I know nothing about cricket (typical American) but can relate with the love of sport and its analogies to life. I grew up playing American football and love the connections to life outside the sport. Sports are one of the great nonpartisan pastimes that give us a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I'm not sure I have the time to be able to learn cricket. though I'm glad it is out there!
My husband spent several years of his youth in Australia and loved cricket. Every once in awhile he’d catch a match in the wee hours of the morning…and then I read this piece on Saturday. We subscribed to Willow and have watched three matches already in two days. I love it!
Australian here - when my mum married my Dad in 1970, she realised she was going to have to get into cricket as it was my Dad’s passion. I was dragged along to the Gabba (The Brisbane Cricket Ground) my whole childhood & eventually became a junior member. It’s my brother’s passion too. My Dad is the man who will go on a tour of British cricket grounds & know stats & history. I’m not into sport at all but it’s amazing what I’ve absorbed by osmosis!!!
I've always wanted to get into watching cricket--as a second sport to my baseball addiction. But, the author is correct, it's just too hard to find games to watch. Especially if you aren't on one of the coasts.
Growing up in Trinidad we played “pick up” games with tennis balls instead of the heavy more dangerous red ones. Nothing else needed except a bat. I haven’t played in years and the West Indies have become a painful team to support, but still love the game, even if just for the nostalgia
Great article! My son and I watched “Mumbai Indians” on Netflix during the pandemic and got hooked. We went to a minor-league match last summer and then to South Africa-Netherlands yesterday on Long Island. Beautiful weather, nice fans, excellent match. We still like baseball, basketball, football, but like soccer, F1 and cricket too.
In South Africa some years ago with local friends, I attended day 2 (or was it 3) of a four day long match between England and South Africa. The grounds were pretty, in the shadow of a huge brewery. Castle Beer, I think. Great atmosphere. I tried, I really did, to listen and figure out the rules.
Some days later in the trip I asked my ZA friends “by the way, who ended up winning that match?” The answer: “Oh, it was a tie.”
Cricket comes in three different versions, with three different lengths. One of them lasts an entire day.
That's the short version. The middle version lasts three entire days, and the long version lasts an entire week.
There have been complaints that baseball games are too long if they last over two and a half hours. What does that say about cricket? Who in the United States is willing to spend eight hours or more watching a sports event?
1/2 the world population is expected to be of Indian or Pakistani descent circa 2100. Some portion of that will be in America, possibly up to 15-20% of the American population. So it seems likely it'll be a reasonably popular sport going into the future, while gridiron football, and (especially) ice hockey begin to fade.
In America, fans of real sports tend to view soccer fans as the kids who always got picked last during recess. Are cricket fans the British equivalent?
In all seriousness, I would love to see cricket gain a foothold in the US. I’ve only played it once (and only knowing the bare fundamentals) but thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind playing it again. Unfortunately, I doubt it’s going to happen. There are so many great sports that have vied for a place among the greater American public that have failed to make inroads: Rugby, despite being the parent of gridiron football (and, arguably, ice hockey), has failed to make much impact outside of small pockets of the community; the same with hurling/shinty (another arguable root of ice hockey, with pickup games still called “shinny”), which isn’t even heard of much outside of Irish and Scottish expat communities; most notably, lacrosse (incidentally, another likely predecessor to ice hockey) - the oldest organized sport in North America, for which, while the indoor version has had some success in hockey communities, the inherent beauty of the game has been sadly sidelined in public opinion by frat-boy notoriety; and you can find jai alai among certain Basque and Latin communities - but nowhere else. It’s notable that one of the fastest growing sports for adults (as far as participation) is pickle ball and, while some might argue “pickle ball:tennis ≡ cricket:baseball,” I don’t think the American public is going to make room for more truly competitive sports. Canadians might, until Trudeau bans cricket bats as a deadly weapon.
Given all this, I doubt cricket will find much professional growth in the US - but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Not because I don’t want the sport to grow but because I want it to grow at the grassroots level. I love going to the Highland Games at various Scottish festivals - while eating some haggis and drinking too many pints. Sure, the athletes might not be able to lift quite as much as competitors at Strongman (many do both), but it’s much more fun to watch or take part. I’d be all for Turkish oil wrestling at a Turkish festival, eating imam bayildi and embracing that diverse culture; or buzkashi (sadly, I don’t know how to ride) at an Afghan cultural festival; etc. I’d fully support cultural centers of the various Pakistani, Bengladeshi, Indian (of every region and ethnicity), etc. communities in every city or state forming their own teams in a collective cricket league (especially if membership is open).
