Badminton

There are a number of world sports which tend to be under the radar here in the USA. Notably; cricket (bigger than baseball); rugby (bigger than gridiron football); and, of course, football (not soccer - bigger than anything).

Then there are sports that are virtually unheard of, at least at a competitive, international level.

That's not to say that it's impossible to play those sports in the USA. Association Football has its ups and downs but now the USA national team is no longer a joke as more and more players gain experience in European and S American teams.

Rugby has a following in college and ex-pat communities, and cricket has outposts, once again in ex-pat and Indian and Pakistani communities.

As a matter of fact, the oldest international sporting event in the modern era was a cricket match between the USA and Canada in the 1840s.

As for badminton ... I used to play some years ago when I was quite handy ... not an expert ... but I could hold my own.

Badminton here in the USA tends to be looked at as a summer lawn sport, gently tapping the shuttle back and forth across the net. People don't seem to know that badminton is a serious sport in the rest of the world. For a start it's the fastest racquet sport in the world; shuttles can travel at over 200mph/320kph!!!

So, feeling I could do with some exercise I've been looking for a game somewhere. Badminton is hard to find here except for Universities and colleges, which usually have a club for students, and some expensive racquet clubs. A few weeks ago I was really pleased to find that our local township runs a seasonal badminton club, which I have joined.

That was the first step. The next was finding equipment. That really is quite difficult. Local sports suppliers only seem to cater for the big three; baseball, US football, basketball, plus the next tier; golf, hockey, tennis ... and that's it. Well, maybe in-line skates ... Badminton gear is limited to toy-like garden sets ... two racquets, a net and a plastic shuttlecock ... $15.00.

Once again, the internet came to the rescue. I got a nice Yonex racquet from Badminton Alley - in California - and classic HiTec Badminton shoes from eBay.co.uk. You'll have to google these yourself ... they're hard to find.

Last Monday, not knowing what to expect, I turned up for the first meeting of the season at our local school gym. Of course, there was a booking problem - just like back in England. This was quickly sorted out. But, badminton being what it is here, there were no courts marked out, so using a magic, knotted piece of rope, the assembled players marked out the courts in masking tape.


The standard of play was pretty good, so I wondered if I would be better off on the other, less competitive evening. But for the most part, I didn't look too rusty. Stuff like position on the court seeped back into my memory, although I had some difficulty returning high lobs both on the forehand, and on the backhand - previously a speciality of mine.

Maybe I just need a bit more practice. It's been more than five years since I last played, but I'm a bit suspicious of my glasses. They have varifocal/progressive lenses and I'm wondering if they're part of the problem, or maybe that's my excuse and I just need to get back into the groove.

PAFC : Phew!!!!

Haven't Plymouth Argyle been through the doldrums lately?

There they were, travelling hopefully on the borders of the promotion zone when they lose their manager / coach, Ian Holloway to Leicester City. As seems usual in this situation, the manager declares undying love for his club a week or so before uprooting and toddling off elsewhere.

And, apart from regaining one of the Argyle's most successful managers ever, Paul Sturrock, the team have gone on to not only lose a succession of their star players, but also their winning form.

But revenge is sweet. Despite a series of lacklustre performances since Boxing Day last year, yesterday - 9.2.2008 - Argyle managed to beat Leicester 0-1.

Gridiron : Eagles vs Giants

Well, I did baseball, and now it's American Football's turn.

So a cold, dull day saw us drive across to Phillie to the Eagle's stadium to watch my first US football game. Not my first ever gridiron; I have watched it on tv and local UK teams in muddy fields in the corner of the park, but nothing like this.

The stadium was immense. Several tiers of seating rising high into the sky. Hey, the section where we were even had waitress service. Not like Plymouth Argyle's Mayflower stand at all really.

The protagonists, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants - Linda's team - were at more or less opposite ends of the league, but that didn't stop the Eagles making a good start against the high-rolling Giants. However, the Giants doggedly made a slow, but not particularly elegant come-back to take the game by the end.

US football is a great game spoiled only by the fact that an hour on the field takes over three hours after all the stoppages and intervals are factored in. Fortunately, although it was a cold day there was no wind in our faces, so apart from frigid feet we survived quite well.