So, Cricket? Maybe?

Labour disputes currently threaten to derail the seasons of two out of the four major sports in the United States. With this potential sports void looming, Michael Schur and Nate DiMeo decide to watch the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan on DVD to see if cricket could fill the hole in their sports lives. On Grantland.com, they provide a rather funny blow-by-blow account of their experience.

Shahid Afridi, we learn for some reason right now, is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. I am suddenly overcome with a wave of love for Shahid Afridi. All of his demonstrative nonsense suddenly feels like intensity to me. All of his cajoling and firing up of his teammates seems both warranted and necessary, in a game that moves this slowly, yet has this much at stake, national-identity-wise. He has a kind of universal athlete intensity gene which I admire. I know nothing of the man, really. He might be a terrible person, or a tax cheat, or a serial adulterer, but at work, the man wants to win, and his team is not really helping out.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I am very much rooting for Pakistan. I want to see Shahid Afridi happy.