TIL we have a cricket team

Wait US cricket beat Pakistan? That sounds pretty wild, they're like the Brazil national soccer team of cricket aren't they?

When it comes to fandom, cricket is hugely popular in both India and Pakistan.

But Brazil of cricket would be Australia as they have most amount big international trophies and won the previous world cup too against favourites India in India in 2023.
- So like beating England or Spain in soccer?

World politics isn't my strength but I'm pretty sure there's more beef between India and Pakistan than USA and Pakistan.

5th option : "I don't give a shit."

Top picture is Americans when they win the World Series of one of the many sports that only they play.

World = USA + Canada

Of course.
Or which other countries play, but we don't include them.

Looking at you, baseball.
- We include the other countries by putting all their players on US teams.
Those damn outsiders enjoying their shit.

Stupid fucks don't even play OUR games.

Yeah what? We have a cricket team?

Really hoping they make it to the semifinals, would be insane to see USA vs Afghanistan

Also excited for USA vs England this Sunday.

It’s mostly the first one, I wasn’t shocked we had a cricket team, but I was to learn they weren’t the equivalent of a Pakistani gridiron team

I know what you mean and in a way it's almost insulting. Like there are nations who trully love certain sports and they take it as part of their national pride ... and then there is US. Where you wonder "why are you guys even here? Why are you taking fun from people who enjoy this game? What do you even take from this?"

Where I live we have the same situation with ice hockey - our entire nation basically stops for IIHF world hockey championship, everyone watches it and we celebrate every win. And then there is US. Which regularly wins some medal and you have a feeling that no one in the US even notices.

The US has so many different cultures spread across such a huge (YUGE) land area that it is very difficult to unite the country. It's also why half the country complains about secession but the half changes between South and Midwest.

I had no idea we had a cricket team, but I am not surprised that there is. What surprises me is that l, while I don't know a lot about cricket, I do know that Pakistan is world class and fucking good - and they lost to Americans who don't even have a national team.

It's clearly a big deal and one worth celebrating. Maybe this will help cricket bloom in America?
- There has been a lot of investment into exhibition matches over the past few years, and into a Major League Cricket domestic competition which started in 2023.
  
  There have been failed attempts at domestic leagues in the past, but MLC is a T20 competition. That's a shorter and more accessible form of the game where a match generally takes around 3 hours to complete.
  
  That could make a difference, because it's a lot easier to keep kids interested for a few hours vs. the more traditional formats that could last anywhere between 8 hours, up to 5 days.
  
  It's only a 1-month season though, 25 matches over the course of July. I should hopefully make it to a few of them!
Not to be a dick, but the people on the US's National Cricket team do love the sport and deserve a shot at winning as much as anyone else
There's plenty of Americans that love hockey, they're just the ones that share a boarder with Canada, lmao.
- Well I mean you can't expect anybody who lives in, say, Arizona to take hockey seriously. Basically everyone south of the Mason-Dixon line turns into a deluxe idiot when it snows.
I mean, American players and American fans of the game still love the game. What does it matter that the whole country should love it? Let people love what they want to love.
'Americans don't love sports' is certainly a take.
canada, isn't it.
I feel like Australia did this to the field hockey world. North-western European countries like Norway and Denmark seem to love the sport, but we had the top spot for quite a few years. Barely anyone in Australia gave a single shit. Because everyone plays soccer, rugby, cricket or Aussie rules. Kinda sucked as a hockey player.