Alan1 Profile Page
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| Hits | 964 |
| Online Status | OFFLINE |
| Member Since | 03/24/2007 12:44:45 |
| Last Online | 05/02/2007 08:15:33 |
| Last Updated | Never |
About Me
| About Me: | Alan Rothkopf Location: France "Are you here for the cricket?" It's a question which changed the course of my life. It was December,2001. After being laid off, I had decided, at age 32, to get a passport and tour Australia for 3 weeks. After having greatly enjoyed Sydney and Melbourne, I was on a bus from the airport to my hotel in Adelaide. I had no idea what I would see in Adelaide, but as an American, the sport of cricket had never really entered my consciousness. So I responded to the kind lady who asked me this innocent but monumentally important question with my own questions, like "Where is it?", and "Will I understand what's going on?". The answers were satisfying enough that, later that day, I walked across the river Torrens to discover the Adelaide Oval, and day 1 of the first test between Australia and South Africa. It was also day 1 of my passion for the sport of cricket.I can't say I understood everything that I saw then.But I wanted to learn. The best way to learn about a sport is to play it. So when I got back to California I found a local tennisball cricket league run by the Indian expat community.I found a team which was not in the top 10,so I might have a chance to play once I improved. And I arranged to show up. I must have been pretty bad on that first day, and I know they did not think I would last. But I spent four years playing with them, and in those four seasons we were semifinalists twice and finalists twice. I'm the very proud owner of two cricket trophies for the runner-up years. I can't really take credit for much of what the team achieved. I was a pretty good fielder, but a poor batsman and a mediocre bowler. And I had to work extremely hard to get up to that level of competence. I think it was that hard work itself which inspired my more capable teammates to great achievement. In early 2006 I moved to France to begin a new life. While I haven't had the chance to play here, it is now possible for me to take the train up to England to watch a match. So teams I've seen play in person now include Australia, England, South Africa, and Pakistan. This year I expect to add the West Indies and India to this list. I'm not really a partisan for any team (as the U.S. and France are not really viable in cricket), though I tend to lean towards supporting England, as it's easy and fun to follow them. I suppose my favorite player at the moment is Monty Panesar, though I have not yet had the chance to see him play in person |
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| Date | Title | Hits |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 10 April 2007 | An Ode to the Lankans | 642 |
| Monday, 02 April 2007 | Under the Spotlights | 589 |
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