|
|
The Gay Side of Cricket
(Editor's note: The
Cricket World
Cup in South Africa is captivating large parts of the globe,
especially those countries that once were part of the British Empire.
But we Americans could care less and were wondering what all the fuss
was about. Vivek Divan, a cricket fan from Bombay, India, clues us in
as to the sport's appeal).
By
Vivek Divan
For Outsports.com
Although the incredulous (bordering on derisive)
looks and comments that I have received from gay folk when I show even
the faintest enthusiasm for sport in general and cricket in particular
haven’t made me question my queerness (in fact it's been reinforced to
an even greater degree!), they have certainly made me feel peeved
about the injustice and intolerance of it all.
Well, no, not
exactly. Such barbs used to infuriate me but now I don't give a damn.
Especially at this time when the Cricket World Cup is on, when there
is so much eye candy in the press and on television, when there is all
this terrific male bonding going on between guys in uniform. And when,
like never before, cameras have access to the training sessions, with
all those
shirtless, strapping specimens.
Whoa! The Kiwis have never been hotter. James Anderson has restored
our faith in the cuteness of Englishmen. The Indian team has this
alien (certainly un-Indian) fitness level and some lean, mean machines
that bowl you over. The Pakistanis – well, they’ve never flattered to
deceive, at least in the hunk department. And with quite a sprinkling
of gorgeousness all around, right now watching cricket is HOT STUFF!
But, hey, I’ve always liked the sport regardless of the fact that this
World Cup has turned out to be quite a catwalk. Although my interest
in it did reach a nadir in the recent past, what with serious
match-fixing information coming to light, I’ve been fascinated by it
forever, collecting pictures of cricketers as a kid for my scrapbook.
And yes, it is far more interesting than baseball, you Statesiders!
No matter that Robin Williams may have called it baseball on valium.
It is a pretty faggy sport, really. Especially when one reads its
history (homoerotic references in one of Ramachandra Guha’s brilliant
writings on the game), sees old visual representations of it in art
(rather queer-looking Englishmen in their starched whites) and
recognizes the poetry of the game – not just on the playing field but
also the phenomenal writing it has engendered, possibly second only to
golf. Its even got a ton of queer jargon (if you really let your
imagination run wild!) – long leg, short leg, third man, fine leg,
deep fine leg, maiden, stump, square leg, deep square leg, forward
short leg.
It is (or was) full of etiquette, pomp and ceremony. It used to be
formal, elite, languorous and ridiculously time-consuming (the Test
Match version of the game – the real thing – still is). Players were
steeped in fair play and magnanimity. Essentially, it was all quite
utterly English, to my mind in some strangely Oscar Wildean way. It is
astonishing how it has now become a sport so deeply rooted in the
Indian subcontinent. And we in India seem to be taking it back out to
the world now. There has never been a better time really – our boys in
blue are the best looking bunch we’ve ever had!
As a gay sport freak there is just one regret about cricket though – I
wish it were more of a contact sport!.
March. 14, 2003 |
