Basketball's Canadian side

The father of Basketball, Dr. James Naismith

Here's a fun fact that not many people are aware of: basketball is Canadian. Sure, you might tell me that it was first played in Springfield, Massachusetts and not on Canadian soil, which is fair enough, but the fact that the sport was the brainchild of a Canadian born innovator, Dr. James Naismith is reason for me to believe that the sport is Canadian. Naismith was born in Ontario and if my limited knowledge of Canadian geography is correct, he was born in present-day Mississippi Mills, Ontario.

There would be no LeBron James and no Kobe Bryant and definitely no Steve Nash if it wasn't for Naismith's invention on a cold winter day in Springfield in December 1891. And ever since then, the sport has not looked back. At least 10 players in this original game of basketball were university students from Quebec, (according to an nba.com article from March 2002), thus ingraining Canada and Canadians into the sport's earliest days. That very same article cites how quickly the sport spread into Canada; like maple syrup on warm pancakes, if you must. This hockey- obsessed country has participated in Olympic basketball from as early as the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, Germany, three years before Naismith breathed his last breath.

Another great story that I came across while doing my research was the fact that Naismith had just 14 days to invent the game. According to his resume, the game was invented "under orders from Dr. Luther Gulick, head of Springfield YMCA Physical Education, to provide an athletic distraction for students. Gulick demanded that it would not take up much room, could help its track athletes to keep in shape."

Probably a more well-known fact is that the first ever game in the sport's most elite league, the NBA, was played on Canadian soil in Toronto between the New York Knickerbockers (now the NY Knicks) and the defunct Toronto Huskies. Of course, the league was then known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the Huskies were only around for one season, but as I've said before, the sport was already showing its Canadian side.

Modern-day basketball fans in Canada have to contend with the struggling Toronto Raptors. I've often seen lots of vintage Vancouver Grizzlies memorabilia around the halls of Fanshawe College itself, proving the fact that the sport is indeed ingrained in Canadians. Videos of the famous pairing of Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady in the late 1990s still sends shivers down my spine: I guess you could call that the heyday of the Toronto Raptors.

US Patent #1,718,305 will be remembered as the basketball granted to G.L. Pierce in 1929, almost four decades after the game was invented. While Naismith's 'original 13 rules' might have been modified several times over the ages, the joy and excitement that the sport of basketball brings hasn't diminished one bit. It's a Canadian invention, after all.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.php?storyID=8723&sectionID=4&issueID=209
Image Credit: http://www.peoplequiz.com/images/bios/James-Naismith.jpg-5864.jpg

Barbecuemania in Canada

Barbecues and Beer: A Match Made in Heaven

Correct me if I'm wrong, but barbecues are all the rage here in Canada, right? Everywhere I look, I see patios with barbecues and folding chairs and I often wonder why it caught on. Logically speaking, I assume barbecuing in Canada came with a ton of influence from the United States. I grew up well aware of the Texas, Kansas City and Memphis styles of barbecuing through those numerous hours I spent watching TLC India (which is somewhat similar to the Food Network.)

Being the inquisitive type (and a budding journalist at that), I did my research and found out that the barbecue was introduced to Canada in the 1940s and '50s by advertisers, cookbook and writes pop culture journalists. But that still left me unsatisfied. Why is it that women do a lot of cooking in the kitchen, but when it comes to barbecuing, it's largely male dominated? The answer I came across often both on the Internet as well as asking around was pretty unanimous: "There's meat, sharp tools, flammable liquids, fire, smoke and, most importantly, ice cold beer." That answer left me satisfied; barbecues are men's way of having a blast, so to speak, their way of cooking food. A common cliché dictates that women are better cooks, and I've often been victim to ridicule for taking an interest in cooking, but that's another story.

Mark Feldman, a professor of biological sciences at Stanford University, has an interesting answer to why women don't hang around barbecues often: "Looking after offspring was a key factor in the diversification of the roles, because if there were no offspring to look after, then there would be no reason in principle why females couldn't hunt as well."

