The story seems to be based on a sliver of a comment in Iain O'Brien's blog (which has become a sensation since it was discovered a couple of days ago):
The crowds here are pretty good, ruined by a few, actually quite a few, idiots who think a day out at the cricket is just to abuse the guys playing any way how. You get called anything and everything. Embarrassing for these guys really, as a lot of the others around them are cringing. I don't know how many times I've was called a 'fagot' this afternoon!(Note that the Aussie papers felt it necessary to alter his spelling of 'fagot'.)
Doesn't sound to me like 'the crowd' is turning on our fagots – just a few, well quite a few, idiots in the crowd. And it doesn't sound like the 'New Zealanders' are saying all that much about it. Just one guy dropping a quick comment amongst a much larger story.
Cricket crowds are nasty, as everyone who has been to a match knows. But there's no issue here. Just a beat up.
2 comments:
I was wondering just how long it would be before the media started pouncing on otherwise innocuous segments of the blog. O'Brien is a fairly low-profile cricketer (though the tribute to him on Sideline Slogger was well deserved), and even he can't escape the cynosure of the press. Anything for a headline, I guess.
My latest article examines the possibility of Ryder opening the batting in tests. Would like to read your thoughts on it, Ben.
http://thekiwiflies.blogspot.com/2008/11/just-thought.html
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