POPULOUS - Issue 9 by Alma Media International

is real sport under threat from video gaming?

MAGAZINE

GAME ON

mpic Mode - ‘Butterﬂies’ return to the aviary to celebrate the day

Here are the stunning results of Populous’s design competition, POPcomp 2013. In August this year, Populous employees were invited to team up and design a sculpture for the 2020 Olympic Games. At the time they didn’t know which of the three short-listed cities – Tokyo, Madrid or Istanbul – had won the bid to stage the games. Each team was given four

and a half hours to create their design, using any medium they desired. Some drew their sculptures, some modelled them, some sculpted them, some rendered them. Each of Populous’s regional offices judged a regional winner while the overall global winner (by the US Team 10 of Furlong, Hurd, Klittich, Miller & Sabatini, pictured top left) was chosen by leading British architect Sir Peter Cook.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

HELLO We live in an ever-changing world. In sport, especially, there are constantly new ideas and developments. So, as ever, in this issue of Populous magazine, we bring you an eclectic mix of exciting and intriguing stories. To start it all off, our cover story salutes video gaming. Granted, it’s not an obvious subject for a sports magazine but, yes, before you ask, it is very much a sport. Did you know there are events staged all over the world, with professional gamers performing in front of thousands of live spectators, and millions others via the internet? The stars enjoy a following just as loyal as that of any American football or soccer team. Our other big story celebrates the stunning career of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who retires this year and leaves his billion or so dedicated fans feeling somewhat deflated. We analyse what made this legendary batsman such a great man both on the field and off it. Then we cross the Atlantic and find out how the fans of Mexican club Tigres de la UANL in Monterrey follow their players all over that huge country so that even away games feel like home games. Elsewhere we have features on BASE jumping, a crazy sport where (possibly) unhinged individuals throw themselves off buildings, bridges and mountains. The chap we talk to chose Mount Everest as his particular platform. There’s also a feature on the family dynasty dominating the sport of downhill mountain biking, the bitter rivalries of American college football, and the African team that punches above its weight in the new Olympic sport of rugby sevens.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8874 7666 Email: popmag@populous.com Web: www.populous.com

Populous magazine is published by: Alma Media International London, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 8944 1155 Email: info@almamedia.co.uk Web: www.almamedia.co.uk

Editor-in-chief: Rod Sheard Editorial team: Nick Reynolds Tom Jones Patricia Fernandez

Publisher: Tony Richardson tony@almamedia.co.uk Editor: Dominic Bliss dominic@almamedia.co.uk Art direction and design: Deep www.deep.co.uk

WELCOME //

Images: Cover: StarCraft II / Blizzard Entertainment. Inside: Getty Images; Satore studio; World Cyber Games; Riot Games; Blizzard Entertainment; Thomas Sent/Red Bull; Atherton Racing/Sven Martin; Texas A&M; Auburn University; University of Alabama; BMW; US Bobsled & Skeleton Federation; Kenya RFU; Samurai Sports; José Macías/Tigres de la UANL; London 2012; Populous/Sochi 2014. © Alma Media International Ltd 2013 All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of Alma Media International is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at the time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Alma Media International or Populous.

GAME ON

MAGAZINE

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is real sport under threat from video gaming?

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ISSUE NINE

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ON COURT 4

LEFT FIELD The revolutions taking place in entertainment lighting design plus the reason why stadium owners are spying on fans.

BASE INSTINCTS The Russian BASE jumper Valery Rozov explains why he leapt off Mount Everest from a height of nearly 8,000 metres.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD Field invasions, smashed furniture, vandalised goalposts, student arrests… former Sports Illustrated writer Franz Lidz describes the bitter rivalry in American college football.

STAR OF INDIA Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar retires this year. We analyse what makes him a true great – both on the field and off it.

On thin ice In the three Olympic sliding sports – bobsleigh, skeleton and luge – every millisecond counts. We analyse the technology and technique required.

DON’T MISS THE BUS Fans of Mexican soccer club Tigres regularly travel in their tens of thousands to away matches. Are they the most loyal supporters in the world?

GEEKS GO PRO Once a geeky bedroom hobby, video gaming is now a global professional sport with massive prize money, myriad spectators and world-famous competitors.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE In recent months European soccer teams have changed managers like the rest of us change underwear. Who’s in and who’s out?

SEVENTH HEAVEN In the new Olympic sport of rugby sevens, a little-known African team is punching well above its weight. Is a medal really possible?

SIBLING RIVALRY Meet the family dynasty hogging trophies in the hard-core sport of downhill mountain biking.

ice man Populous’s Geoff Cheong describes how a lifetime of playing ice hockey has given him a unique insight into the design of professional hockey arenas.

POP HISTORY The day disability sport went global at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

LEFT FIELD //

The architecture and technology of public venues is evolving faster than ever. Here we bring you some of the most exciting ideas of the near, and sometimes distant, future.

Candid camera Smile, sports fans. You’ll soon be on camera. It’s not just the athletes who are being filmed. New video technology means that stadium owners may soon be filming the spectators as well, using facial-gesture and body-language analysis to glean valuable information such as which hoarding adverts fans most look at, what half-time music they most appreciate, and which players they most connect with. The technology has been developed by computer scientists George Williams and Chris Bregler at New York University’s Movement lab. “What are fans really doing at the game?” Williams asks. “When are they watching the action on the field or court, and when are they buried in their phone or tablet? Which ads do they notice on the Jumbotron, and which ones do they ignore? Who’s joining in the wave and who’s not? Are they having fun?”

LEFT FIELD //

To answer all these questions and ultimately help stadium-owners sell more tickets and more in-stadium advertising, Williams and Bregler have developed a system of video cameras that analyse the facial gestures and body language of sports fans. They initially tested it out on basketball games. “We looked for positive sentiment gestures: clapping, cheering, high-fiving. And negative sentiments: booing, thumbs down, arguing with the ref.” The results enabled them to assess whether certain fans were excited, interested, bored or annoyed, and what events around the stadium and on the field of play were triggering these reactions. Of course not all sports fans will be happy to be monitored in such a way. Aware of this, Williams conducted a survey of fans

and discovered that most were “willing to sacrifice a little bit of privacy” to help create a more energetic stadium atmosphere. In any case, as Williams stresses, stadium owners won’t be recording footage of individual fans. The technology is designed simply to spot patterns within the crowd.

