In the past 24 hours, the game of cricket
has received a lot of attention in the global sphere of sport. Yesterday, the
Australian team captured the title of Cricket World Cup Champions after they
defeated New Zealand in the final.
In sharp contrast to the celebratory
wishes and congratulations the team was receiving in light of their victory,
Shane Warne, a cricket star from Australia’s team was harboring less than positive
remarks on social media due to his post-game remarks.
In his post-match interview, Warne was
quoted talking about how much he is going to drink that night to celebrate the
win. He also jokingly asked his teammates about what their drinking plans were
for the evening. He continued the theme with Steve Smith, asking: "What
about you, gonna have a bit of a drink tonight too Smitty? Gonna get thirsty as
well? The boys are thirsty they seem" (Hume, 2015, para. 5). All was fun
and games until this interaction between Warne and his teammates was broadcast
across the entire stadium for everyone to hear about their extracurricular
plans.
Fans responded by started a social media trend
with the hashtag: #Thirsty. The fans began “criticizing Warne for setting a
poor example to young cricket fans, and one labeling him a "bogan" --
Australasian slang for an unsophisticated person -- for his line of
questioning” (Hume, 2015, para. 8).
Twitter user @elly_franks tweeted: “Yes @ShaneWarne they're all #thirsty - but do the millions of families watching on tv need to hear about it over & over? #probablynot #bogan”
This behavior received a lot of backlash from the public. Do
you think Warne’s statement is inappropriate to be discussed with the media
after a victory considering the family audience that may be watching? I think
of baseball teams winning the World Series and all of the television cameras in
the locker rooms filming the champagne showers after the game. Isn’t this the
same sort of thing? Is it more accepted because the players are not
specifically gloating about their drinking plans for that evening?
Hume, T. (2015, March 30). 'You feeling thirsty?':
Australia's Shane Warne slammed for drinking comments. CNN. Retrieved from
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/30/sport/australia-cricket-warne-drinking/index.html
Marissa Tashenberg
Marissa Tashenberg
I understand how there can be some backlash for showing this. In my opinion it is like fighting in hockey. It is part of the winning culture. In the same right you had instances like in Texas I think it was with Hamilton they had the juice or cider because he had addiction issues in the past. As long as it is done it a celebratory way and people aren't being broadcasted when drunk I do not see an issue with it.
ReplyDeleteCourtney Cox
Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI thought of several things related to your entry. I have been familiar with Australian sporting culture since I started playing tennis and there was always a notion that the Aussies were big drinkers. I can see the issue since this was broadcast to the stadium. And I agree that it is similar to what we see when teams celebrate their victories in professional championship games.
I was also reminded of the celebrations that the Men's and Women's Canadian Hockey teams had after winning the 2010 gold medals in the Olympics. While both celebrated in what were probably similar ways, the women were criticized because they did their celebrating on the ice instead of in the locker room. In addition, at least one of the players was not of drinking age, and yet the women drank beer (or champagne) and smoked cigars. This may have demonstrated a double-standard, or it may indicate the distinction between celebrating in the 'privacy' of the locker room vs. the somewhat more public arena where the sporting event occurred.
Interesting entry. I am surprised that Twitter blew up over this.
Dr. Spencer