“I am an optimist. It does not seem to much use being anything else.”
Winston Churchill
Am I a disengaged fan of the Queensland Reds? You bet I am … but I am still a fan
Yesterday I received a Direct Message on twitter from the Queensland Red’s twitter account that read as follows:
“Hi Steven, we’re concerned that you’re feeling disengaged as a fan and we’d like to know how we can improve the situation?
My reply (along with the original DM) is set out in the two photos below:
I concede that my answer did not really answer the question put to me. I set out what had led me to become disengaged without answering what would improve my level of engagement. The fact is that there is nothing that Queensland Reds could say to me that would be likely to reinvigorate my engagement levels given the breadth of my whinges.
Regardless though of my level of disengagement with the team, I will continue to:
- Go to Reds games.
- Celebrate Reds victories.
- Commiserate Reds losses.
- Where appropriate, criticise all that I believe to be wrong with the team.
That is, after all, what being a fan of a sporting team is all about isn’t it? Whether I am engaged or not I remain a fan.
A final point: if sending me the message above was a strategy to engage me by the Queensland Reds it represents a spectatular failure because as I post this blog, some 24 hours after my reply to the Red’s message I still do not have a reply. Spelling my name wrong was bad enough but attempting to engage me without actually engaging is just another brick in the wall of my disengagement.
Posted with BlogsyDear David: An open letter to David Warner
Dear David,
I am sorry to see that you have again been involved in an on field fracas that has led to you being fined. This year we have seen you involved in these things in a number of fixtures, continuing a form line of conduct that has been a constant during your career.
I confess to you David that I am not a fan of yours. I concede openly that you are one of the most devastating stroke players in the game and that you are fast become one of the icons of the game in this country. Channel 9 has anointed you as one of the faces of the game and not a day goes by during the season where you are not in the press in some way.
I do not write to you to express my own thoughts about your sledging and aggressive conduct. I have written before that I have become less engaged with the game (that I have loved for over 30 years) in part because of the way Australia plays the game and your conduct is no small part of that. Rehashing that is not my purpose.
I write to you simply to ask you to stop! Please stop! I hear all the time that there are thousands upon thousands of young cricketers who just want to be like you. They want to bat like you. They want to field like you. They follow your every move. When they see you on the TV they absorb everything you do, both the good and the bad. That means they are absorbing both the slashing cover drive that bounces off the pickets and you standing face to face in the middle of the pitch yelling at an opponent.
Kids are great mimics: I can remember trying to replicate the actions of bowlers that I enjoyed watching. I am sure that there are young batters trying to blast a ball through backward point just like you do. I am scared that there are young players who think it is OK to stand toe to toe with an opponent in the middle of the pitch.
My nephew is just starting to get into cricket and went to his first game a couple of weekends ago. He still thinks that his uncle, who bowled slow medium outswingers that did not swing and whose only shot was a cover drive, is his favourite cricketer. That will not last long: soon I fear that you will be his favourite cricketer and he will start to mimic you, both the good and the bad.
So again: I ask you to stop! Not for lifelong fans like me but for the next generations of young fans who don’t know or don’t understand that what you are doing is not the way the game of cricket should be played.
Thank you.
Best regards,
A concerned uncle and cricket fan
AB de Villiers: are you serious???
AB de Villiers has just smashed the fastest ODI century in the history of the game. 31 balls to get to a hundred with 10 6s and 8 4s. That is just amazing batting!!!
There is oft conjecture about who is the best player in the world and, indeed, the best batter. Frankly that conjecture is pure fiction in my view: AB de Villiers in the best cricketer in the world hands down. One only need to look at his importance to his team coupled with his record to know that.
Smith, Warner and Kholi are battling for the second prize in this race but are a long way back as today’s innings has again shown!
South Africa must be the favourites for the coming World Cup and should win it so long as de Villiers stays on the park.
NFL Championship Games Selections
The Super Bowl is not far away but before then there are two cracking games tomorrow for the NFC and AFC Championships.
NFC Championship Game
This fixture pits the Seattle Seahawks against the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl Champions and the prohibitive favourites in this game. The Packers are hoping their hobbled QB Aaron Rodgers can get through the game. Neither team looks like they have a lot of points in them so I am keen to take the unders on the total game score in this one.
Tip: Total game score less than 46.50 points.
AFC Championship Game
In the AFC the New England Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts. The young bull, Andrew Luck, faces the old bull, Tom Brady, and a mouthwatering match up of two fantastic quarterbacks. The Patriots are playing in their sixth straight play off series and have the experience and the home crowd behind them which makes me think they will best the young Colts here and end up winning by at least a touchdown.
Tip: New England Patriots to cover the line (-7 points) against the Indianapolis Colts.
If you put these two tips together and win your return will be $3.65.
As always:
1. Please gamble responsibly.
2. Whilst all care is taken with these tips no responsibility vests for losses incurred.
Good luck and good punting!
Tennis Tips: Australian Open
I am not a massive follower of tennis and have not had a major bet on a Grand Slam since Sam Stosur lost in the French Open. That said: I have been watching a fair bit of tennis of late and have come up with these bets for first major of the year:
Women’s Champion: Petra Kvitova
I can’t see Serena Williams winning on current form and that makes this a pretty wide open field. Kvitova gets my cash off the back of a slashing Sydney International win. $10 on offer looks good value to me.
Men’s Champion: Any player other than the “big four”
$4.50 is on offer if you don’t think Djokovic, Federer, Murray or Nadal can win this tournament. Murray and Nadal look out of form. I am not sure Federer has another major in him and Djokovic is just too short at $1.90. Last year was a year replete with major winners outside the “big four” and I am happy to follow that trend again here.
As always:
1. Please gamble responsibly.
2. Whilst all care is taken with these tips no responsibility vests for losses incurred.
Good luck and enjoy the tennis!
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Shumpty Speaks 