Cricket Has Arrived !

Criminy! Or is it Jiminy?

 

The use of such metaphors is absolutely sneering at the "'Mericans."

"Oh, you won't understand this or care about it otherwise, so we'll spoonfeed you!"

Of course, comparing India-Pakistan to Yankees-Red Sox is such a non-starter, it's not even funny. Maybe next they'll juxtapose the Hebrew-Muslim conflict with Packers-Bears?

 

Nice comparison on comparisons.

 

Not judging the validity of the Red Sox-Yankees comparison, because its extremely dubious given the ramifications of the India-Pakistan blood feud, but I'm American, I love "world" sports and I don't get cricket whatsoever.

 

Problems with cricket have begun already:

I mean, I understand the hatred of soccer, but I don't endorse beating them with cricket mallets.

This has to be dealt with now before it spreads.

 

Can you blame them? No one understand cricket.

 

Piotr, I know it's part of your gimmick to get all huffy whenever the lay person talks about international sports in a condescending, Americanized way, but it's a comedy piece written (in part) by a Red Sox fan who used to run a comedy site about baseball. It's not attempting to explain, or relate to cricket in any meaningful way. Just to make people laugh. It's one thing to voice displeasure about the ESPN E-ticket cricket piece that compared India/Pakistian to SEC football, since there something totally, purposefully absurd.

It was a touch too long, but as someone who once watched cricket with a Pakistani friend, I thought there was a lot to chuckle about.

 

Gimmick?

Huffy?

Wow, really? That's how you describe the way I happen to look at how international or unfamiliar sports are covered? Like someone's view is some "gimmick"?

Then arrogant examination of writing, and equally arrogant (and often "huffy") defense of writers you've had a beer with are part of your "gimmick", right?

"Gimmick," indeed.

Anyway, if it was a comedy piece (I never finished it), then it really didn't need the Yankees/Red Sox line. India/Pakistan vs. Yankees/Red Sox isn't really fodder for humor. Read to me like one of those "apples to Muppets" comparisons.

 

Piotr, explaining things in terms one can understand is a basic thing in life, for fuck's sake. One doesn't have to be an ugly American for it to be helpful to him to have in a story who the Albert Pujols or Tim Lincecum of cricket is, or what the big rivalries are, or who the Nadal and Serena Williams sisters of badminton are, for another example. Unless you want to greatly restrict your audience, it doesn't hurt to explain artfully as you story-tell.

 

Admittedly unnecessarily strong. But the basic bewilderment about objecting to expanding a story's reach stands.

 

I'd say that's accurate, whether I want it to be or not. And you've helped contribute to to me wearing that badge, regardless of the fact you went back and deleted that post about me having a difficult time dealing with it when people I know are criticized, assuming I hadn't seen it first.

Look, I get it that you don't appreciate it when ESPN tries to "talk down" to its audience and pretend that international sports will never be taken seriously unless they're understood or taken seriously by a mainstream American audience. And that's a worthy role to play.

But you're essentially annoyed here by a throw-away line in what is practically a Fire Joe Morgan piece. What elevates your beef to gimmick is you're griping about a comedy piece without realizing it's a comedy piece.

 

I didn't say a word.

And, come on, what about the article I quoted? Cricket thugs beating up soccer players? There's comedy gold somewhere in there.