Ozzy, Ozzy !!
I am moving away from the reclusive , inward looking perspective of my initial post , quite a bit but then to keep the blog alive , I need to do that. Existentialism or Blogxtensialism, if you will.
I am intrigued by how much hatred the Australian team can generate among the cricket watching non-Australian public, be it in their off-white Test outfits with 19th century design baggy green caps or in the latest golden yellow T20/One-day outfits.
What is going on ? I remember getting up at 3.30 AM in the early 80s to watch Boon and Marsh thrash the Indian and Kiwi pacers and absolutely adoring the Laurel and Hardy combo. The Australian team those days were not hated for their winning habits , that came later .. Dean Jones , Greg Mathews , Mark Waugh , Mark Taylor to name a few, were good at what they did and were part of many a winning sides but definitely not hated.
The hate started building I think with Steve Waugh and his steely, boring and mechanized captaincy . His protege par excellence Ricky Ponting took it to the great heights being witnessed all over the world now. Does the Australians think that their so called "attitude" is part of the recipe to consistent success ? Look at Roger "crying on the floor" Federer or Tiger "melancholy" Woods or the samba singing Brazilian footballers of 90s to change that.
I am intrigued by how much hatred the Australian team can generate among the cricket watching non-Australian public, be it in their off-white Test outfits with 19th century design baggy green caps or in the latest golden yellow T20/One-day outfits.
What is going on ? I remember getting up at 3.30 AM in the early 80s to watch Boon and Marsh thrash the Indian and Kiwi pacers and absolutely adoring the Laurel and Hardy combo. The Australian team those days were not hated for their winning habits , that came later .. Dean Jones , Greg Mathews , Mark Waugh , Mark Taylor to name a few, were good at what they did and were part of many a winning sides but definitely not hated.
The hate started building I think with Steve Waugh and his steely, boring and mechanized captaincy . His protege par excellence Ricky Ponting took it to the great heights being witnessed all over the world now. Does the Australians think that their so called "attitude" is part of the recipe to consistent success ? Look at Roger "crying on the floor" Federer or Tiger "melancholy" Woods or the samba singing Brazilian footballers of 90s to change that.
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