“When are fans watching the action on the field or court, and when are they buried in their phone or tablet? Which ads do they notice and which ones do they ignore? Who’s joining in the wave and who’s not?”

Let there be light Next time you’re enjoying a Madonna concert, or a Cirque du Soleil production, or a fashion show, spare a thought for the people operating the lights. In the old days lighting technicians were on a par with the roadies. Nowadays, with stunning lighting technology at their disposal, they are artists in themselves. Tupac Martir is head of Londonbased lighting designers Satore and has illuminated the concerts of pop stars such as Bon Jovi, Elton John, Sting and Beyoncé. He says lighting technology has advanced meteorically in the last few years, enabling designers like him to use ever more effective and atmospheric techniques. First up there’s the hardware. LED technology has enabled manufacturers to create lights that are smaller than ever before, lighter, more powerful, cheaper and kinder to the environment. Italian manufacturer Clay Paky is a market

leader, as is Danish manufacturer Martin Professional. Tupac says these new lights are so much cheaper that, nowadays, small and medium-sized bands can afford to travel with their own lights. In the past they would have had to rely solely on the venue’s in-house lighting. A relatively new lighting technology is BlackTrax from Canadian manufacturer Cast. These lights can be programmed to follow and react to the movements of a musician or dancer on the stage. “You can programme them so they turn blue every time the singer spins 180 degrees, or start strobing every time he leaps in the air,” Tupac explains. But the most impressive advances of all have been in lighting software. Cast also produce computer software called Wysiwyg which allows designers to pre-cue all their lighting in advance of a

show, without even being at the venue. They can draw diagrams of the venue, drop in virtual light fixtures, change colours, measure light intensity and prepare plans for the show producers. But with so much computer technology at their fingertips, and with so many assistants helping around the venue, have modern-day lighting designers lost touch with the basics of electrics? Could Tupac and his peers wire up the lights in their own homes, for example? “Every one of us was trained as an electrician, so we probably could, just about,” he says, laughing. “But I don’t know if it would be legal.”

With stunning technology at their disposal, the lighting designers at pop concerts are artists in themselves. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

Video gaming // Geeks go pro

Video gaming // Once a geeky bedroom hobby, video gaming is now a global professional sport with massive prize money, myriad spectators and competitors as popular as world-famous sportsmen. John Lewis finds the on switch.

It’s March 2013 and a crowd of thousands is crammed into the Anaheim Convention Center in California. They’re drinking beer, shouting, clapping, waving banners and cheering on their favourites. It’s the kind of sight you’d expect at a rock concert or a basketball fixture. Instead, these people are watching two grown men playing computer games. The men, both aged 25 and from South Korea, are seated in soundproofed booths on opposite sides of the stage. Playing StarCraft II, a real-time strategy game for the personal computer, they’ve outscored nearly a thousand initial entrants to reach this stage. The images on each of the players’ monitors – a flurry of pixilated humanoids and glowing insects – are being relayed onto a giant display screen visible to the audience. Spectators – many dressed as characters from the actual games – watch every move these cyber-gladiators make, applauding moments of skill and cheering each particularly devastating flourish. There are even ringside

commentators offering fevered analysis that’s being relayed around the world. The winners of this three-hour match – one of the spring finals of the 2013 Major League Gaming National Championships – will pocket a cool US$20,000. Live video gaming emerged in the mid-1990s and is now attracting the kind of crowds that wouldn’t shame second-tier European soccer matches or NBA basketball games. More than 21,000 fans paid to watch the MLG National Championships live at Anaheim over three days. Many more watched in what are known as e-sports bars, just as regular sports fans watch soccer or American football; millions more via live-streamed online channels. In global terms, this is just one of many e-sports tournaments. Top-level professional gamers earn six-figure salaries competing around the world – in France’s Electronic Sports World Cup, for example, or Japan’s Tougeki-Super Battle Opera, or Germany’s eSport Bundesliga. There are several US tournaments (including MLG, Championship Gaming Series and Cyberathlete Professional League) and even more in South Korea (including World Cyber Games and the World e-Sports Games). Prize money – sourced from lucrative sponsorship contracts with CocaCola, Samsung and the like – can be up to half a million dollars. South Korea is the undisputed master of professional gaming. This is a country with near-universal high-speed fibre-optic broadband access; where half its 50-million population is registered to play online games; POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

with three 24-hour cable channels devoted to video gaming and cyber-cafés in every neighbourhood. It’s also been home to some notorious computer gaming deaths: one South Korean died in an internet café after playing solidly for 86 hours; another died after a 50-hour marathon. Barely moving for hours on end, obsessive gamers can develop bad circulation and blood clots. South Korea is also the first country that took this new sport seriously. The strongest young players emerge by excelling in cyber-cafés or at local area network parties (in which hundreds of computers are linked up for marathon sessions). They are snapped up by agents – like regular sports agents – who then negotiate sponsorship contracts and sign them up to a team. Elite gamers move into team houses – video-gaming bootcamp-cum-college dorms. Here they train with the same intensity as

South Korea is the undisputed master of professional gaming. This is a country with near-universal high-speed fibre-optic broadband access; where half its population is registered to play online games. 08

video gaming // geeks go pro

professional athletes, seven days a week until late in the evenings. South Korea’s best professional gamers might be celebrities, with Seoul’s most beautiful women falling at their feet, but their ascetic lifestyle scarcely allows them to enjoy their sex-symbol status. Far from the stereotype of the fat, snack-munching, beer-swilling slob, most professional gamers are surprisingly athletic. Some games require full attention for more than three hours, so that competitors do intense weight training and cardio work to maintain peak physical condition. There have even been doping scandals, with players taking amphetamines before big tournaments. Even game practice sessions can be gruelling. “I never play for less than five hours a day,” says one-time StarCraft II champion Geoff ‘iNcontroL’ Robinson. “Usually it’s eight hours. Ten hours if you’re practising for a tournament.” Gaming championships have a slowly shifting roster of championship games: StarCraft, Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Halo, Mortal Kombat and the FIFA series are all popular right now. Gamers usually specialise in one particular game. “Each has a very different skillset,” says Robinson. “StarCraft is simulated

“I never play for less than five hours a day. Usually it’s eight hours. Ten hours if you’re practising for a tournament.” StarCraft II champion Geoff ‘iNcontroL’ Robinson.

