Earlier this week, the sport of cricket, specifically the Minnesota Cricket Association, made the front page of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A couple weeks back, the same organization made the front page of the lifestyle section of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
My initial reaction was, quite literally: HOLY CRAP!
But after a few minutes, my reaction was more along the lines of: okay…sooo… when does England v South Africa start?
When it comes down to is that I don’t give a shit about the MCA. That sounds overly harsh, but there is no other way to put it. I also don’t give a rat’s behind about the USACA – whether it be on the pitch or off. My fellow American cricket fans are always all a-twitter about the organization and its crazy antics, but personally I just don’t care. I am far more interested in what Cricket South Africa or the BCCI is up to.
A few months back, when the USA were playing in the T20 World Cup qualifiers, my fellow American cricket fans were all firmly in the corner of their countrymen, while I was quietly hoping Ireland and Afghanistan would be the two teams that went through. I just didn’t care. I had no allegiance whatsoever to my home country’s cricket squad.
That is not to say that my fellow American cricket fans are fools – the exact opposite is true: I feel the fool for not supporting my country in the sport I love, for not supporting the thriving league that exists right here in my hometown. I feel like my fellow American cricket fans are doing real, solid good for this sport we all love, while I would rather sit around in my pants and read about Sussex’s chances in the knockout stages of the FLT20.
And all of the above is true for other sports I enjoy: I love, LOVE, football, but the MLS is completely outside of anything I am remotely interested in. I think I have watched a grand total of maybe 20 minutes worth of MLS in the last three years. I hear good things though.
Also, Minnesota has a thriving second division football team. They have an active and fun supporter’s group that gives out free beer before matches (seriously). And shoot they even won the god damn league last year. But I am lucky if I make it to one match a season.
All of the above always makes me feel like a bit of a heel.
I wish I was one of those guys that supported the local club no matter what. That took the time to nurture the game in their communities. That didn’t waste their time away in a pub watching a team play on television 4,000 miles away when there was real, live football and cricket to watch just down the street.
I have tried. But I am just not that guy. Nor will I ever be, it seems. I am happy for the MCA, and I am thankful the US has cricket supporters like Peter Della Penna, for instance, who support the grassroots cricket happening throughout the country, and I am thrilled to see the MN Stars put 4,000 people in their rickety old stands every Saturday night…but it’s just not for me.
And so, fellow American Cricket Fans: keep writing, keep reading, keep supporting. You are doing the Lord’s work. And I while I thank you, envy you, and respect you, I am not going to join you.
My passions lie elsewhere.
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(Note: the only real exception to the above is that I am a huge supporter of the US Men’s National Soccer Team. I nearly died with joy when Donovan scored for the US against Algeria in 2010.)
Limited Overs 
I congratulate you on your candor (and I suspect that 99% of ex-pat cricket fans in America share your attitude toward the US national team). I see this conundrum as one of the things that will be changed by the gradual addition of American-born cricket fans to the base. That having been said, I think your revelation should prompt a change in your blog’s subtitle, “An American Cricket Blog.” By your own admission, this blog isn’t about “American Cricket,” it’s about the views of a cricket fanatic who just happens to live in America.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
While it is a semantic argument, the blog title describes the content well because it is a “cricket blog” written by an “American” – thus it is an “American cricket blog”. It was not meant to sound as if this was a blog about American Cricket.
Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe, I guess.
I have been toying with changing it to something like “The World of Cricket from an American Perspective”, but I thought that sounded too arrogant.
Anyway, as I mentioned in the post: I appreciate all that you do for grassroots American cricket. And I wish I could share in your passion.