We're Playing Outside Today

I realized the other day that, despite being internationally known for its bad weather and being farther north that the bit of Canada that people actually live in, the Brits seem to enjoy playing outdoor sports all year round. You would think that getting dark at 3:30 for a good part of the winter would make people go 'hmm, maybe I'll play a sport in pleasant lit environment with temperature controls', but alas, this does not seem to be the case.

The two major sports that span all the winter months in the US are basketball and hockey. This seems to make sense, why make people play/watch sports outside when they could stay dry and warm inside? Although I guess with hockey, warm is a relative term. Baseball is reserved for the warmest months of the year, where people might not mind spending their time outdoors and its less likely to rain. Football is played in the fall and into winter, and while the weather may not be entirely ideal, it's at the very least hit and miss, and they only play once a week, usually in the afternoon, so it's not that big of a deal.

Now the UK. The most popular sport here is obviously 'football'. Being an outdoor sport where contestants run around in little shorts and flimsy tops, you'd maybe think summer sport. Alas, no. The only time they don't have soccer is during the peak summer months, with the season lasting from approximately September to May. Teams play once or twice a week, and while parts of the stadium may be covered, they're always outdoors. Mid-week games are almost exclusively played in the evenings, but weekend games will range throughout the day. Might I also add, my work has a soccer team. I think it's open to everyone, but only boys play. They play throughout the winter, with games after work one day a week, and practice another evening. They're crazy.

Rugby (league and union) are played in the winter as well. Luckily rugby players are so overloaded with muscles I don't think they are capable of feeling cold. However, they do tend to play only on weekend afternoons.

Cricket rounds out the big three, and is played in the summer. The fact that cricket players are sometimes spotted in sweater vests again implies that this is not the land of warm weather.

So that's the big three, all outdoors. But English likes other sports too, perhaps they are played indoors? No. Formula 1 racing - outdoors. Tennis - outdoors. Track and field - outdoors. Come to think of it, the only indoor sporting event I recall seeing on tv is the chariot horse racing in a ring.

Where is the basketball, people? Or even the hockey (and I don't mean the 27th rate random teams they have scattered about in mid-size UK cities, I mean as a sport that people actually play or watch)? Netball doesn't count, as it's clearly imaginary and dumbed down from basketball to try and get girls to play sports!