Ready to (metaphorically) step inside my sporting head again? Here goes…

England win the World Cup!

Well, the Twenty20 World Cup, anyway. I listened to the game on the radio, most enjoyable, but made me realise a few things.

I really hadn’t engaged with the Twenty20 World Cup at all, until the final. I blame Sky, as they seem a good bet when finding the blame for anything.

But in all seriousness, here was a major English cricketing victory, only watched by a minority. If it had been on terrestrial television it would have had a far larger audience which would have resulted in at least two things – more people getting into cricket and going to games, and more kids being inspired to take up cricket and potentially becoming the next generation of world-beaters.

Instead, the game was restricted to people capable of spending £40+ a month. Sure, cricket benefits from Sky’s money – but what of the longer-term effects for the game?

I also realised that Twenty20 is a little odd on the radio. Give me a proper test match on the wireless any day.

Cup Final madness in my household!

Usually on Cup Final day I’d just watch the English final. But…my Scottish team is Dundee United, and so I set up two screens to watch both games simultaneously. I was like some kind of mini-Elvis, with my multiple screens. I just need a few more screens now. And if I ate many more Doritos, I’d probably end up as a full-size-Elvis too. I am right in thinking Elvis had a wall of TVs in Graceland, aren’t I? If not, the above really doesn’t make sense, does it? Anyway, I watched two games AT THE SAME TIME. I can multitask people. Admittedly, not very well, as the pitiful analysis of both games below shows…

Chelsea/Portsmouth!

I found it a reasonably entertaining game, yet throughout there was an air of inevitability about it, especially after Portsmouth missed the penalty. But even before, Chelsea were always going to win, which kind of spoiled it for me. But it also shows how strong Chelsea can be on their day.

Dundee United/Ross County!

Dundee United ended Ross County’s fairytale cup run, and looked strong throughout. I thought this was perhaps the better of the two finals, and certainly, for me, the best result. I also really, really enjoyed the BBC Scotland coverage. It had a proper ‘old school’ feel to it. There were no bells and whistles, or flashy graphics or gimmicky interviews. Instead, there was proper punditry, a great round-by-round rundown and throughout the strong message was relayed that this final really mattered. So refreshing. It was the best footballing coverage I’ve seen in a long, long time.

The play-offs!

I live pretty close to Charlton Athletic, so I’ll be an honourary Addick tonight, as I pop along to their play-off semi-final second leg against Swindon Town, accompanied by my ever-understanding Significant Other (who tolerated the above dual-screen nonsense with no complaints at all). Charlton need to turn around a 2-1 deficit to make their way to Wembley. There should be a great atmosphere tonight. Watching a team’s most important game of the season, on a Monday, is going to feel a little strange though. As will going to an evening game when it is still light.

Baseball not going so well!

The Mets are hopeless at the moment. The pitching rotation is in tatters. And yet, it still ‘feels’ like a better season than last. Things have got to pick up again soon. Haven’t they? Plus my fantasy team lost, badly. Time to regroup!

I think that will do!

You made it this far? Congratulations! Maybe I’ll structure things a bit better next time, rather than just tipping my mind out into the internet…or maybe not.

Image by andymangold via Flickr

England’s nail-biting draw with South Africa yesterday

By the last day of play England had only the remotest chance of winning. If a draw wasn’t an option in cricket, the final day would have been incredibly dull and frankly pointless. Instead, it provided incredible drama and the stage for some genuine sporting heroics. This was a stoic, resolute rearguard action. There was something incredibly noble in batsmen heading to the crease knowing they cannot possibly win, but determined to not lose.

Paul Collingwood is the king of this scenario. He is the kind of batsman who has the character to bed in and bat for hour after hour, repelling whatever the opposition has to throw at him.

The oft-maligned Ian Bell accompanied him, who up to that point had never really displayed the mental toughness to match his innate ability. Yesterday, he put in a watershed innings. He was no longer the batsman who throws his wicket away with a lapse in concentration or technique. This time he would stand firm.

As hours passed, the draw looked more and more likely, but things are never that simple for England, are they? Yet again, a mini-collapse led to a dramatic final phase. England were down to their last wicket. One more out and South Africa would win.

Graeme Swann (my current cricketing Man Crush, for those keeping score) and Graham Onions somehow held out against South Africa’s fierce fast bowling. Onions faced the final over, and for the second time this series survived. Twice England’s worst batsman has been called upon to salvage the game. Twice he has answered that call successfully, bravely and calmly.

Despite only managing to follow the game over the internet (damn work!) this was still a gripping, intense finale. Waiting for a webpage to reload has never engendered such nerves. The draw was finally secured, and England live to fight another day.

I think yesterday’s game really shows how other sports that forego the draw are missing out. A draw can mean as much as a victory, as it did for England, or a defeat, as perhaps it did for South Africa, who had clearly been the better side over the five days. Fighting for the draw did not require a swashbuckling effort or a brief flash of uncommon skill. It required character, determination and patience. Sport would be poorer for lacking those qualities.

‘Sudden death’ or similar was not needed to make the game compelling. And maybe this particular narrative was more intriguing, engrossing, complex and satisfying than just a simple win and loss.

Photo by vagawi via Flickr

These so-called ‘crown jewels’ are the sporting events that the British government essentially decide should be made available to all, and so cannot just be shown via a subscription channel, such as Sky Sports.

The Ashes were on this list, but were removed prior to this summer’s series, meaning cricketing fans had to either pay a subscription of around £40 a month, or find somewhere else to watch it.