Professor Colin Groves at the Australian National University added that control of the food and the fire was all about power: "… the possessor of the meat, the source of the prestige food, is the one who's going to impress females."

Anyway, I've just concluded my first summer in Canada and every time I went grocery shopping it wasn't hard to not notice rows and rows of barbecue supplies neatly laid out waiting to go home with eager chefs. That's a lot of outdoor cooking supplies for a country that's supposed to be covered in snow for a large part of the year. (Yes, another cliché, I know). Even Russell Peters' comedy routines talk about barbecues. One that comes to mind very often is his dad's desire to "become a Canadian" by hosting a barbecue for his neighbours, and when I watched the video on YouTube a couple of years ago, I was convinced that the barbecue is synonymous with Canada and Canadian households and now I can see that I wasn't wrong.

Not surprisingly, I came across the fact that each province in Canada has its own style of barbecuing. From what I've read and heard, barbecuing is a lot different in British Columbia than it is in Ontario and Quebec. Variation is usually a good thing, and hopefully someday I'll be able to travel coast to coast and feast on numerous barbecued delicacies that this country has to offer. The biggest though why I'm convinced that 'barbecuemania' is big in Canada is simple: there sits one on my balcony as I write. And I'm not Canadian.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.php?storyID=8620&sectionID=2&issueID=207
Image Credit: http://www.alwaysfoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/beer_and_barbecues_the_secret_to_a_fun_living_813yg.jpg

A Summer Of Fun

Summer 2012 Bucket List: Complete

I've always grown up as a person who hated summer. But before you judge me, I should make myself clear and say that summers for me while growing up involved near 50°C temperatures on a daily basis with unpleasantly hot and sticky weather, so naturally, I hated the sight of summer.

Of course, now, summer seems like a pleasant thing after all. I've just put my first Canadian summer behind me and while the joy of returning to school may haunt me in a few months, the summer most definitely will not. I've heard about the rage that barbecues create in this country and now that I am the proud owner of one myself, I'm not sure if I fall under the category of enthusiast or bandwagoner. Perhaps someone would like to clarify.

Jokes aside, I really looked forward to my first taste at a 'Canadian summer.' I was excited, naturally, and the suspense would kill me each passing day while I was holidaying back home in India: golf, baseball, barbecues, the possibility of meeting Corey Perry,  all of this was indeed in the cards back in April. And then it so happened that the London Knights won the OHL title and there I was, probably the only guy in India who was actually celebrating, which made me realize how out of place I really was. "Keep cricket to India and hockey to Canada," is what I told myself.

Fast forward a month and my dreams of becoming the next superstar on the PGA tour took a backseat. It seems like everyone in Canada, from businessmen to the biggest NHL superstars, all fancy their hand at golf, but alas, I've yet to discover why. Perhaps next summer, eh?

London has been great to me, it really has. It's been my home from over a year now and was also the place where I watched my first hockey, baseball and football games. But there is something that beats all of that combined: meeting Corey Perry at Labatt Park during Drew Doughty's charity softball tournament. I know some of you might despise Perry, but for a kid from well beyond the pond, I'd call that a pretty awesome and nerveracking moment; a moment that sort of makes up for the disappointment of being told that not being Canadian was the reason why I couldn't apply for a summer work study position at Fanshawe. I can now only imagine how much different life might have been if I had I been working at 106.9 TheX or for the Interrobang, but that's not something that really matters now that summer is gone and winter draws ever so near.

Summer 2012 is almost complete, and since it was my first Canadian summer, I can safely say that it will always remain special to me. It's interesting to see how people do things here in Canada, and yes, they are different than things we did back home. Studying abroad is a great learning experience, I'm glad I could do it. It's great to be writing for the Interrobang again, and I can't wait to meet new people in the halls of Fanshawe.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.php?storyID=8602&sectionID=3&issueID=206
Image Credit: Spencer Gowan