Cricket...

This goes back to my first week here and some time in Melbourne. CRAIG, my dearest friend that I previously spoke about and miss dearly. Why? Because he is barrels of fun and makes me feel good about myself... not because he compliments me on my beauty, but because he always has some sort of drama in his life... kidding, he really is the male version of me, which is why we get along so well. Never a dull moment with the kid...

Let's get back to Cricket. We all know I am a huge baseball fan, and not just a fan to impress the good looking male Yankee fans out there... but because I actually enjoy the game! Unfortunately the rest of the world just isn't in tune with the greatest sport on earth. Because of this, I am now a cricket fan. I needed my fix of sports... and this defo can be a temporary and worthy substitute. I watched some games on TV with Craig, who first introduced me to the game and have since been understanding all of the many rules that go along with it.

The major differences are that:
1) The players don't wear mitts- they catch that rock hard ball with their bare hands! Very impressive...
2) You can use a 'pitcher' (bowler) more than once in a game... you switch them often.
3) We alternate teams in innings, they have one team bat or bowl continuously till 10 outs are reached or 150 bowls, whichever comes first.
4) Loads more rules... but I don't think I will brag with all of this learned knowledge.

Back to my story... ahh, wait... big Steve also spent great length explaining the game to me as well as these sweet brit boys who's names I have completely forgotten. Baseball has a season... set number of games and the ultimate tournament at the end of the season, obvo being the World Series. Cricket has different leagues where player play for different teams, there are different tournaments, different types of games... that was and is the very confusing part to me.

I had the honor of going to a game! It was not just a regular game, but it was the championship game between England and Australia. Being that I have met so many nice brits... I was cheering for England! After about three rain delays... we won!!! It was a very exciting game, though England won pretty easily.

Some cool things about the games... much like our football games, the fans REALLY get into the game. Many dress up in crazy costumes, they talk a lot of crap to opposing fans and a lot of props... They blow up beach balls and throw them around. The object is to never have it fall on the ground or onto the field. If it falls onto the field it is popped by officials and everyone boo's. They also do the Mexican wave... oh you read it right. For some unknown reason, they call the wave, the Mexican Wave... no one could explain why.

I have to say I saw the most impressive wave ever. It was at the end of one of the rain delays as they were preparing the field. The wave must have gone around the stadium at least 25 times. At one area of the stadium, the rich people (season ticket holders) sit. They are considered old and posh (not the American use of the word Posh... but rich and snobby). They lacked participation and got booed many times. They finally joined in a bit, but it was a poor effort on their part. The rest of the stadium was one their feet, with arms raised high. It really put a smile on my face, the crowd was so into it!

A side note about the Mexican wave.. it is actually against the law here... yep, that's right they outlawed it... why? Once again... no idea! People are very discreet when starting one, or else they will get kicked out. Speaking of people getting kicked out, we saw many! As I said before people really get into the game- it's really funny when people get kicked out... the fans either cheer or start singing at them and taunting them.

Back to the posh area... there are two clear areas next to each other where they sit. It was explained to me that women used to sit in one area and the men in the other. This is not so anymore, but I though that was an interesting tid bit to add.

I also had my first meat pie at the game... but I will leave that for my next entry.