warfare, requiring several sets of skills. There are ones where you operate with limited information. There are speed skills – how fast you react on the mouse. And then there’s the mental strategy play. Sometimes that might involve deploying lots of weaponry. You have to make these decisions in split seconds.” Fighting games (like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter) or first-person shooters (like Halo or Call Of Duty) are more concerned with purely mechanical speed skills: being able to conduct a high number of small, separate actions at great speed. Neurologists describe these mechanical skills as “actions per minute”, or APM. A decent amateur player will manage about 100 APM. Professionals can reach nearly four times that. Brain scans suggest that the best gamers have lightning reflexes, enabling them to act instinctively, even before their brain has had a chance to engage with the necessary information. These APM figures decline sharply after one’s mid-20s which

Starcraft champion Lim Yo-Hwan, aka BoxeR, is arguably the world’s biggest professional gamer, with a fan club of more than a million members. He is thought to earn around $500,000 a year in a country where the average salary is $15,000 and is married to Korean actress and model Kim Ka-Yeon.

BoxeR’s big rival Hong Jin-Ho, aka YellOw, had his fingers insured for $45,000.

At any given moment an estimated four million South Koreans – out of a population of 50 million – are engaged in online gaming. Nearly half the country is registered to play.

Call Of Duty champion Matthew ‘NaDeSHoT’ Haag is sponsored by Red Bull. His biggest prize cheque was for over $900,000.

During tournaments a gamer’s heart rate can race up to 160 beats per minute, roughly equivalent to a professional basketballer’s or soccer player’s.

means that professionals have shorter careers than most physical athletes. Even Robinson, aged 27, considers himself past his prime and now spends most of his time doing commentary and promotional work. Can this e-sporting phenomenon survive? Attempts to turn poker, or chess, into spectator sports have only been sporadically successful. The key difference is that video gaming is a serious entertainment brand and possibly the only spectator sport where participation outnumbers viewership. Even away from the tournaments top players can earn around $60,000 a year by screening online tutorials. The online battle game League Of Legends has more than 70 million registered players, with three million online at peak times. The 2012 final was watched by eight million viewers in 13 languages with the winning team taking home $1 million. As global internet access gets faster and more widespread, surely this sport is going to grow exponentially. Populous-designed arenas hosting e-sports events include the Taipei arena, The O2 in London and the Amway Center in Orlando.

POP VIDEO... See the Taipei Assassins win $1 million playing League of Legends.

Physical training is necessary to stave off the occupational hazards such as chronic backache, shoulder pain, headaches, tired eyes and sore wrists.

As early as 2008 there were rumours that some gamers were using amphetamines to enhance their performances. As of yet, no anti-doping regulations are enforced in cyber-gaming.

Victor De Leon III, aka Lil Poison, is the youngest recorded professional gamer. Born in New York, in 1998, he was only seven when he signed an exclusive deal with the sponsors of Major League Gaming.

There have been numerous gaming-related deaths in South Korea. In 2002 a man collapsed after playing StarCraft in an internet café for 50 hours solid.

In 2010 a 25-year-old gamer pleaded guilty to negligent homicide after the death of her small child. She had left her child unattended during local area network gaming sessions. Ironically, her game of choice was Prius Online in which players take care of virtual children.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

BASE jumping // Sixty years ago Hillary and Norgay first conquered Mount Everest. So how did one extreme sportsman celebrate the anniversary? By throwing himself off the very same mountain in a wingsuit. he tells dominic bliss his story.

It took four days to climb up… and just 52 seconds to fall back down to earth. On May 5th 2013, Russian BASE jumper Valery Rozov leapt off the side of Mount Everest and, using a wingsuit (and eventually a parachute), dropped at speeds of up to 125mph onto the Rongbuk Glacier below. His start point was at 7,220 metres above sea level, on the north side of Everest, while his landing site was at 5,900 metres. It set a new world record for the highest BASE jump ever undertaken. BASE stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (ie. bridges), Earth (ie. mountains) – all the possible platforms you can, if so inclined, throw yourself off. In Valery’s case, he opted for the highest mountain in the world. And he timed his jump to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s historic first climb. A professional sky-diver and parttime stunt man (he has appeared in several Russian action movies), Valery spent two years preparing for his Everest feat, most of that time designing a new wingsuit. The risks

involved in his jump were considerable. Since no one had ever leapt from this altitude in a wingsuit, Valery had no idea what aerodynamics to expect. The air this high above sea level is exceedingly thin and fewer air molecules mean less resistance for the wingsuit. He was worried he might drop like a stone, straight down the initial vertical section of his jump, dashing himself to death when the mountain quickly levelled out. “I just didn’t know how well it would work,” he explains nonchalantly. “What if the air was so thin that it didn’t allow my wingsuit to fly? I couldn’t calculate this. That was the scariest part for me.” In the end it all worked perfectly. Valery launched himself off his mountain ledge, caught the air in his wingsuit and glided safely away from the rock face. Less than a minute later, after opening his parachute, he was standing in snow on the Rongbuk Glacier. The risks involved in BASE jumping are obviously often lethal. Jumpers have only a few seconds to deploy their parachutes – any problems and it’s game over. The wind can wreak havoc, too, with some jumpers dashed against buildings or rock faces on the way down. Then there are the legal issues. While certain parts of the world permit BASE jumping, few building owners or public authorities are happy to let jumpers risk death on their patch. Statistically, the sport is the most dangerous ever invented. A study by a Swedish university discovered that one in 60 jumpers ends up dead. Valery has been lucky so far. 48 years old, with an understanding wife and three kids, he has made over 1,400 BASE jumps in his time, as well as close to 10,000 sky dives. (In skydiving he was twice world champion.) His scariest jump ever was in the French Alps four years ago.

“It was just a regular training jump,” he explains, “but my line twisted many, many times and I couldn’t control it. In the end I had to land in the mountain river, with extremely cold water and a strong current. I was in that river for 15 minutes. My wingsuit and my parachute took on a lot of water and were dragging me under. I almost drowned. In this sport, sometimes dangerous s**t happens.” So, now that he’s leapt from the very top of the world, what’s left? Is it possible to jump from the actual summit of Everest? “I think not,” Valery says. “Because of the shape of the mountain, there’s not enough vertical drop. But a lot of BASE jumpers have told me they plan to beat my record. Let’s see what happens.” Just what the late Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay would make of Valery’s achievement is anyone’s guess. “There’s a lot going on right now on Everest,” the Russian says. “All the people like me trying to do something new: base jumping, skiing down, paragliding down. Hillary and Norgay would be very excited about that.”

