So I have to pick a new sport to follow while I'm in the UK. I'll still always be a baseball fan first and foremost, and I'll get tickets to the NFL game this fall, and I'll watch on TV, but I guess to fit in, I'll have to follow some local sport.
Here are my options:
Soccer (my site, get it over it):
Could care less. I'll watch during the World Cup, but more to follow the countries where I've lived than actually caring who wins. I lived in Europe as a kid and as an adult, and still don't really care all that much about it. I have played the game, understand it (I even know the off-sides rule), and can watch it on TV. But I could really care less.
Rugby:
Great choice, but the Brits really piss me off on this one. They like to make fun of American football because our players wear pads. Even though a lot of rugby players are going to the basic pads now. I like the game, even if I don't get the positions. Its exciting, fast-paced, full of action and brutality, and a great easy game to pick up. And rugby fans are most definitely not hooligans. Very well behaved, in my experience. But I always have to have these stupid debates about the differences between rugby and football. It won't be much fun going to a pub because of that. And I can watch baseball on the Internet.
Cricket:
A self-imposed lobotomy. Like watching paint dry. More time between pitches than a Cardinals game with Tony LaRussa in a bad mood. Or is that an oxymoron? A lot like baseball in some ways, but too different to be a substitute. Seriously, this is the game that created an empire where the sun never set. Because it never ends.
Racing:
See rugby above. I'm not a big NASCAR fan, but I've been to races, now the major players, and can reasonably discuss it. Hey, I'm from a farm town of 3000 people near the Ozarks. But just like rugby, the Brits like to put it down, because they only drive in a circle. Unlike Formula One, where the post car leads the entire race and always gets to win. Why else was Michael Schumacker so good?
Darts:
Just kill me. I would rather watch plays of Shakespeare, because then I can pretend to be pretentious. Thank good for spell check. How can this be a spectator sport?
Topless darts:
Okay, we might have a winner. I don't know if they still show this on TV in the UK, but I'll find out pretty soon.
So, any suggestions? Or will I just give up on British sports and drink beer while reading other peoples blogs?
3 comments:
Here's one vote for topless darts.
I watched a pick-up game of cricket in Kansas City a couple of summers ago and found it fascinating. I knew absolutely nothing about it, so I think the majority of the intrigue came from just trying to figure out what was going on. There weren't any long delays, though, to make it annoying.
I can handle it, and it is a decent subustitute for baseball when you can't find it. But it does tend to drag out and go on forever.
Which is funny, one of the complaints that some Brits have about baseball is it is so short.
Yeah, I can't imagine being honed in on a 5-day contest, but in brief spurts it seems likable. I think it would be a lot of fun to play, too.
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