Money Can't Buy Me Love

I can't believe what I have just read, I am seriously at a loss as to why a mustachioed Texan, albeit a billionaire mustachioed Texan, thinks that by piling in millions of pounds he can make T20 cricket the most popular sport in the world.

I have issues with this, major ones, my issues are so big in fact that I had the planning department round knocking at my door demanding to see my permission to have such a large issue in my driveway. Children have begun to cry when they see the huge nasty issues sat outside my house, the parents disgusted with the way they sneer and make fun of them as they walk past. People now call me the 'issue man'. Over reacting? Well maybe, but I'm looking at this not through the eyes of my wallet or bank statement, which is sports greatest affliction at the moment.

It annoys me that an American, who OK has invested a lot of money into the West Indian cricket scene which is great, thinks he can over ride years and years of tradition and pure fan ship of English sport by throwing buckets of cash at the thing. That's the thing with Americans, and I don't mean to generalise, but they have no idea of the sporting culture we British have and what it is like to have your beloved club bought and sold like an old sock, just look at Liverpool and the fans torment at seeing their club being dirtied by it's American owners. Unfortunately there are elements of this creeping into our sporting scene, with sponsorship becoming the biggest player of all. When you look at the football stadiums that are being rebuilt only to then be called after their sponsors name, I mean, where's the soul in 'The Emirates Stadium'?

But back to Allen, he says cricket can be the biggest sport in the world? Well that's great, and hey if that was true even better as I love cricket and the sportsman who play it should get rewarded for the job they do. But if we're honest and if he had any idea about sport in this country he would know football will always be the winner. Globally it will always be the winner, just because its not in America they seem to think it's a joke.

So whats on his to do list I wonder? Because if he thinks by ploughing money into T20 cricket he is going to create some sort of world dominating sport he is mistaken. For a start he will have to rinse out of the majority of British inhabitants their love of football, their supporting of teams that has been handed down generation to generation like a priceless heirloom. Money won't count there.

What about those of us who don't want T20 cricket to be the main form of the game, where is his thoughts for those around the world who enjoy the traditional Tests which is still the best form of the game. Im not sure he would care if test cricket became the novelty version, reduced to a few exhibition matches here and then, with 400 million pounds of tripe for the winner. Im not sure he would he care that over a hundred years of heritage with test cricket would be lost, becoming the black sheep of the cricket family, only to be replaced by the noisy little oik that was only supposed to stay over for a week but somehow maneged to get his feet under the table by having a rich uncle to help him out.

I could go on and on and on. You see I love sport, be it cricket, football or rugby. I am also more than aware of what it means to pick a team, a team for life. I'm not sure this is something Americans understand, the amount of passion we put into supporting our teams and country is amazing and it would take a lot more than a large pocketed American with a tache to tell me otherwise. And I'm sure I'm not alone.