Rozov has made over 1,400 BASE jumps.

Jumpers have only a few seconds to deploy their parachutes – any problems and it’s game over.

POP VIDEO... Watch Valery fly off the north face of Mount Everest.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

Cricket // Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest cricketers ever to wield a bat, is retiring in November after 25 years of international service to India. Joe Boyle analyses what makes this 40-year-old one of sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true greats â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both on the field and off it.

CRICKET // STAR OF INDIA

It was all the way back in 1989, at the tender age of 16, that Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut for India. Since then, his ever-soaring career has mirrored the rise of India itself as an international power. “He helped Indians forget the bad news around them – sectarian strife, riots, terrorism – and rally round a common cause,” says Indian government minister Shashi Tharoor. “Democracy has long been the one force to unite India. For two decades, there’s been another: Sachin Tendulkar.” The player’s success is evident not just in his athletic prowess and fearsome reputation on the field, however. He enjoys the veneration of over a billion Indian fans, a huge income (thanks to the support of corporate sponsors) and is just now embarking on a political career. It is these (and other areas of achievement described below) that mark him out as a great human being as well as a great cricketer.

“Suddenly realising the meaning of addiction. Mine was the Master. I am going thru cold turkey. To see cricket without Sachin? Unbearable.” Tweet by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan.

BOTH Feared and loved

No.1 player in No.1 team

Tendulkar’s genius was tested against one of the best Test-playing generations of all time: the Australian sides of Warne, McGrath, the Waughs, Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting etc. No matter. In Tests against the Aussies he averaged 55.00, scoring runs both home and abroad. (His average when playing in Australia was 53.20.) In fact, he scored more Test centuries when touring Australia than in home series. Famous bowler Shane Warne talked of “going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over my head for six”. It was the endorsement of the one player to have outshone him, Don Bradman, that mattered the most, however. Tendulkar was star-struck when they met, desperate to talk about technical issues such as stance at the crease and grip of the bat. Having watched Tendulkar on TV for the first time, Bradman said: “This player is playing much the same as I used to play... his compactness, technique, stroke production, it all seemed to gel.” Australia’s great batsman Matthew Hayden was even more complimentary. “I have seen God,” he once said. “He bats at No.4 for India.”

India has produced many great batsmen but never an era so full of greats as that of Tendulkar’s. Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and M.S. Dhoni were all his contemporaries – a crop of players who took India to No.1 in the Test rankings in 2009. What marked out Tendulkar was his longevity: the length of his career (25 years), the number of matches (he bows out on a record 200 Tests), the unequalled number of career, Test and one-day international runs, the most Test centuries, and so on. And he could bowl too, with 45 wickets in Tests and 154 in one-day internationals.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

The endorsement of Gavaskar Tendulkar’s reputation in the eyes of the Indian public hardly needed boosting but his relationship with his most illustrious predecessor, Sunil Gavaskar, proved his brilliance. Both players shared the nickname ‘Little Master’, even if their playing styles were very different: Gavaskar was defensive and cautious while Tendulkar was aggressive and expansive. The former spotted the latter’s talent early on, writing encouraging letters to the schoolboy Sachin and even donating him his old cricket pads when he made his debut in India’s domestic Ranji Trophy.

Bollywood blessing

Making a mint making runs

One in a billion

Tendulkar’s Bollywood credentials started at birth, named as he was after film score composer Sachin Dev Burman. He may not have acted in a Bollywood movie (yet) but he did appear as himself in Raveena Tandon’s 2003 drama Stumped and he has made numerous on-screen appearances in TV adverts. Mumbai is the location of both Bollywood and Tendulkar’s home, and he counts many actors as his friends. News of Tendulkar’s retirement prompted an outpouring of Bollywood tweeting. Shahrukh Khan, award-winning star of Chennai Express, lamented: “Suddenly realising the meaning of addiction. Mine was the Master. I am going thru cold turkey. To see cricket without Sachin? Unbearable.”

Tendulkar has made a fortune out of his cricketing ability and endorses many of the world’s leading brands. Forbes calculated that in 2012 he earned US$18 million from sponsorship, Coca Cola alone paying him $1.2 million. His commercial earning power dwarfs the $4 million he makes every year from playing cricket. These figures could have been higher had Tendulkar been prepared to accommodate alcohol and tobacco companies. The fact he won’t simply heightens, in many people’s eyes, his saintly aura.

They say Tendulkar has a billion fans. When he announced his retirement, he saved his most fulsome dedication for these fans, thanking them for the prayers that had strengthened him. Of these billion, a certain Sudhir Kumar Chaudhury has carved a niche (and a Wikipedia page) as a super-fan. The unemployed, body-painting, bicycle-riding cricket fanatic benefits from tickets given to him by Tendulkar for India’s home games. Chaudhury aside, Tendulkar has 11.4 million Facebook likes and 3.7 million Twitter followers.

cricket // Star of india

BATTING FOR God

Runs in the family

Sport and politics do mix

“Cricket,” goes the old Indian phrase, “is my religion and Sachin is my God.” It’s a sentiment the man himself would frown at, being the devout and observant Hindu he is. Together with his cricket mentor, Sunil Gavaskar, he is a devotee of the guru Sathya Sai Baba whose mantra was the somewhat anodyne “Love all, serve all, help ever, hurt never”. In 2006, suffering from injuries and loss of form, Tendulkar visited the Kukke Subramanya temple, enduring 3am starts, cold baths and an act of worship to a cow – all in a bid to reverse his luck. It seemed to work. In 2006, his Test average was 24.27. The following year it had leapt to 55.41.

A five-year courtship and a marriage that has lasted 18 years speak of a settled, content spirit. Tendulkar’s wife, Anjali, six years his senior and a trained paediatrician, has remained relatively sheltered from the public spotlight. She has suggested that he was drawn to her partly because she didn’t like cricket and “had no idea who this Sachin Tendulkar” was.

