Kabaddi Finally Being On National Television Feels Like A Huge Win For All Of Us
I first wrote about Kabaddi last October during the 2016 World Cup. If you’ve never heard of Kabaddi and want to learn about what it is, there’s a breakdown of the basics in that blog and you can read that here. Since then, I like to think that I’ve become the premier Kabaddi blogger in the United States. I wrote about how Kabaddi Needs Our Help To Remain A Relevant Sport. I wrote about how Kabaddi Is A Great Way To Nearly Get Your Head Kicked Off Your Shoulders. And today, thanks to ESPNU becoming ESPN8 The Ocho, we finally have Kabaddi on national television here in the United States for the first time.
Here’s what I had to say about Kabaddi last October:
But tell me there’s ever been a better reason to actually fire up ESPN 8: The Ocho. Think of all the potential this game could have here in America… I can’t think of any game more conducive to either creating your own drinking game around, or live-betting. Trying to think of anything more exhilarating than rooting for some Kabaddi overs right now and I can’t come up with one. Let’s make it happen.
I’m sorry but I’m not going to act like I didn’t play at least some role in making this happen. This is the kind of shit we need on tv all summer long. If ESPN8 was a real thing from June to September then I’d never change the channel again. If NBCSN wanted to have Kabaddi Night every Friday night, I’d stay home every Friday night for the rest of my life. You don’t even need to understand the game. You just need to get drunk and pick a team to cheer for the whole game. Or just pray you see a massive head kick every now and then.
All I know is that I’ve probably watched about 20 minutes of Kabaddi in my life and it’s already one of my favorite sports ever. It just has that kind of draw to it. This kid knows what I’m talking about.