The Bench Jockeys

Before 2010, if someone in the room said the word: “Spanish,” the immediate reactive associations were:

• a) the Armada (1588);
• b) the Inquisition (1478- 1834);
• c) the Flu (1918); and
• d) an omelette.

About 3 folks on earth might be able to connect Spain with Miguel Indurain, who won the Tour de France for five straight years (1991-1996), but athletic dominance was not a Top Ten association with Spain.  That all changed in July 2010 when Spain defeated the Netherlands on Andrés Iniesta’s goal in the 116^th minute of the World Cup, and since that historic tally, Spain has been on a competitive tear.

• Yesterday, two soccer teams from Spain squared off in the prestigious UEFA Champions League Semifinal where Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-0.  Of the 16 European teams to reach the knockout phase of the UEFA, three of them were from Spain, and Spain will be represented in the Finals.
• In the last two weeks, World #1 Ranked tennis player Rafael Nadal has faced fellow countryman David Ferrer (World #6) in the Finals of the Monte Carlo and Barcelona Opens.  Spain currently boasts four of the top 15 slots in the ATP World Rankings and an astounding 13 of the top 75 – 17.3%!.  The US has 3 men in the top 75.
• There are also 4 Spanish women ranked in the WTA top 75; and American women… 3.
• Lance Armstrong last won a Tour de France in 2005.  Since that time, Spaniards Oscar Pereiro, Carlos Sastre and Alberto Contador have won five straight.

Spain is ranked 27^th in world population at 46.7M, just above the Ukraine and Sudan.  The US is estimated to be at 313.2M (3^rd).  Spain is the 52^nd largest country in the world with just under 506,000 sq. km and is 5% of the size of the US.

Soccer, Tennis, Cycling and an up and coming Golf contingent.  Pau Gasol on the LA Lakers and Marc Gasol on the Memphis Grizzlies – both in the NBA playoffs.  Pound for pound, looking at population size and geographic area, Spain has quietly become a player in the sporting world.

Fast Fact: – Rafa has played Ferrer 17 times in his career, leading the series 13-4.  Nadal’s last loss to Ferrer came in the Quarterfinals of the Aussie Open in January 2011 which destroyed Nadal’s chance at four consecutive Grand Slam victories (Wimbledon, French, US and Australian).

I’ll admit it, I don’t understand cricket. Having read synopses of the rules associated with the sport, the terminology used and the elements of the game, it just does not fit into my sports experience paradigm.   The field makes no sense (oval); the positions make no sense (there’s a player called the “silly” and there is another slot called the “sillier”); and the scoring makes no sense (I can’t even describe that in some pithy way).  See if you can make heads or tails of this………..

I thought not.

However, there is no other arena where sports and politics are seemingly more entwined this Spring than in Mohali, Chandigarh, India as Pakistan squares off against India in the semi-final match of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup on March 30^th.  For those of you who remain inside your Western Hemisphere boxes, Pakistani militants, from the terrorist group known as Lashkar-e-Taiba targeted Mumbai, India in November 2008 with a coordinated three-day attack during which 164 residents were killed and more than 300 were wounded in shootings and bomb blasts.  The attack is now commonly referred to as “26/11,” – which kind of sounds like our 9/11 –  so this is a big deal in India.  The scars from the 2008 attacks remain fresh in the hearts and minds of the home team, and as a result, this semi-final match takes on ominous quality with the winner of the cricket match advancing to the World Cup finals and the loser of the potential regional conflict facing nuclear annihilation.

For those of us in the West who have never had a formal introduction to cricket (and really, you need more like a graduate level course than an introduction) we assume that cricket is predominately a fancy-man sport played in England and in few of its former territorial islands by well-dressed gents.  However, in both Pakistan and India, cricket is “the game.”  Fans are rabid – so much so that during this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup, violence has erupted prior to less ideologically-ripe matches outside India’s stadiums resulting in a very physical response by Indian police patrols.   Take a look at this guy.   He is not going to be too thrilled if Pakistan advances to the finals.

This week’s Pakistan-India contest may lead to heightened tensions on the sub-continent, or perhaps, this gentleman’s game will yield greater cooperation and understanding between these two nuclear powers.  Well,… that’s probably not going to happen.  But, here’s an instance where both sides would be happy with a geo-political draw.