Tendulkar hasn’t been criticised for much: a little for his captaincy and dragging out his career, and a bit more for his tentative entry into the world of politics. His nomination to the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament, was judged a bad move by many who saw it as a stunt by an under-pressure Congress party. Nonetheless, this induction into politics epitomises the confidence of an Indian middle-class that is developing the country into one of the world’s fastest-growing superpowers. Why be constrained? Why be simply the greatest batsman of your era? Why not lead your country too?

“I have seen God. He bats at No.4 for India.” Legendary Australian batsman Matthew Hayden.

Charity begins at home Tendulkar’s was a comfortable middle-class childhood in a nation renowned for the startling disparity between its richest and its poorest. It was his novelist-academic father who instilled in his son an impulse for charity, sponsoring the education of the paperboy who delivered to the family home. Three decades later, the request of Tendulkar’s daughter, Sara, that her birthday be spent in Mumbai’s Govandi slum inspired him to redouble his charitable work. His name is now associated with numerous charities, perhaps most notably his annual sponsorship of 200 under-privileged children, an echo of his father’s earlier act of philanthropy.

Populous is currently working on the redevelopment of Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

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Soccer // wheel of fortune

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SOCCER //

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POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

Mountain biking // In the hard-core sport of downhill mountain biking thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one family dynasty that regularly wins more than its fair share of trophies. Dominic Bliss meets them at their Welsh mountain hideaway. 18

Mountain biking // Sibling rivalry

Champion downhill mountain biker Rachel Atherton is part of a family sporting dynasty.

Sport has more than its fair share of family dynasties. In tennis there are the Williams sisters, American football has the Mannings, motor racing the Schumachers and in boxing it’s the Klitschkos. In mountain biking, too, there is one family which has dominated downhill racing over the last few years; a trio – one sister and two brothers – called the Athertons. Between them they share over 20 UCI World Cup wins, and both Rachel and Gee have been world champions. The family set-up, at Atherton Racing HQ, in north Wales, couldn’t be more ideal. Spread across an old farm, it features a team office (the nerve centre of the family’s racing team), a bike workshop (where the eyewateringly expensive bikes are souped up and repaired), a gym and, just across the road, a BMX track with obstacles and jumps designed to keep the biking skills of the Atherton siblings in top form. But it’s out in the Welsh hills – all around Atherton Racing HQ as far as the eye can see – that the family’s biking skills get most tested. Here, on steep and often muddy trails, and twisting forest single-track, 31-year-old Dan, 28-year-old Gee and 25-year-old Rachel really put themselves through their paces. “We’re so lucky to live in this part of the world,” says Rachel. “The hills are perfect for downhill mountain biking. Some of the best tracks in the world: steep, technical, gnarly. The other day we were riding on different trails all day and we didn’t even leave our valley.” Downhill mountain biking is the most extreme of all the cycling disciplines. It involves throwing yourself as fast as humanly possible down mountain trails, over jumps, rocks and roots, round tight corners and through narrow gaps between the trees.

Dressed for battle in body armour and full-face helmets, the competitors ride finely-machined, full-suspension, disc-braked mountain bikes that bear more resemblance to motorbikes than anything you might see in a cycle shop. The likes of Bradley Wiggins and Lance Armstrong wouldn’t last two minutes in this environment. Competitive downhilling is organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), with World Cup races staged all around the world and an annual championship. This year it’s in South Africa. Rachel is the current champion. The Athertons graduated to mountain biking after a youth spent on smaller BMX bikes. “There was a piece of scrub land where we lived [in the west of England],” Rachel remembers. “My brothers had built tracks and jumps all over it for their BMXs. I’d go along on my kids’ bike, with my pet rabbit in a basket at the front, and watch the boys doing their jumps. I had no desire to get involved. They were crazy.” It wasn’t long before Rachel got infected by the same craziness. After supporting her brothers at junior BMX races, she decided to enter the girls’ events and was soon bringing home trophies. All three then advanced to mountain biking. Gee and Rachel are still leaders in their discipline. Dan has since switched to an endurance riding discipline.

All three make a decent living from their sport. “I’ve never had what you might call a real job. None of us have,” Rachel explains. “Prize money might be a couple of grand for a World Cup win. But the real money is in the sponsorship.” Rachel’s team is sponsored by manufacturers of bikes, components, tools, tyres, vans, cameras, sunglasses and energy drinks. Despite being current world champion, Rachel hasn’t ever completed a downhill race course as fast as her two brothers. She explains how the greater upper body strength of the male riders allows them to take a bumpier but more direct route down the mountain. “The girls often take an easier line that’s smoother, avoiding the bigger holes, rocks and roots. But the men can smash straight through those obstacles.” Nevertheless, Rachel has the male riders in her sights. “At World Cup races it’s often the top 80 men who qualify for the final,” she says. “I’m always around the top 100 mark, so I’ve got a little bit of work to do yet to compete with the men. Not far off, though.”

POP VIDEO... Meet Rachel and her family at home, and when they go quarry bombing.

The likes of Bradley Wiggins and Lance Armstrong wouldn’t last two minutes in this environment.

The anatomy of a downhill mountain biker 1. Full-face helmet 2. Body armour 3. Carbon-fibre frame for strength and lightness 4. Slack frame geometry responds better on jumps 5. Forgiving rear suspension 6. Flat pedals allow rider’s feet to plant on turns 7. Hydraulic disc brakes 8. Extra-knobbly tyres aid grip 9. Front suspension forks with extra-long travel

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POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

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american football // there will be blood

If rivalries are the lifeblood of American college football, then the fields of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) run redder than the battlegrounds of the American Civil War. SEC football currently spans 11 states – from Florida across to Texas – and 14 universities, all fiercely proud of their sporting reputations. The most bitter rivalry of all, however, is that between Mississippi State University and, just 80 miles away, University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss, as it’s known. Both colleges are locked in perpetual class warfare. Partisans of these two universities have despised each other since long before American football first came to the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi State was born in 1880 thanks to a working-class boycott against the very aristocratic Ole Miss. Originally known as Mississippi A&M, it was quickly nicknamed People’s College. It now boasts a larger percentage of black students than any major state university in the South. On the other end of the social spectrum is Ole Miss, founded in 1848, and a bastion of landed gentry that constantly battles against a racist image. Indeed, its name is derived from an old slave term for the wife of a plantation owner. Although Ole Miss took up the new sport in 1893, and Mississippi State in 1895, the colleges wouldn’t agree to play until 1901. Even then, kickoff was delayed for 40 minutes while both sides disputed the eligibility of the opposing team’s players. Mississippi State POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

eventually prevailed 17-0, its student newspaper accusing Ole Miss of “dirty play when the referee was not looking.” Dirty or not, the Ole Miss Rebels went on to lose the first 13 meetings, outscored by a total of 327 to 33. After finally winning for the first time (7-6, away at Mississippi State) in 1926, their delirious fans rushed the field to tear down the goalposts. In response, bloodthirsty home supporters bolted from the stands, brandishing cane-bottomed chairs. Mississippi mayhem ensued. The home team’s yearbook later reported: “A few chairs had to be sacrificed over the heads of these to persuade them that it was entirely the wrong attitude.”

