Two weeks ago, I spent a peaceful Sunday at Lord’s cricket ground, an oasis of calm nestling in the leafy inner-London suburb of St. John’s Wood. For nine hours, I sat with friends and family, plus some 28,000 others, watching young men toil with bat and ball. One would expect a crowd of that size would prevent contemplative thinking. But this is the beauty of cricket. Throughout the day, the game is played at different paces and levels of excitement, allowing a spectator to ponder the future and, more importantly, snooze, missing little of the play, eat and drink.
On numerous occasions, I have tried to explain cricket to my American friends. It is a simple game involving bowling a hard ball, smaller than a baseball and hitting that ball. There are some odd terms, for example fielding positions called slips or gulley or short leg. There are stumps and bails, creases, fast bowling and spin bowling, the latter offering a “chinaman” or “googly.” There are eleven men on each side and in Test and first class cricket, there are two innings per side. When the last batsman of a side is out, his side goes in and the other side comes out. And so on.
Semantics alone should not defeat the intelligent. The real problem is that cricket would never become an accepted American sport because of the length of a game, (sometimes five days) and the fact that a draw can be a very good result for one team. Winning is not the all-important thing in a cricket match. What is crucial is the manner in which one wins. Cricket teaches players and spectators alike the right way to leads one’s life. In short, cricket is so much more than a game.
I have been very fortunate to attend American football games, both NFL and College, in Minneapolis, Denver, New York, Windsor and Los Angeles. I have watched baseball coast to coast in New York, Minneapolis and San Diego. And I watch the games on television at home, although NFL games are quite a challenge as many start at 11pm London time. In any event, I believe I am qualified to comment on the differences between American and British sports and to explain why most Americans will never “get” cricket.
To begin with, it is rare for Americans to engage in a sport where “Team America” plays. An exception occurs when baseball and basketball are Olympic sports. Furthermore, crowds attending big games are not usually partisan, with the exception of the likes of the Superbowl. Usually, distances are far too great and prices too expensive for large numbers of away fans to travel. Hence it is rare to find “the British disease,” in American sport. This expression now used for hooliganism and crowd trouble at soccer games. Why the “British disease” when it happens in, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands is confusing.
Next, American sports fans like a result, hence “overtime.” There are no draws in American sports. Also, there’s lots of scoring. I am convinced that Major League Soccer is not popular because there are not sufficient numbers of goals for the American audience. Currently, Team USA are doing well in the World Cup taking place in Brazil but will the enthusiasm for the game continue if/when America is knocked out? I don’t mean to sound condescending but. American sports fans are fed on a diet very different to the English. Results and winning are the sine qua non.
Let’s get back to Lord’s, the home of cricket. First, it is a “ground,” not a stadium. The distinction may seem academic but cricket grounds are open places, generally where the playing area is oval shaped, large and surrounded by low-lying stands. The atmosphere at Lord’s is patrician. The ground belongs to the Marylebone Cricket Club, a private club better known as the MCC, which has 30,000 members. Those attending matches at Lord’s who are not members are treated as paying guests and expected to behave accordingly. The members themselves enjoy the exclusive occupation of the Pavilion where they must be attired in jacket and tie. Only a few years ago were ladies accepted as members.
Yes, Lord’s is a place for elitists, people fixated on the 1950s, old-fashioned, wealthy and exclusive but even for revolutionaries like me, it is a hallowed and special and my year is not complete if I do not spend time there. Indeed, in two weeks’ time, I shall spend another day having the time of my life watching very little happen. Cricket is a game for connoisseurs. Could any American sports fan say the same for his or her sport?
No comments:
Post a Comment