Bowlings Abroad

We both love live sports--the din of the crowd, the energy, the feeling of seeing athletes up-close and personal. It doesn’t matter if we have no clue who any of the athletes are. It’s the thrill of the game and the joy of the experience.

Brazil fans represent at #BrazilWorldTour in Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Familiar

On Tuesday evening we went to Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium for an international soccer friendly. It was Brazil versus South Korea. We didn’t expect both teams to bring full-rosters, but were pleasantly surprised by the lineups: Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Coutinho (Bayern), Firmino, Fabinho, and Allison (all from Liverpool), all balled out of their minds. The crowd heavily tilted towards Brazil -- the match was part of their #BrazilWorldTour, but every South Korean person in the city seemingly came out and they made a ton of noise all match. Coutinho hit one of the nastiest free kicks you’ll ever see. He basically had a window the size of a cereal box and beat the keeper to the near post from 20+ yards out. Our seats were directly behind where he struck the ball so we could see the nasty spin he put on it.

The Unfamiliar

We don’t know cricket -- not even a little bit. But on the car-ride to the Sheikh Zayed Cricket stadium we brushed up on essential knowledge we needed to enjoy a match in the Emirates T-10 league.

We still don’t really understand everything we saw, but we liked it. Alot.

Reading the scoreboard was like solving a puzzle…

T-10 is a modified version of the game where matches are basically ninety minutes, rather than the five-day (marathon) test matches you may have read about. If I understand correctly, in a test match players tend to try to avoid getting out, but T-10 is like late 90s baseball, dudes were stroking long-balls (or sixers as we learned they’re called). My friend Big Dave compared it to a baseball Homerun Derby.

Fans trying to catch selfies with an apparently famous cricketer

Beyond the game, the stadium atmosphere was lit.

Cricket, like soccer, was born in England and exported to their colonies. Hence, South Asians are wild for the game. No, like it’s their jam. It’s like how a certain brand of white women™ love PSLs and Ugg Boots... but worse.

There were cheerleaders, mascots, a DJ/MC/Hypeman/Host starting chants and bumping Bollywood music. At numerous points throughout the day, the DJ roll called.

Bangladesh, make some noise… ROAR

Afghanistan, make some noise… ROAR

Pakistan, make some noise… ROOOOOOAR

India… he didn’t even get to finish… the ground just shook.

The Food

One of our favorite on-going jokes is to compare the food experiences at sporting events in different countries: the Corona Big Gulp & nacho cheese gun at Estadio Azteca, the baguette delivery at the 2019 World Cup Final in Lyon, the seemingly bottomless well of 3 Euro beers consumed at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf.

Having experienced 3 different football matches in completely different stadiums (BYO snacks at one, no-snacks, applesauce sized cups of water served at another) we had no idea what to expect at a cricket match.

There were three cricket matches played, back-to-back-to-back. The fan zone offered a half-dozen food trucks bursting with samosas, halo-halo, and shawarma. Inside the stadium, the concession dudes made it rain chicken sandwiches and personal pizzas. There were Baskin-Robbins pushers and even a chaiwala!

What’s Next?

Who knows? This is a year to try new things.

We’re headed to Kenya on Tuesday to chaperone a student service project. We’ll see what kind of sports shenanigans we get into there.