There are few more glorious sights than when a university breaks a losing streak against its local rival and the players joyously hoist the trophy in the air. SEC victory hardware takes the shape of everything from food (the Golden Egg of Ole Miss and Mississippi State) to footwear (LSU Tigers’ and Arkansas Razorbacks’ Golden Boot, which, at 175 pounds, is the heaviest trophy in American college football). There was even once a beer barrel (Kentucky Wildcats’ and Tennessee Volunteers’ Border Bowl), though that 74-year-old tradition was discontinued in the late 1990s after students died in an alcohol-related car crash.

But the most important bounty at stake is bragging rights. Sixty minutes of football give the winning school the privilege to crow for the next 364 days. “People talk about the Alabama versus Auburn game on New Year’s Day,” marvels former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Gene Stallings. “They talk about it on Christmas Day. They talk about it on the Fourth of July.” They’re still talking about Stallings’ predecessor, Bill Curry. In 1987 Curry’s team lost to Auburn 10-0. In 1988 his club won nine games, but lost to Auburn 15-10. The following year Curry took a 10-0 team that was ranked second in the country down to Auburn and lost 30-20. In 1990 Curry was coaching at Kentucky. Rivalry between these two universities was once so bitter, hatred so strong, that games had to be played on neutral ground. Between 1948 and 1989 they faced off in the state’s main city Birmingham. Before that there were no games at all between the two

The intensity of these SEC rivalries should never be underestimated. They divide families, strain marriages and test lifelong friendships.

Cheerleaders from LSU Tigers (top) and players from Alabama Crimson Tide (bottom). 22

american football // there will be blood

The 2013 SEC football season Play started on August 31st, 2013 and will conclude early January 2014. The following teams compete: Eastern Division Florida Gators (University of Florida) Georgia Bulldogs (University of Georgia) Kentucky Wildcats (University of Kentucky) Missouri Tigers (University of Missouri) South Carolina Gamecocks (University of South Carolina) Tennessee Volunteers (University of Tennessee) Vanderbilt Commodores (Vanderbilt University) Western Division Alabama Crimson Tide (University of Alabama) Arkansas Razorbacks (University of Arkansas) Auburn Tigers (Auburn University)

Alabama Crimson Tide supporters.

universities for 41 years thanks to a longrunning dispute over referees’ pay. The disagreement ended only when the respective college presidents, at the insistence of the Alabama state legislature, agreed to bury the hatchet – literally – during a bury-the-hatchet ceremony in Birmingham’s Woodrow Wilson Park. The party spirit at some of these SEC games is legendary. The annual contest between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators was once famously called “the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party”. The first toast was 98 years ago in Jacksonville. Until it settled there again in 1993 it was a moveable tailgate party with stops in Gainesville, Macon, Savannah, Athens and Tampa. In a nod toward political correctness, it’s now officially known as the Florida–Georgia/Georgia–Florida game. In past years, fans from each university were grouped in alternating sections of the stands, their contrasting school colours making Jacksonville Municipal Stadium look like a giant beach ball. But what really drives the spectator parties is not the cocktails, rather the rivalries. One of the biggest is between Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide, mostly

because the latter is the only SEC university to have won more games, conference titles and national championships. A major reason for their superiority is Bear Bryant, a former student and player who ended up coaching his alma mater’s team for 25 years, from 1958 to 1982. Asked why he returned to his university, he said: “Momma called. And when Momma calls, you just have to come running.” Always sporting his trademark hound’s-tooth check hat, Bryant loved beating Tennessee so much that he’d distribute post-game victory cigars. When he eventually retired he held the record for most wins as head coach in collegiate football history. The intensity of these SEC rivalries should never be underestimated. They divide families, strain marriages and test lifelong friendships. A fan website for the Tennessee Volunteers sums it up neatly: “What compels so many of us to travel great distances, expend huge sums of money, lose sleep, risk personal injury, get arrested for disorderly conduct... It is a question of pride, of respect, of tradition, and (sometimes) insanity.” Populous is currently working with Texas A&M on the redevelopment of the famous Kyle Field stadium in Texas.

LSU Tigers (Louisiana State University) Mississippi State Bulldogs (Mississippi State University) Ole Miss Rebels (University of Mississippi) Texas A&M Aggies (Texas A&M University)

The most bitter rivalry of all is between Mississippi State University and, just 80 miles away, University of Mississippi. Both colleges are locked in perpetual class warfare. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

BOBSLEIGH, SKELETON, LUGE // In the three Olympic sliding sports every millisecond counts. Peggy Shinn pinpoints the technology and technique used in the need for speed.

BOBSLEIGH, SKELETON, LUGE // on thin ice

Sprint start Bobsleigh crews sprint off the start line, pushing 170kg two-man or 210kg four-man sleighs to speeds of up to 20mph in less than 50 metres. The driver jumps in first, followed by the push athletes. The smoother the load, the faster the start. Skeleton riders also sprint beside their sleighs, then hop on, torso down and head first. Weight training To develop explosive power, bobsleigh racers focus on squats, power cleans and short sprints. The best male push athletes can squat over 230kgs and, from a standstill, jump over 1.5 metres in the air. Bobspikes To sprint on ice, bobsleigh and skeleton racers have 4mm-long spikes arranged in a brush formation on the forefoot of their shoes. Each pair of bobspikes has 1,118 spikes. Skeleton shoes have a minimum of 250 spikes, each no longer than 5mm. Lugers’ shoes, called booties, have no spikes and are designed to help sliders maintain aerodynamically pointed toes.

