With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London rapidly approaching, I started thinking about the sport of Cricket. I wonder how many of the English will be wearing I Love Cricket T-shirts during the games.  Cricket is an incredibly popular sport in England and in countries, which were formerly under British rule, including India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, to name a few.  If this were an Olympic event, the British would certainly be one of the favorites to win.

Cricket first showed up in southern England in the 16^th century and became an international sport by the 19^th century. It even appeared once way back in the 1900 Olympic games in Paris. Since then it’s been featured in the Asian Games as well as the World Cup of Cricket. The sport did receive Olympic recognition status in 2007 and can now bid for a spot in the 2020 Olympics, along with such sports as karate, roller derby, squash, sport climbing, as well as several others including softball and baseball.

Introducing new sports into the Olympics allows more athletes to experience the pride of being in the Olympics, but it also brings more spectators and viewers from around the world to the games. Just imagine if American Football or Surfing were an Olympic sport, how many more people might be drawn to the games.

My first and only encounter that I’ve had with the game of Cricket was when I was living in Oxford, England. I was relaxing in a park one day, where a match was being played. While it’s a little bit like baseball, in that there’s a ball and a bat, innings and it’s played on a green field, they are actually quite different.

The objective in Cricket is for the “bowler” to toss a ball across the pitch and try to hit wickets that are behind the batters. There is a batter at each end.  If one of the batters hits the ball, and it’s not caught before it hits the ground, then both batters try to score points for their team by running across the pitch and grounding their bats behind the crease. Each run and bat grounding equals one point. If the ball is hit outside the field before touching the ground, like a home run in baseball, the team automatically receives 6 points.

For me, the sport was quite fascinating to watch and quite elegant and refined. Not that the players and fans don’t get into the sport, they do, but there was something regal about it. If Cricket does become an Olympic event in 2020, I’ll certainly be watching!

Wheels spinning, the crowd screaming as women fly around a banked track on 4 wheels, blocking skaters and taking down everyone in their path who gets in their way of their jammer getting a point. A bout consists of 2-minute periods where 2 teams of 5 skaters each try and score a point, usually in a 90 min period, all the while providing a great show for the crowd.

Roller Derby has been around for many years, showing up as far back as the 1930’s in the United States.  A sub culture of mainly teams comprised of women, that’s making it’s way around the globe at record speeds. It’s also under consideration as a roller sport for the Olympics in 2020.

In Roller Derby there are two types of tracks, banked and flat. The Flat track looks like a long oval, with two long straight-aways and a curved end, while the banked track is also in an oval shape, but the track is elevated on an angle. The skaters are skating on an angle on the straight-aways, and when they hit the curve they swoop down across the curve to the other side, which allows the skater to pick up more momentum when coming around to the other straightaway.

The women and men in roller derby have to be fearless and have great derby names. It’s a sport filled with bruises, falls and exhibitionism plus a whole lot of strategy. When you’re first starting out, you’ll usually be placed in a fresh-meat program. Here you will learn all of the basics; skating, falling, stopping, taking off, jumping, skating backwards, and learning the rules. You will participate in scrimmages and eventually try out for one of the teams in your league, practicing at least 3-4 times per week. Some leagues even have pre-fresh meat training, where you learn the basics at a training of at least once a week. Depending on the size of your league, there could be many different types of teams, from the A-C Teams, All-Starts, Travel Teams, and so on.

Roller Derby is an extreme social sport where skaters participate in charity events, fundraisers, volunteering for the community, and of course having fun hanging out together. It’s also a fantastic way to get into great shape. Roller Derby will kick your ass, and be worth every minute of it. While you’re contemplating on that great derby name for yourself, why not have a look at our derby t-shirts and hoodies. If you’re already on a team, we can make customized clothing for you. So what are you waiting for? Go catch a bout in your hometown. Then maybe you’ll catch the fever too!

What is it with angry rude tourists, and why is it when we’re travelling we seem to notice them even more? You know whom I’m talking about, the loud obnoxious people, sitting at the table next to you, who can’t seem to find anything to be happy about. Not to mention the fact that they’re dining steps away from the Eiffel Tower and eating a world-class meal, none of which seems to matter.  They’re miserable and acting entitled and unfortunately, have no problem letting everyone else know how they feel.

Rude American psycho tourists seem to stand out the most for me, especially when I’m travelling outside the country. I’m sure that’s partly because I can completely understand what they’re saying, and also because they generally tend to be more vocal than everyone else in the general vicinity. It’s probably not really they’re fault. The waiter is rude and doesn’t speak English, the food isn’t what they thought they had ordered, and they can’t seem to find a cold beverage anywhere. This is probably their first trip to a non-English speaking country, and they’re simply overwhelmed. Maybe their wallet was stolen on the metro, their English speaking tour wasn’t in English, and their soda is warm. All they probably want is to find something comforting that reminds them of home. So they’ve had a rough day, and everyone else has to hear about it.

Of course, the point for people traveling to foreign countries is to experience something new. Whether it’s the art, the culture, the history, the people, the language, whatever it is, it’s usually very exciting, but can also be overwhelming. It’s easy for people to shut down when things tend to go badly, and something as small as a cultural misunderstanding can ruin someone’s day or entire trip.

I used to hide from the rude American’s. I truly detested their behavior and was terrified that they would figure out that I was also an American and start talking to me. God forbid that happened. What would the locals think! Well over the years, I’ve evolved a bit and my tactic has changed and now I rather welcome the opportunity to talk to them. I’m curious to find out what they’re doing in the country and maybe just speaking to another fellow American in English will calm their nerves or maybe not! Either way, I try to have more empathy for the Rude tourist, American or otherwise, but sometimes it is what it is and they are what they are…rude people.

The next time I go on a trip, I think I’ll wear my American Psycho tank top. That way there will be no questions on what type of Psycho I am. I’ll stand tall and proud, embracing my heritage and psychosis. Care to join me?