FLAG WAVING, TUB THUMPING AND SOCIAL UNREST. THAT’S JUST NOT CRICKET
I have long wondered about supporters and how they forge their alliances to sporting teams. In the case of domestic football teams it is a combination of where you are from, family heritage, peer pressure or you simply follow the best team at the time - hence we have a new breed of Chelsea fans who have allegedly supported them all their lives, gaw bless you me old cockney etc. These lifelong fans will have been Liverpool fans in the 1980’s, Manchester United fans in the 1990’s, fleetingly Newcastle fans until they saw the light, then Arsenal supporters and now Chelski - so named because of their Russian influences. The implications of this are minimal unless you happen to be a mindless thug who enjoys a bit of a fist fight on a Saturday afternoon. However when it comes to choosing your national allegiances, then the whole situation becomes a potential tinderbox that will explode at any time.
Asians in the UK are generally quite clever in that they say they support a particular football team, but you rarely see them at any games. I know because many times I have been the only brown face at a Luton Town match and have many times wondered what the hell I am doing there. I have always found it amazing that the terrace theologians are happy to make monkey chants at the opposition black players but are friendly towards their own - “its not 'is fault he’s black is it?” My own football supporter days ended when I followed England to the 1998 World Cup in France and witnessed four days of rioting between the French, North Africans, English and police in Marseilles, South of France. Enough is enough I thought and went back to supporting Luton Town and England from the comfort of my armchair. But it is England that I continue to support, even though the behaviour of certain members of the country embarrasses me beyond belief.
I find it incredible that people who are born and bred in a certain country then choose to support another country in sport, to the extent that they will support their historical country against the country that has provided them an education and a home for all of their lives. Whilst this is rife in England, though oddly enough not as much in Scotland or Wales, it also happens in other countries - take Australia as an example where second and third generation Australians from European descent follow Greece or Croatia instead of Australia.
Let us take lovely old Blighty as an example - green fields, old pubs, real ale, the good old queen, history, jolly good show and all that jazz. Let us take lovely old Blighty as an example - posh types chasing defenseless foxes through fields, youths mugging old ladies, a complete lack of basic manners, being a Bush-puppet and chavs beating up people on the street. Who would you support given the choice - or indeed should there be a choice?
Quite clearly there is a serious synergy between social unrest and feelings of injustice especially in a country like England where blame-culture is rife. So when English-born Asians support the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan cricket sides against England, then surely this is like a red rag to a bull for the less liberal occupants of the country - or are they right? After all England provided these people with a home, an education and a support system in addition to the values they were taught by their faith, family and heritage - in essence they have the best of both worlds. However, to repay that support by blatantly supporting another side against England is hardly fair and smacks of a grave disrespect towards the country of their birth.
On the other hand, what about the ghetto culture that has evolved in England over the past ten years - is this the cause or effect of Asians, amongst others, not feeling part of the country of their birth. Perhaps the indigenous population has not done enough to make the Asian migrants welcome or perhaps the migrants just wanted to live their own lives with their own people. The simple truth of the matter is that for some reason both sides are totally disaffected by each other and there is a complete ‘them and us’ culture which is expressed through cricket. By not supporting England in any sport, British-born Asians are using the game of cricket to wave their flags and show their allegiances towards the country of their father’s or grand-father’s birth against the country that has given them an education. Even worse, some of these guys have never been to India and indeed are Africans - Kenya play cricket, why not support them?
The crux of the matter is this - England has evolved into a country that has no values and is fast becoming like the USA where communities are built on colour and creed. British-born Asians feel more at home in their ‘own’ communities with their ‘own’ people and seek to expression their dissatisfaction through not supporting England at cricket. I personally think that it’s completely wrong to not support a country that has supported you. But there again I have never lived in a community and been subjected to peer pressure.
From Foreign!
Sanjay Murthy
Well, I, for one, was quite perplexed to read this article, really. Amongst other notable concerns which has been raised in this issue (coming from one desi - living in foreign land and conditions - to another), it certainly begs the question of all questions:
Should or should not, an individual, who is permanently positioned and situated in far-off alien and distant locations (UK/USA), have a clear and concise right to cheer his/her home team over any other? Is it really a detestable crime and a punishable sin to support “foreign” teams? Is an individual not doing any justice and righteousness whatsoever to the country where he/she is currently living in (and has lived for almost the entire lives), by not supporting the nation that has bred him, served him the finest and made him proud? Besides from resisting to provide the support for one’s own home team, the entire worth of years of education and the amount of money that is generated into a person’s pocket by a country where diversity is a thing of the past, does that hold no value and meaning? Where exactly should the line be drawn, in this instance? Most importantly, where do you, as a cricket fan, stand on this issue?
Thoughts/Concerns/Questions/Opinions?