Luge start Lugers sit on the sleigh at the start. They grab two handles and rock their hips forward before compressing their back until fully flexed at the hips. They then explode forwards using their arms, shoulders, back, and hamstring muscles. They paddle with their hands no more than five times, then lie back feet-first on the sleigh. Spiked gloves Lugers’ gloves have spikes on the fingertips that dig into the ice when they paddle at the start. The number of spikes is a personal preference but each spike may not exceed 5mm. Driving Bobsleigh drivers hold D-rings in each hand to steer. These are connected to ropes that attach to the steering mechanism on the runners. The best drivers feel the ice and the track’s curves through their fingers and make constant minute adjustments to remain on the optimal line. Sandbags Once inside the bobsleigh, push athletes – sometimes referred to as sandbags – keep their heads low to aid aerodynamics and hold onto handles located by their calves. The goal is to remain relaxed so they don’t disturb the movement of the sleigh. POP VIDEO... Discover how BMW technology is helping the USA bobsleigh team go for gold at Sochi 2014.

Body steering Lugers steer subtly with their shoulders and calves. Skeleton racers steer with their shoulders and knees, making adjustments by dropping a toe or moving their heads. SleIGH design Modern bobsleighs benefit from motor-car design courtesy of companies such as BMW and the USA’s Olympic gold-medal-winning Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. Sleigh chassis are constructed from high-strength, lightweight carbon laminates moulded aerodynamically to minimise the nose of the bobsleigh. Runners Bobsleigh and skeleton runners are made of steel. Lugers work with metallurgists to design secret metal amalgams. All sliders can smooth the runners by sanding them but they cannot alter the design or heat them before a race. Skeleton runners are round in the front with grooves in the rear. Racers change their groove width according to the ice temperature. Speed suits Luge and skeleton speed suits are wind-tunnel tested for optimal aerodynamics and tailored to each athlete. Luge suits are constructed from a thin rubber membrane lined with Lycra. Skeleton suits are made from impermeable but uncoated textiles. Riding inside sleighs, bobsleigh racers do not have the same aerodynamic needs so their Lycra suits are knee-length and designed for warmth, comfort, and mobility while sprinting. Populous is the main stadium architect for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

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Rugby sevens // Seventh heaven

“We worked really hard to build their confidence and make them believe they can compete with the likes of

When the Olympics jamboree arrives in Rio in 2016, one sport whose rules many fans will have to brush up on is rugby sevens, a seven-a-side version of the traditional 15-a-side rugby union. And one unlikely nation that is sure to perform well out there is Kenya. In this fast-moving, shorter version of the sport, the Kenyans are the new kids on the block. Their rise through the ranks has been astounding. When the International Rugby Board launched the inaugural Sevens World Series in 1999, Kenya weren’t even included among the 17 nations. Yet 14 years on, they’re one of the big boys. Just look how they performed in the latest Sevens World Series: they finished fifth out of 21 nations over the course of the nine tournaments, even reaching the final of the Wellington Sevens in New Zealand. En route to that final – where they narrowly lost to England in extra-time – Kenya beat the host nation in the semi-final. Who would have thought it? The mighty All Blacks Sevens humbled by Kenya. And to prove this was no fluke, the Kenyans also finished fourth in the Rugby World Cup Sevens this past summer, beating both Samoa and France in the process.

The man who oversaw Kenya’s most successful season was an Englishman. Mike Friday was a brilliant sevens player in his day before coaching the England team a decade ago. He was appointed coach of Kenya in 2012 and, despite quitting his post this year, believes the East Africans, boosted by their star players Collins Injera and Willie Ambaka, have a strong chance of winning a medal at the Rio Olympics. “Their playing ability is phenomenal because they’ve got such great athleticism,” he explains. But running fast and hard is only a small component of rugby sevens. No good being able to run 100 metres in under 11 seconds if you can’t catch, pass or tackle. When Friday took on the role of coaching Kenya he had to go back to basics. “A lot of the squad had been incorrectly taught and their passing skills in particular broke down under pressure,” he says. “But the players are very receptive to learning and they’ve made massive gains in a short space of time.” The other area that Friday sought to improve was the players’ temperament. “We worked really hard to build their confidence and make them believe they can compete with the likes of Fiji, New Zealand and England,” he says. “The way they came back to beat New Zealand [in Wellington] shows that they now have that confidence.”

Fiji, New Zealand and England.” Kenya’s FORMER rugby sevens coach Mike Friday.

While an Olympic gold medal in Rio may be over-optimistic, Friday believes such glory is quite possible in the near future, provided the country’s rugby authorities put in place the correct sporting infrastructure. “They need more corporate sponsors and government money to help build a pathway linking rugby in schools to the senior game,” he says. “So that elite players are given the chance to become the best they can be.” If gold medals were handed out for popularity then the Kenyans would already be standing atop the podium. Every tournament they enter, they’re the darlings of the crowd, their infectious enthusiasm and evident enjoyment for the sport rubbing off on the fans. That enthusiasm and enjoyment will be most extreme come Rio in 2016. Populous has designed major rugby stadia worldwide and is currently working with the French Rugby Federation on its Grand Stade project near Paris.

Know your rules Aside from the obvious team numbers, there are several key differences between rugby sevens and the traditional 15-a-side version, most designed to keep the sport fastmoving and free-flowing.

Sevens

Number of forwards: Number of backs: Scrums: Length of matches: Conversions are… After scoring… Yellow cards:

3 8 4 7 3 players 8 players two 7-minute halves two 40-minute halves drop-kicked drop-kicked or place-kicked scoring team kicks off conceding team kicks off 2-minute suspension 10-minute suspension

15-a-side

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

Ice man

Pop star // Populous’s Geoff Cheong (LEFT) describes how a lifetime of playing ice hockey has given him a unique insight into the design of professional hockey arenas.