This development is obviously good news for sports fans – free sport is always a good thing. The cricketing authorities are not so happy. The England and Wales Cricket Board have a £300m deal with Sky that would be at risk, and the terrestrial channels are unlikely to pay anywhere near that amount for broadcasting rights.

Clearly, a loss of income isn’t brilliant for English cricket. But is it the end of the world?

I say no. If anything, the cricketing authorities are potentially making a quick and easy buck at the expense of the future of the game. Sure, that money can be put into grassroots development, but what about the continuing popularity of the game?

Far, far less people saw England defeat Australia this year than in 2005. Potential new converts to the game missed out. The next Andrew Flintoff may well have decided against pursuing his interest in cricket, as it wasn’t there for him to watch this summer. While a sport isn’t on ITV, BBC or Channels 4 or 5, is it really mainstream?

Cricket (and sport in general) needs to look at the bigger picture and make a decision. Take the cash now, or build a stronger, larger long-term following?

“There’s still nothing better than seeing Major League Baseball games in person – even if those games are of a sub-.500 team with failed postseason expectations. Baseball really is that good, and we’re lucky to have such a fun, talented and likable squad so close and so affordable. It’s worth remembering every now and then, and this weekend did a great job of reminding me of it.”

Unfortunately, living in England, I can’t actually get to see any Major League Baseball. And being a busy bee, I can’t get to as much live sport as I’d like, or have managed in the past.

Still, there is something very special about going to a game, in any sport, at any level. I enjoy a day out watching non-league football just as much as a day at Wembley, just for different reasons. I went to the cricket this summer for a County Championship game and had a wonderful time, and could probably find just as much to enjoy from a simple village green game as I would a Test Match.

So, sport is fun to watch, even if your team isn’t a massive success. Nobody wants to see their team lose, of course. Even so, the experience, and for some the ritual, of going to the game, is almost enough.

For most of us, the main emotion we experience as a follower of sport is disappointment. Our team can’t win every challenge, every tackle, every point, every game or every championship. But still we return, time and again, year on year.

We accept that we can’t win all the time. And there is a particular dignity in those fans that see less wins than most. It’s not that they don’t care about winning. Far, far from it. It’s just that their support is ultimately unconditional. No glory hunting here. They may scream for change (of tactics, playing staff, coaching staff, owners), but the team will always be their team. And hope springs eternal, just wait until next year…

There is more than the result to keep a supporter hooked. There’s the socialising, the community, the peripheral elements to the main event. I live near Charlton Athletic, and can see the supporters gathering in the cafés before the game, the pubs after. The sense of community, lost in so many other walks of life, is palpable.

Plenty of people seem to go to the cricket for a doze, a read of the paper and a chat. Good on them.

When I caught the baseball, on a trip to New York, the pretzels and beer (and unexpected high-fives from fans nearby) was as much fun as the game itself.

Even armchair supporters enjoy more than just the game itself. It might be that well-earned can of beer or slice of pizza accompanying it. Or the friend who pops round to watch too. The chance for some ‘time out’ from the real world. If the fan is really tech-savvy, they might enjoy the chance to connect with others via twitter, blogging or whatever else.

There’ll be times when they will swear and throw something at the television because the game isn’t going their way. But there will also be the times when they’ll catch a game, just because it’s on, and be more than happy.

While the recent sporting scandals in rugby union, Formula 1 and elsewhere suggest that sportsmen and women are increasingly looking to win at all costs, that isn’t the case for supporters. There is more to the enjoyment of sport than just the contest, or the result of that contest, itself. There’s meaning in sport beyond the score.

Maybe while those directly involved (the players, coaches, owners etc) see sport as a business first and foremost, it’s still a game for the fans.

• Pitch Invasion looked at where women’s soccer is king, the story of the success of the University of Portland women’s soccer team, and how soccer has become one of the most popular sports (and selling points) of this particular American college. If you read one thing this week, read this.
• Meanwhile, I enjoyed seeing the ever-dapper Roger Federer pulling off perhaps the greatest shot ever.
• The Mets’ Jeff Francoeur seems to divide opinion somewhat, but the Real Dirty Mets Blog thinks that he has earned his spot for next season.
• BaseballGB has been following Great Britain’s efforts at the Baseball World Cup.
• And The Cricket Blog looks at the incredibly poor state of the England one-day side.

What have you enjoyed this week?

Will the team ever learn? How is playing football a sensible and safe warm-up activity for a cricketer? Even footballers don’t warm up by playing football right away, they run and they stretch first. They wouldn’t leap in with wild tackles when they did start kicking the ball around, either. And they certainly don’t pick up a bat and start playing cricket.

Australia have been set a world-record chase – they would essentially have to put in the best fourth innings batting performance ever to win. This should be a cause for optimism, but makes the inner English pessimist in me even more worried. It’s one thing to lose the Ashes, it’s quite another to lose to a record-breaking (read: heart-breaking) effort. And one of the first things any England supporter learns is to never count out the Aussies. Two days to win the Ashes. Two days to see them agonisingly slip away. This is what sport is all about. I can’t wait.

There’s part of me that thinks this is how cricket should be followed anyway. For such a lenghty and thoughtful game, radio seems the perfect medium, allowing the commentators time to ruminate not just about the action at hand, but paint pictures of the whole scene and articulate the ebb and flow of a five-day event. It also allows the listener to dip in and out of the game, and to carry on with ‘real life’ while the game progresses in the background.

I’ll no doubt dip into pubs now and again over the next five days and catch the odd session, but I’ll be relying on the radio, the internet, my phone and overheard conversations in order to keep up-to-date. A strange variety of media to keep up on a sporting event, but over five days anyone following the Ashes needs to be pretty inventive, resourceful and adaptable to keep up. And that is half the fun.