Sticky Wicket, Cricket and Football

photo: http://www.malagacf.com/en

photo: http://www.fcbarcelona.com/

According to Wiki, "Sticky Wicket" is a metaphor that is used to describe a difficult circumstance." Of course it is derived from Cricket.

Being in India for the last 8 months, hearing the word "wicket", I tend to automatically think of shows such as "Keeping Up Appearances" or "League of Gentleman" (TV Series, Royston Vasey)....British Comedy.

So…as we are in the middle of the Cricket World Cup, I hear, and see broadcasted often, use of the word “wicket”. I was not even aware we were entering the World Cup of Cricket, as I don’t talk to many locals about sports, with my lack of knowledge of cricket.

Well, last Sunday was the first indication that something big was happening. When I went to breakfast, for the first time ever, I did not hear light jazz tunes in the background. Instead, a TV had been rolled in, and it was blaring cricket at a volume that had to be quite a delight to all cricket fans in the vicinity and beyond.

So, India had a great win last Sunday. It was quite the big deal! I researched this “World Cup of Cricket”, and it apparently lasts from 14 FEBRUARY (Valentines’ Day! If you’re a female, hope you prefer cricket over flowers!) to the 29^th of MARCH. Folks, that is a month and a half of high adrenaline cricket excitement.

At work, there are TVs in the kitchens, and where I live, there are TVs in the hallways and restaurants. These are my 2 main places where I am located during the week, as I go “out” in the evening once a week, on average. The only sport that I have seen displayed on any of these “public TVs” is cricket. (Of course, in my room, I could see other sports including football/soccer).

I thought……until LAST NIGHT….. that every Indian male on this sub-continent literally tuned into cricket (or BBC) as they turned on their TVs daily. Well, I discovered something new last night…..I went to a “sports bar type restaurant”, and as I walked in (as I had googled, and the restaurant said it served American food, and was located close to my home, both an advantage for me as I had left late), I noticed 2 things immediately:

* I was the only female in this place.

* There was no cricket playing on any of the TVs (and yet there were many TVs and projection screens on the wall.)

As it had taken the driver about an hour to find this place (and we were stopped in the road for quite a while, with him talking to the Indian version of Siri, and me saying, “I am not married to the idea of this place, let’s just drive, and I will find something else. No worries!”). He, being committed to the cause, eventually FOUND this place; it was indeed hidden, as many places in Bangalore are. (You have to be here one day to experience the true phenomenon of “finding” a new place in Bangalore). So, after the work that went into locating this place, and the joy he felt in getting me there, I decided to stay for at least an hour. I talked to some locals while I ate. First, I asked them, “Who is playing football? Is this an Indian team?” (as everyone was cheering) and they said “No, it is Barcelona against Malaga.” (which are both SPANISH teams, no Indians involved). Yet everyone was so excited, and this was a crowd of Indians in this place. Then…I asked them……”Why is there no cricket on here???” The locals told me that “this crowd” prefers football. 

(Maybe it was partly because India does not play another cricket game tonight. I am only speculating.)

I found out tonight a few things:
1) There are the die-hard cricket fans, and others that prefer football, who say they do not even tune into cricket. (How is this possible?)
2) Native Indians on cell phones often don’t understand each other, just as much as I don’t understand them or they, me. (So…..It is not just ME. Haha)
3) In NC, I go out all the time and RARELY see anyone I know. In India, on 4 or 5 occasions (again, remembering I only go out about once per week), I never fail to see someone I know, or someone recognizes me and comes up to speak. (Once was in an airport, once was a doctor’s office, and once was tonight, as I ran into 2 colleagues. All very random.) As Bangalore is so much more populated than Raleigh/Cary, this has been quite interesting and unexpected!