Axver ([info]axver) wrote,
@ 2008-02-07 22:39:00
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Current mood: disappointed
Current music:'Mahler' by No-Man
Entry tags:australia, cricket, idiocy, india, racism, sri lanka, stupidity

A plague of petty sport fans
Well, I guess I'll try writing some kind of normal entry.

I must admit that I'm a little embarrassed to be an Australian citizen at the moment. The offensive and even racist behaviour of certain sections of the Australian community is becoming sickening. I will not be surprised if cricket teams from the subcontinent stop touring here. Why should they bother? Firstly there's the whole Harbhajan Singh fiasco. Whether or not he called Andrew Symonds a "monkey" or any other derogatory slur is really irrelevant at this stage - it hasn't been proven, it is denied by Sachin Tendulkar (the only Indian within earshot), and it very much could be overhyped by Ricky Ponting due to being labelled Harbhajan's bunny. What is relevant is just how petty Australian sportsfans can be. Every time Harbhajan does, well, ANYTHING, he gets thunderous boos from the audience. Come on, people. This isn't sporting, and it sure as hell isn't cricket. Move on. In Brisbane on Tuesday, Harbhajan made a gutsy and valuable stand and the crowd still booed him after he got out. Not to mention that they chanted "Harbhajan's a wanker". Grow up.

What's even worse, however, is this story of an egg being randomly thrown at members of the Sri Lankan squad, including the world's best spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan. Now, it was dark, so chances are they didn't know it was Murali, but they obviously targeted the group because they were Sri Lankan. Muralitharan has refused to participate in tours of Australia before due to the abuse he has copped; despite scientific tests showing that his bowling action is legal, even our former Prime Minister, John Howard, labelled Murali a "chucker". I'm deeply bothered by the following quote, and I'm sure that if I were Australian-born rather than just a citizen, I would be rather ashamed too:

Jayawardene said it was important to "block everything" out during tours of Australia. "When you come here it's not just the players who are aggressive, it's also the crowd who are as aggressive as their team," he said.

Way to make the opposition feel welcome, guys. You should respect them, not act aggressively, derisively, and abusively to them. They've come a long way from a completely different part of the world to entertain you. There's just no need for this kind of pathetic, childish, and small-minded behaviour.


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[info]ladyphoenixia
2008-02-07 01:02 pm UTC (link)
I pretty much agree with everything you say there.

And yet, I got the impression from the papers when the Harbhajahan fiasco began that there was a significant section of the community who thought Ponting was just being an ass and the Australian team could dish it out but couldn't take it?

Then again, everyone's known since the underarm bowling fiasco that Australia may be one of the best sports-playing nations in the world, but they're also some of the worst sportspeople.

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[info]axver
2008-02-07 01:13 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, initially it seemed like a good amount of people thought Ponting was blowing things out of proportion. But then with the Indian team flexing their financial muscle and Symonds' extraordinary popularity, it seems opinion turned. Honestly, I don't know what to make of the fiasco. Did Harbhajan say anything racist, or at least derogatory? Well, I'm inclined to trust Sachin, a man who wouldn't jeopardise a tour for no reason, when he says Harbhajan was innocent of racism. And we all know people like Glenn McGrath (who, I must say, is one of my favourite cricketers of the last decade) were inclined to shoot their mouths off.

To speak in generalities, Australia is one of those nations that is not only conscious of its considerable sporting achievements, but puts so much pride into them that it has to boost itself at any given opportunity. And that just leads to dreadful sportsmanship. I have a hard time thinking of Australian sportspeople who I genuinely respect and think have a high standard of dignity. Richie Benaud's one. A few more like him on the present Aussie cricket team would go a long way.

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[info]starlighterased
2008-02-07 01:33 pm UTC (link)
Hi There,

Just popin' by again to say I just sent you an e-mail!

I'm sure the fan's are still bad...for example if Sri Lanka tour England or something, Remember Pakistan and India couldn't play each other in their own country for fear that they would (for lack of a better phrasing) "Blow each other up"....maybe not literally, but At least they were expecting violence.

That said, there are always a few Australian wankers at the cricket who go to far with Racial abuse and stuff.....I'd blame the most part of it on the one's who've had way to may to drink during the space of the game.

Anyway, I think If the media wasn't so big these days, we could be just getting on with the cricket and what happens on the field would stay on the field and be forgotten about over a few beers after the days play......

(And Richie Benaud is still captain right? :P)

Edited at 2008-02-07 01:34 pm UTC

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[info]axver
2008-02-07 01:40 pm UTC (link)
Just replied to the e-mail myself. :)

It's a shame just how tense cricket is all around the world. Some of the security at subcontinent cricket grounds looks absolutely threatening. I really would expect better from Australia though. But I think there's a lot of latent racism here that a lot of people want to gloss over and pretend doesn't exist. Re: disbelief at Cronulla riots. Those didn't come from nowhere.

Whether it's just wankers who are too drunk to know better or something more serious, the heckling people like Harbhajan get really needs to be stamped out. I don't mean to try to parade New Zealand as an exemplary example of things as the place has all kinds of flaws of its own, but I really cannot imagine something to this extent going on at cricket matches there. Harbhajan's gutsy 27 on Tuesday would've gotten applause from a Wellington crowd. I just about had to mute the TV when the Brisbane crowd booed him. I'm glad I wasn't there.

But yeah, this sort of shit sells newspapers. Let's see if it dies down. I hope it does.

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[info]screwtape2
2008-02-07 04:42 pm UTC (link)
I can get so annoyed with sports fans as well. It is only a game. Maybe I'm spoiled but throwing things at opposing players is out of line. In America, they say the best fans are in the midwest and I personally think in Nebraska. Sports have as big of an affect on daily life here than just about anywhere in the world. Still you never here about local fans throwing things at players or cursing out players. Rarely do you ever hear boo's except in the most pathetic of efforts.
Here in America, it is just as bad or worse than what you are talking about. I've fans throw beer bottles onto players and referees, fans personally attacking someone's family and even one player's dead unborn child. Then you have death threats. It's just a game. I wish more people would realize that.

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[info]axver
2008-02-08 10:32 am UTC (link)
I've been amazed by some of the violence I've seen from North America and Europe - full scale rioting. We've never seen anything quite like that, though hostile crowds are really par for the course anywhere you go in Australia. This country sometimes takes this stuff far too seriously.

Well, actually, we did have rioting once in New Zealand. Our worst civil unrest of the 20th century took place in 1981 when South Africa's rugby union team toured New Zealand, but that was justifiable sporting violence, as it was more about Apartheid than rugby. If you're interested, here's Wikipedia's article on "The Tour".

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