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I’m 22M from India. I’ve grown up entirely raised as an indoor kid who was expected to only study. I had an absent father and no relationship with male cousins or my uncles. I didn’t even have neighbourhood friends while growing up.
In my country, cricket is a big deal especially for men. Just like baseball in the US. Every guy knows about it, talks about it, plays it. But I don’t know anything about it or any other sport. My country is so good at cricket yet I haven’t even watched a single match. In fact, I learnt the rules of this game yesterday only through chatGPT.
I see all my friends talking about it, watching it and enjoying the match. They are very nerdy about this topic. I’ve been feeling sad and disheartened for so many days now. How to get over this feeling. It makes me sad thinking how I didn’t have a normal childhood at all.
please help me
(19M)
You’re not alone here at all. I’ve also grown up in a place (Europe) where a sport or two are very popular among people (mainly Soccer and Basketball) whereas I’ve no clue about them.
I did have sports access for some time, but my academic circumstances dwindled these opportunities.
What do I (try to) do? I just go to social events or gatherings and try to make friends over there. Some are good people, others are… oh well. Many reject me for being too young, but that’s probably just a *me* problem.
Anyways…
You do some quick wiki research, arbitrarily pick a local team, and go watch it with them. You cheer when your team does the thing, boo when the other team does the thing. You complain the referee is unfair when ruling against your team, but praise the same ref for their wisdom when the rule in your favor.
I promise most of them aren’t any more into it than that. It’s just another excuse to be social, have drinks, and be excited.
Some people don’t have a sporting family background – or an interest in sport.
The really positive thing for you is no ties so you can explore a sport you’re interested in and choose it for yourself!