This was a week that had us scratching our heads. Fortunately, we found a good dandruff shampoo and that’s not a problem anymore. But also, there was odd happenings that proved the world often doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the same time, it can also be wildly entertaining.
Cricket: Popular Sport or Media Hoax?
It’s all over the news: England beat India by 242 runs and took over the coveted #1 Cricket Ranking in the world. If you were to read the media coverage, it’s almost like there are words strung together that make absolutely no sense together. Let me show you. As a MullerOver quiz, which of the following statements is completely made up and not an actual quote from an NBC Sports article:
A Cricket Player awkwardly trying to figure out what he's supposed to do with a paddle
- “Swann bowled the first over, a maiden“
- “… after sprinting back to the crease he lasted just two balls before he was caught behind off an Anderson outswinger.”
- “… the bowler cleverly diverted the ball onto the stumps at Tendulkar’s end.”
- “… Ishant Sharma was lbw to Broad for a duck and the victory.”
OK – they all are supposedly true statements. I’m starting to think this is a big practical joke over at NBC making up a fictional sport. In London, frustration made young students take to the streets. Most commentators think it’s pointless violence. We think it’s a natural reaction to being exposed to Cricket.
Getting the Poll Position in Iowa
Then, in Iowa, there was another event that made even less sense and was arguably more meaningless than Grasshopper – er I mean Cricket. The Ames Straw Poll brought Republican presidential hopefuls together which dutifully acted like they they were interested in corn. Like the Cricket World Cup, at first glance, you’d think that an actual, newsworthy event happened in Iowa. Sarah Palin was there and everything.
Voters place kernals of corn next to pictures of their favorite candidates
But – in reality, it makes a little less sense than a duck outswinging a maiden in Cricket. You see, the Iowa Republican Party holds a straw poll in the small town of Ames while inviting any Iowa resident to come. Because it’s a fundraiser, it costs $30 to get in to “vote” while candidates often pay the admission fee for the voters. And, what seems like a mocking process that you’d see on Saturday Night Live, Iowa farmers put kernels of corn next to a photograph of the candidate that they like the most.
* sigh *
If we heard about this in a 3rd world country, we’d laugh at how backwards and corrupt the process was. In the U.S., we all nod and agree that’s how we choose our President.
Wild, Unpredictable Swings
Then this week, the stock market and Tiger Woods had unpredictable swings. The Dow Jones made us realize that markets aren’t quite as rational as they told us in Business school, and Tiger Woods missed the cut in the PGA Championship while he spent some quality time hiking in the woods next to the fairways.
With new, made-up sports, a crazy market, and an increasingly absurd election underway, this will be an entertaining fall.