Pulling my red sox up

I’ve always loved America. I know that may not be a cool thing to say in Britain right now, but I admit it, I’ve always loved America. You know those people you get on daytime TV saying, ‘I’m a woman/man trapped in a man/woman’s body’, well I’m like an American trapped in a British person’s body.

Actually, I take that back, there are many facets that make me quintessentially British. I’m practical – I like planning and organising before setting about the problem. I love complaining, but never to the person who’s causing my discomfort – I’ll never return food in a restaurant, but I’ll warn my friends off of ever going there. I have a stiff-upper lip, a pale complection, less than perfect teeth, prefer cycling on the road to being in the gym, tinker with my car and like old-fashioned things. I like travelling the world, and am happy to be self-depricating about my country. There you have it. I’m definitely British.

Yet there’s always been that US streak. I like their music, from Grohl to Geffen. I love the Romantic hero in James Dean. I love the little towns of Middle-America that all end in ‘-ton’, with wooden shops selling donuts and coffee by the pint. I love the large cars that run forever, where you can climb over the seats into the back and end up in a neigbouring town. I like the American Dream – what’s the British Dream?

With that in mind, and in line with my more outdoorsey lifestyle this year, I’m going to be more pro-active in following my American sports. When we had SkyTV I could spend afternoons secretly watching NBL reruns on the sports channels. I liked Basketball and got into it at school, and have always been a casual observer. I like watching NFL games (a hang-up from playing John Maddon’s American Football on the old Commodore Amiga), but being British I should really follow Rubgy which shares its birthplace with my Dad.

So it’s baseball for me. I’ve signed up for my account on MLB’s website. I’ve always been intrigued by Seattle’s sports teams, hometown of the music of my youth, but when I travelled there I have to admit I was taken by the Puget sound and Vashon Island even more greatly. So it’s the Boston Redsox for me, and I’ll be keeping tabs on them this season.

Am I selling out not following British sports? I doubt it. Will it make me more American? Probably not, but it’ll probably lead to me spending more time dreaming about going there…