Cricket can grow in America, but not through a temporary stadium in Nassau. It won’t happen if you rely on the national networks or massive venues to platform an unproven/unknown product - people must become a lover of the game before you can expect any real fans of the sport
Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders died in a fiery plane crash over Puget Sound in Washington on Friday. The tragic incident was caught on video. Anders was 90.
At the time of the airplane crash, Anders was piloting his vintage Beechcraft T-34 Mentor – a single-engine, propeller-driven aircraft primarily used for flight training during the 1950s by the United States Air Force and U.S. Navy.
Video taken by Phillip Person shows Anders' plane suddenly falling from the sky and crashing into the Puget Sound, just 80 feet from the shore of Jones Island.
"I could not believe what I was seeing in front of my eyes," Person said. "It went into a barrel roll, sort of a loop, it was inverted."
Its Dec 24 1968 Willie Irons and I are guarding Pad 18 Osan (Alert Birds). Its a Clear COLD night (-10) Full Moon, I look up and say (expletive deleted) There Are Americans up there Right Now! Its been 56 years and I can picture it like it was yesterday.
Dec 21, 2018 NASA's Look at 50 Years of Apollo S1 E3
50 years ago, three NASA astronauts embarked on a journey that would take them “Round the moon and back”. The Apollo 8 mission proved the performance of the command and service module. This historic mission launched on December 21, 1968 to demonstrate a lunar trajectory and was the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket. On Christmas Eve, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders were the first humans to orbit the Moon and the first to see an Earthrise above its surface.
Yeah, we'll get right on that!
The Colonies
I know nothing about cricket (typical American) but can relate with the love of sport and its analogies to life. I grew up playing American football and love the connections to life outside the sport. Sports are one of the great nonpartisan pastimes that give us a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I'm not sure I have the time to be able to learn cricket. though I'm glad it is out there!
Article too long and complicated… stopped reading, need hot dog and beer.
My husband spent several years of his youth in Australia and loved cricket. Every once in awhile he’d catch a match in the wee hours of the morning…and then I read this piece on Saturday. We subscribed to Willow and have watched three matches already in two days. I love it!
Australian here - when my mum married my Dad in 1970, she realised she was going to have to get into cricket as it was my Dad’s passion. I was dragged along to the Gabba (The Brisbane Cricket Ground) my whole childhood & eventually became a junior member. It’s my brother’s passion too. My Dad is the man who will go on a tour of British cricket grounds & know stats & history. I’m not into sport at all but it’s amazing what I’ve absorbed by osmosis!!!
I also learned to bowl properly as my brother used always wanted to practice his batting so lots of driveway & backyard practice!
I've always wanted to get into watching cricket--as a second sport to my baseball addiction. But, the author is correct, it's just too hard to find games to watch. Especially if you aren't on one of the coasts.
Growing up in Trinidad we played “pick up” games with tennis balls instead of the heavy more dangerous red ones. Nothing else needed except a bat. I haven’t played in years and the West Indies have become a painful team to support, but still love the game, even if just for the nostalgia
Lacrosse baby!! Indigenous sport!! Fast!! Violent!! Best sport EVER!!
Carn.
I love it!!
Great article! My son and I watched “Mumbai Indians” on Netflix during the pandemic and got hooked. We went to a minor-league match last summer and then to South Africa-Netherlands yesterday on Long Island. Beautiful weather, nice fans, excellent match. We still like baseball, basketball, football, but like soccer, F1 and cricket too.
In South Africa some years ago with local friends, I attended day 2 (or was it 3) of a four day long match between England and South Africa. The grounds were pretty, in the shadow of a huge brewery. Castle Beer, I think. Great atmosphere. I tried, I really did, to listen and figure out the rules.
Some days later in the trip I asked my ZA friends “by the way, who ended up winning that match?” The answer: “Oh, it was a tie.”
I gave up on cricket then and there.
Cricket will never become popular in America.
Cricket comes in three different versions, with three different lengths. One of them lasts an entire day.
That's the short version. The middle version lasts three entire days, and the long version lasts an entire week.
There have been complaints that baseball games are too long if they last over two and a half hours. What does that say about cricket? Who in the United States is willing to spend eight hours or more watching a sports event?
