Sports Quotient

A Russian indulging in the favourite hobby of uber-rich Americans in the heart of the capitalist world. Wonder what the stalwarts of communist Russia would have had to say about it?

For the last 20 years, I have been reading and hearing that cricket in the West Indies is suffering because West Indian youth are selecting American sports like the NBA over cricket. The glitz and glamour of these sports seems to be too much of a draw as compared to the more sedate sport of cricket.

So I checked.

How many West Indians are actually making a name for themselves in American sports? After all if you need to make it to enjoy the glitz and the glamour.

The answer is this.

Hardly anyone.

Save for a few Jamaican- Americans like Patrick Ewing who were raised in America and didn’t really have to choose basketball over cricket, there are hardly any West Indians who have enjoyed even a moderately successful NBA career.

So what is driving the West Indian youth towards American sports if there are no role models and no success stories to emulate?

So either the West Indian youth are like moths chasing a flame or its time cricket observers in the West Indies put the NBA theory to rest and looked at other issues.