Why is the West Indies cricket team continuing to torment its fans in such cruel fashion?
It is like these boys/men (whichever you prefer) take pleasure in turning the knife round and round after plunging it into the hearts of their adoring fans.
Woeful does not even begin to describe the pathetic performance by the team on Tuesday against Australia; England’s Captain Paul Collingwood must have been elated because his team was beaten by the West Indies in Guyana with the help of the rain something he was very unhappy about.
But back to Tuesday, like many fans it was with trepidation that I watched as Captain Chris Gayle faced the first ball in that match. I sort of knew they were going to lose but like others I kept hoping that they would surprise me big time.
“They might put on a stunning performance and shock all of us,” I said aloud to anyone who might have wanted to listen but no one even bothered to respond to the statement.
You could understand why.
When Gayle was bowled with the third ball of the first over I knew that was it for us but like a fool I kept hoping beyond hope. Then as wicket after wicket fell I could no longer continue to hope–even though a male colleague kept promising the next batsman will make Australia suffer every time a wicket fell. Well the only sufferers were us fans as every batsman made us suffer over and over.
The team being dumped out of the tournament is just the continuation its downward spiral. Every time we think they can do no worse the boys just surprise us. Imagine the tournament is being played in their backyards and they could not even push themselves in the semi finals.
“Why couldn’t the boys play for pride?” I asked myself silently as I dragged myself away from the television set.
That is a question many fans asked themselves. It is as if the players have lost the will to play; they no longer care about winning. Maybe they are just playing for the pay cheque, which is really sad.
Even though they have that ‘don’t care’ attitude the fans continue to support them game after game, loss after loss.
“I can’t support anyone else I have to support West Indies,” a female colleague of mine told me recently.
And I couldn’t have agreed more because you see the West Indies cricket team and I have had a very rocky longstanding relationship for years.
It is a relationship that has seen me cry over and over again as watched my boys lose match after match. It is a relationship that–and this is no lie–has caused me many sleepless hours as I kept replaying in my mind after each loss what tactics the boys could have employed to ensure a win. It is a relationship that has given major headaches and even cut my appetite!
Okay, I have moved on somewhat, no more tears, headaches and not eating, but I am still in love with the team. Why, I ask myself and can only conclude that it is—as Lady Gaga sings—a Bad Romance that I just cannot seem to shake.
It’s probably bad for my health but I still watch their matches, only to be sad afterwards. Okay, I must confess that in the recent past I have not looked at some matches, but of course I would still manage to take a peep at the reports just to see how badly they lost.
I still make every effort to attend their games whenever they play on these shores and I braved the rain with my two-year-old during their last match at the Providence Stadium, which was really won by the rain in the end.
What is really sad is that I would do it again if they visit next week.
I guess I probably need counseling; at least that is what is suggested when someone cannot leave a bad relationship.
Maybe the day will come when I will finally rid myself of this terrible ‘love’ of my life or better yet, maybe the day will come when the team–minus most of the present players–will shape up and start winning again consistently like in the glory days so many still day dream about.
I would definitely prefer the latter because I want to get my two-year-old into the game. Maybe one day he will play cricket professionally; just maybe.
So I am praying that one day things will get better; that one day I can really sing the words “We are the champions, we are the West Indies.”
The powers that be were forced to remove that song as the team’s theme song and replace it with “Rally Round the West Indies”; no one had to question why.
Losers can never be champions.
Finally, I must confess that I won $5,000 after the team lost the match on Tuesday but I was not happy collecting the winnings. I actually caught a ‘packoo and buss he back’ as someone–no name will be mentioned—bet me that the West Indies would have made it to the finals of the Twenty/20 tournament. And if you are wondering, I would have felt happy paying that sum out if my boys had reached the finals. (thescene@stabroeknews.com)