Cricket on the telly all day in summer in Aus was my whole childhood 🤣 (whether I liked it or not) & the same for everyone else I knew
1/2 the world population is expected to be of Indian or Pakistani descent circa 2100. Some portion of that will be in America, possibly up to 15-20% of the American population. So it seems likely it'll be a reasonably popular sport going into the future, while gridiron football, and (especially) ice hockey begin to fade.
In America, fans of real sports tend to view soccer fans as the kids who always got picked last during recess. Are cricket fans the British equivalent?
In all seriousness, I would love to see cricket gain a foothold in the US. I’ve only played it once (and only knowing the bare fundamentals) but thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind playing it again. Unfortunately, I doubt it’s going to happen. There are so many great sports that have vied for a place among the greater American public that have failed to make inroads: Rugby, despite being the parent of gridiron football (and, arguably, ice hockey), has failed to make much impact outside of small pockets of the community; the same with hurling/shinty (another arguable root of ice hockey, with pickup games still called “shinny”), which isn’t even heard of much outside of Irish and Scottish expat communities; most notably, lacrosse (incidentally, another likely predecessor to ice hockey) - the oldest organized sport in North America, for which, while the indoor version has had some success in hockey communities, the inherent beauty of the game has been sadly sidelined in public opinion by frat-boy notoriety; and you can find jai alai among certain Basque and Latin communities - but nowhere else. It’s notable that one of the fastest growing sports for adults (as far as participation) is pickle ball and, while some might argue “pickle ball:tennis ≡ cricket:baseball,” I don’t think the American public is going to make room for more truly competitive sports. Canadians might, until Trudeau bans cricket bats as a deadly weapon.
Given all this, I doubt cricket will find much professional growth in the US - but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Not because I don’t want the sport to grow but because I want it to grow at the grassroots level. I love going to the Highland Games at various Scottish festivals - while eating some haggis and drinking too many pints. Sure, the athletes might not be able to lift quite as much as competitors at Strongman (many do both), but it’s much more fun to watch or take part. I’d be all for Turkish oil wrestling at a Turkish festival, eating imam bayildi and embracing that diverse culture; or buzkashi (sadly, I don’t know how to ride) at an Afghan cultural festival; etc. I’d fully support cultural centers of the various Pakistani, Bengladeshi, Indian (of every region and ethnicity), etc. communities in every city or state forming their own teams in a collective cricket league (especially if membership is open).
Cricket can grow in America, but not through a temporary stadium in Nassau. It won’t happen if you rely on the national networks or massive venues to platform an unproven/unknown product - people must become a lover of the game before you can expect any real fans of the sport
Apollo 8 astronaut, who snapped iconic 'Earthrise' photo, dies in fiery plane crash caught on video
https://www.theblaze.com/news/astronaut-william-anders-plane-crash-video-death
Paul Sacca
June 08, 2024
Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders died in a fiery plane crash over Puget Sound in Washington on Friday. The tragic incident was caught on video. Anders was 90.
At the time of the airplane crash, Anders was piloting his vintage Beechcraft T-34 Mentor – a single-engine, propeller-driven aircraft primarily used for flight training during the 1950s by the United States Air Force and U.S. Navy.
Video taken by Phillip Person shows Anders' plane suddenly falling from the sky and crashing into the Puget Sound, just 80 feet from the shore of Jones Island.
"I could not believe what I was seeing in front of my eyes," Person said. "It went into a barrel roll, sort of a loop, it was inverted."
(Snip)
_______________________________________________________
Its Dec 24 1968 Willie Irons and I are guarding Pad 18 Osan (Alert Birds). Its a Clear COLD night (-10) Full Moon, I look up and say (expletive deleted) There Are Americans up there Right Now! Its been 56 years and I can picture it like it was yesterday.
Apollo 8: Around The Moon and Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfd0oC3eFWw
Dec 21, 2018 NASA's Look at 50 Years of Apollo S1 E3
50 years ago, three NASA astronauts embarked on a journey that would take them “Round the moon and back”. The Apollo 8 mission proved the performance of the command and service module. This historic mission launched on December 21, 1968 to demonstrate a lunar trajectory and was the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket. On Christmas Eve, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders were the first humans to orbit the Moon and the first to see an Earthrise above its surface.
Live footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mLDK-TqZIk