which was probably my favorite part of the day. The view from up there was brilliant. The whole field was spread beneath us, the action on the field was easily visible. I had never been in a commentary box before in my life so this was very special. While Ashes was busy having admittedly a great interview with Aggers, whom she seemed to have great on air chemistry with, I was fixated on the view. The game was on a drinks break but I still enjoyed myself. At one point I had to step out of Shane Warne's way as he blew past me on his way to the Australian commentary booth. It was such a great time.
That was it for the day. We caught a bit more of the cricket, but were completely exhausted. The heat and constant running around had taken a huge toll on us. We weren't able to stay for the rest of the play that day and met Graham out front in order to be taken back to our hotel.
The next day was another relaxed day. Ashes, Graham and I started off with a guided tour of the University of Sydney by Brad's wife, an archeologist at the school. It was a great behind the scenes tour of the ground which was beautiful. The architecture was, as she said the Japanese pointed out, reminiscent of Harry Potter. We saw a tree that was unchanged since dinosaurs ruled the earth. Little interesting bits of the university's history were our treats. We checked out a museum of bugs and then a museum of archeology. The ancient artifacts on display in the archeology museum were interesting, particularly the mummies. She told us an interesting story about how it was probably purchased in a shop with mummies in one room and coffins in another, sort of a mix and match.
That was our morning and after we finished up there we went to North Sydney to pick up Brad and headed to the Australian Lawyers Cricket Association game. We had met the Australian team captain in Hart's Pub a few days earlier and he had invited us to the game. The oval they were playing on was absolutely breathtaking. It was set down in the ground and was surrounded by a cement wall that was covered in green ivy. We arrived just in time for lunch, after an over or two, and got some refreshments. Ashes took a call from the US ambassador in Australia. We had some kangaroo kebabs and sausages for lunch. I had a short conversation with an English judge with an outrageously hilarious accent and manner of speech. Both teams lined up with Ashes down on the field and had their pictures taken in front of the memorial stand. Before they took the field again we were off.
We headed back towards Sydney and dropped off Brad at his office. It was time for something we'd been waiting for all week, the Taronga Zoo. We picked up Chris, who had done the streaming stuff, and his GF before heading over. Ashes did her interview with TestMatchSofa during our wait to get into the zoo. We got in for free as a trade for some coverage. Chris and his GF were actually really cool and were nice to hang out with. We were short of time in the zoo since the closed at 5 and we had arrived at 3:30. That didn't mean we couldn't have a good time, and we did. Missing out on holding a koala was a major disappointment for Ashes, but we did catch them at feeding time which meant we saw them during their active time of the day. One koala really laid into another one, smacking him in the face and grabbing all the food for herself.
We checked out the gorillas, mountain goats, kangaroos, tigers, tasmanian devils, elephants and meerkats while we were wandered. We had to skip a lot of the cages since we were pressed for time. Also we weren't able to ride the gondolas. Once we got to the bottom we parted ways with the others and hopped on a ferry to Circular Quay. And that was it for the day.
Our last full day in Australia was going to be a road trip. We felt it necessary to get outside of the city while we were in Australia and so Brad, Graham, Ashes and myself crowded into the Fiesta and set out. Our destination was the Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral, south of the city in the Southern Highlands. The drive was pleasant, though we didn't manage to see any wild kangaroos. The Bradman Museum and Cricket Hall of Fame was full of interesting bits of information about the history of cricket. The highlight was the outside where a statue of Bradman overlooked a fountain in the shape of a cricket field with squirters in the places of the stumps.
She did an interview with a local paper, took a few pictures with the curator and off we went. It was sprinkling ever so lightly which I thought was nice. We picked up some Aussie Mickey D's and road tripped back to the hotel. We had been listening to cricket on the radio the whole way and this was the day when England finished their drubbing of the Australians. Not a proud day for the dwellers down under. It was the last day of The Ashes and the last day of our trip.
The next day we left early in order to get through customs and catch our flight. Brad, LJ and Graham all showed up to see us off. I also got my first chance to try Vegemite and was blown away by how good it tasted! Toast will never be the same. After brekky we said our goodbyes, went through customs, boarded our flight and flew home.
This trip to Australia was the best I've ever had in my life and an experience I will never forget. Being behind the scenes for one of the biggest stories of the tournament was so much fun that I can barely describe it properly. 2011 couldn't have started any better and I know that this is going to be a year to remember. I was more sad leaving Australia than I ever was leaving home or Maine. In just over a week I fell in love with a city and a country. The land down under enchanted me in ways I couldn't have suspected.
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