Why Sports Here Rock My World

Over here May 1 is Independence Day. To celebrate, the government sets up a series of competitions for area schools and I got the day off to watch. I came away with one general impression – I love sports here in the Marshall Islands.

First of all, tug-of-war is serious competition here. There are strategies, rivalries and fortunes won and lost along that taut line. My students, especially now that summer is knocking on our door, are sometimes impossible to round up in class. They are more interested in spitballs and Bruce Lee kicking. However you put them along a rope with another school at the other end and there is not an army in the world with more discipline. They all know their special positions, they got their signals down pat and when push comes to shove they will sacrifice the skin off their palms to win.

No joke. It is serious fun to watch.

Second thing that is great about the sports here is trash talking. Yeah I know that the US is the country that invented trash talk, but it is nowhere as entertaining as it is here. I was watching the high school basketball championships and I can honestly say I haven’t laughed that hard since my sister shaved her cat (true story). For most of the game these kids were the epitome of composure. Then, all of a sudden, they break into some ridiculous dance or do some crazy face. One kid, after a particularly crucial free throw, did a chicken dance back to mid-court. His fans copied. The place was suddenly a chicken coop with bleachers full of people flapping their bent-elbow wings. Phenomenal.

The third greatest thing about Marshall Islands sports are the fans. Anytime there is a ball and more than one person there will be a crowd of people watching. Strike that, if there is a person and a ball and a wall there are people. Strike that, if there is a ball, there are people. Every single event venue I went to on Independence Day was filled to the brim with fans ready to boil over. And this is for all levels, even the younger ones. I know for a fact that at the majority of middle school games in the US the entire fan base could car pool home together – in a Pinto.

At the volleyball championship here, the referee stopped the game towards the end because there were too many kids sitting on the floor because it was packed everywhere else. His solution? Well, get the score table stick and walk back over to the kids brandishing it over his head. Instantly the floor cleared.

In my head I imagined the TV announcer’s call. And here we are in the championship game to decide volleyball supremacy and it’s Arno’s serve. Wait. What’s this? We have a whistle blown, and… yes, the referee has gone to the score table and he has the stick. The kids are running folks, you should see them run…

The last reason why I love sports here in the Marshall Islands is also a biased reason. My student, Solomon Riklong, won the sprint championship in the 100 meters. He is the fastest person in all of Majuro for anyone sixth grade and younger. You’ve heard of people running like the wind? Well this kid runs like a Ferrari. I actually don’t know if a sports car is faster than the wind but the point is that he is fast. The best part was, he won fifty bucks. I asked him what he was going to do with all of his money. How many five-cent gums and 35-cent popping fireworks can that buy?

“I will give it to my family,” he said.

I love the sports here.