While this is not going to be the deciding factor for most applicants to Kellogg, this was something that I certainly pondered over before coming to Kellogg. And, it was not just with cricket since I thought I would face similar issues with my two other favourite sports, F1 and football (the actual one, not the hand-egg version the Americans play:)).
Well, firstly, my fears were well-founded. Not only, did I find it difficult to see live cricket matches but I also found it difficult to adjust to the lack of interest in the game even amongst the Indian circle to a certain extent. But before you guys start worrying, let me attempt to put you guys at ease. It was initially more because of lack of awareness. As time progressed, I did manage to start watching live cricket online and I did find more folks who followed every game. Over the last year a few of us have also revived the Cricket Club at Kellogg. The club now tries to arrange live screenings of some games over the weekends, bring in speakers to talk about the sport and build awareness amongst the internationals and arrange for some friendly matches/practice sessions at the deering field during the months when it is not cold.
Bringing in Rohan Sajdeh, a partner and MD at BCG’s Chicago office to talk about his proposal to the ICC on re-structuring test cricket last Spring was an event that was extremely well attended and appreciated. We also made a big statement by organising two cricket matches on Kellogg Sports Day last spring. The event was a big success and had many international folks trying their hand at the game for the first time. A story on the Kellogg Cricket Club activities was also featured on the Jan 2010 edition of the Biz Ed magazine and featured Usman Shuja, a Kellogg student who also plays for the US Cricket Team. We have also set up a match in spring with Booth (the ‘other school’) and expect a lot of involvement and excitement for that. Lastly, the Northwestern University Cricket Club is extremely active and organizes games almost every weekend at the nearby athletic facility (indoor during winter times) and this attracts students from all schools within NU.
I guess, in the end it comes down to how much passion one has for the sport, but there are many venues that can be explored and in Kellogg, people are always eager to learn new things about different cultures.
