When I think of sports back home, I think of the big four: baseball, basketball, football and hockey. I grew up outside of Detroit, which has a sports franchise in all four of these sports, and 75% of them have had championship or near championship runs during my life time (poor, poor Detroit Lions). When I moved to Portland, I became more aware of the growing popularity of soccer with their newly minted Major League Soccer team, the Portland Timbers, but still, like most Americans, was not quite able to jump on board with the so-called beautiful game. Perhaps it was the flashbacks to playing as a child and working as a referee as a preteen. In any event, moving to Thailand has totally disoriented me in terms of sports.
There is a little bit of basketball played here, but more often than not I will see backboards with no hoops. Major League Baseball player and former Detroit Tiger Johnny Damon is half Thai and has played for and helped to coach the Thai baseball team, but I have never seen a baseball diamond anywhere. Forget about trying to keep an ice rink frozen in Thailand without incurring massive bills; hockey is out of the question. A mention of football gets enthusiastic responses from Thais with inquiries into whether you like Chelsea or Man U, and when I reply no, futbon American, I’m met with looks of confusion and the inquisitive rugby, chai mai? (Rugby, right?). No. Not the same.
That’s not to say that sports are not played here. They are played, which is evident in every municipal and school Sports Day. The sports that are played here, if they are known, are not particularly popular in the States. Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to highlight the sports that people sport jerseys here for by taking a closer look at the National Thai teams or high level athletes in that discipline. Stay tuned.