I did have some American Sports withdraw while I was away. There was nothing I could do but trust that my fantasy baseball team (named Negombo Cricket Club) would continue to win while I was away "scouting talent" as I joked on the league's message board. There was something to fill the void: a 24 hour Cricket TV channel. (footnote: my fantasy baseball team won every week I was away in route to an eventual championship - my first in 11 seasons)
Thankfully there were three foreign born (Scotland & South Africa) members of the BTCV team that were able to give me an initial understanding of the sport. Another teammate from Georgia (the American state, not the former Soviet nation) had bought a Cricket for Dummies book for the trip and had graciously given it to me. Later the same generous Georgian gave me a cricket bat purchased at a roadside market. My transformation to Meatball Cricket fan was complete when I purchased a Sri Lankan Cricket jersey.For those that aren't aware of the "Meatball" adjective in relation to sports fandom: it refers to someone who is very much an outwardly appearance of a huge fan, adorned in team gear and loudly cheers for a specific team regardless that knowledge of the sport/team is questionable at best.