Geoff Cheong is Populous’s go-to man when it comes to ice hockey. A senior associate in the company’s Kansas City office, he has recently worked on two ice hockey venues: the New Quebec City Amphitheatre which is currently under construction and the Las Vegas Arena, still at planning stage. He is convinced his background in amateur ice hockey helps him with design ideas and is an asset for certain clients. His Canadian nationality no doubt helps, too. “I’ve been lucky to have had so many great hockey experiences, from both inside and outside the glass,” he says. “Because I’m Canadian I suppose I have hockey in my DNA.” To say Geoff has a passion for ice hockey is something of an understatement. Born and brought up in the Canadian city of Vancouver, he has been slapping the puck since he was five years old, first in street hockey before graduating to the ice version. He remembers how his father knocked him together his first hockey goal out of “scrap lumber and some old fishing net”. Now based in Kansas City, Geoff plays year round, two or three times a week, for his team The Nailers in a local amateur league. “Since I first picked up a hockey stick, it’s pretty much been a daily routine for me,” he says. “Hockey is a religion for Canadians.” As a fan, too, he’s obsessive. The team he follows most closely is his hometown NHL franchise the Vancouver Canucks. But he also has a soft spot for his local semi-

“As designers of sports venues, we need to be in tune with the needs of both the spectators and the athletes.”

professional team, the Missouri Mavericks. Both the Mavericks and Geoff’s Nailers share the same arena venue – Kansas City’s Independence Events Center. “We always run into the Mavericks players and coaches at the rink,” Geoff says, “Their coaches even offer time and input during our team practices. It’s a very tight-knit hockey community here.” Geoff insists that experience of playing sport to a decent level is invaluable for a sports architect. “As designers of sports venues, we need to be in tune with the needs of both the spectators and the athletes,” he says. “I understand that it’s tough for venue owners to relate athlete environments to revenue figures and sponsorship dollars but it’s vitally important for our buildings to function for both fans and players.” One of the design ideas on the Quebec venue where the spectator and athlete experiences overlap is in the tunnel leading from the locker rooms to the ice. Geoff and his team designed the tunnel with walls of glass so that spectators in premium lounges could watch players as they walk out to compete. At the end of the tunnel the glass wall then retracts, allowing premium spectators to interact with the players and even request autographs. “For a decent dollar you can be part of this environment,” Geoff explains. “Not just at the beginning and end of the game, but also between periods, you’re seeing athletes walking within feet of your seat.” Geoff says it’s rare for a professional hockey player to refuse an autograph. He says even the top-level NHL players are far more in touch with their communities than professional baseballers, basketballers or American footballers are. He believes this allows hockey venues to be designed with much more interaction between spectators and players in mind. “Hockey players are very down to earth,” he says. “Particularly in the USA, they seem to be in the shadows of NFL, NBA or MLB athletes. With hockey it’s less about fame, more about a true love for the sport. That’s what I really love about it.” POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

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SOCCER // Are fans of Mexican soccer club Tigres the most loyal in the world? Thousands regularly travel all over the country in support of their team’s away matches, as Joe Boyle discovers.

The 12,000 supporters (some claim 15,000 – it gets bigger with each telling) who witnessed a 1-0 win away against Club América in 2012 brought the Tigres to global attention. 30

SOCCER // DON’T MISS THE BUS

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By the time the 80th overloaded bus had left San Nicolás de los Garza, the residential suburb on the outskirts of Monterrey in northeastern Mexico, it was clear something remarkable was happening. The fans of Tigres de la UANL were on the move again, heading for Mexico City and cementing their reputation as some of soccer’s most fanatical supporters. Tigres fans have been travelling to away matches in unprecedented numbers since 2005, the year the club first competed in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s equivalent of the Champions League. Nowadays there are so many of them, you might call it a human migration. It’s also the sign of a thriving regional pride and a revitalised Mexican soccer scene. The 15,000 supporters who witnessed a 1-0 win away against Club América in February 2012 brought the Tigres, a club formed as late as 1960 and hardly one of Mexico’s prestige

sides, to global attention. More recently, that away support has swelled even more with a reported 23,000 travelling away to San Luis Potosi in March 2013. In soccer terms, the fervour seems to be generating new success. The club claimed its third title (and its first since 1982) in 2011. In the last championship, which finished in May 2013 (Mexican sides compete for two championships in each year), it won seven of its eight away games. The numbers, the passion and the frenzy are captured in a documentary film called La Horda (‘The Gang’). Soccer supporters the world over tend to behave the same way in a stadium, whether you bring one bus load or 80. What La Horda captures more dramatically are the scenes outside the grounds. Depending on the location, desolate back streets and upmarket boulevards alike are swamped by a chanting, clapping, marching mass. A shaky Youtube video (for this is a phenomenon of the cameraphone era) taken from a Guadalajara balcony

t h e

begins with a distant susurration until the first yellow shirts start to emerge. For five minutes, a river of yellow and blue flows forcefully past, a relentless current accompanied by a rousing chant. When the video cuts out, the procession shows no sign of ending. This feels more like a political rally than a football crowd. Perhaps that’s not surprising. Monterrey’s position near the border with USA makes it a pivotal location in the narcotics supply chain. The city is plagued by the Zetas drug cartel. In the midst of this chaos Tigres de la UANL has worked hard in recent years to combat the social disorder and prove, as its president says, “that soccer can and should be an agent of social change”. There was considerable pride in 2008 when the club was rewarded for its corporate social responsibility. At the same time Tigres has been quick to recognise the opportunities afforded by the restructuring of Mexico’s league, Liga MX. The

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changes in 2011 were designed to incorporate ideas from American sport and create an environment that would appeal to both families and corporate sponsors. A smart-TV deal, flexible rules about club ownership, an ability to keep top Mexican players in the domestic league and cross-fertilisation with nearby USA all mean the game in Mexico is in a vibrant state. Tigres, a young, aspiring club, reflects this vibrancy. The city, for all its troubles, has a strong sense of its identity and benefits from healthy industry and above-average earnings. Tigres is at the forefront of an undeniable regional pride. Dr Keith Brewster, author of Patriotic Pastimes: The Role of Sport in PostRevolutionary Mexico, says that, after the country’s revolution in the 1910s, the Mexican government used sport “to try and organise people, to make them more efficient”. “Mexico has strong regional identities,” he adds, “but from the 1920s and 1930s onwards

there was an attempt to erode this regionalism and teach national history; the significance of the flag. That’s starting to wane. People are getting a bit more cynical.” There may well be cynicism about the old political model and its ability to deal with Mexico’s pressing problems. But there is no cynicism to be found in the bus-loads of Tigres fans who seek community spirit through support for their team. Populous-designed soccer stadia include Wembley Stadium in London, Sporting Park in Kansas City and Stade des Lumières in Lyon.

POP VIDEO... Travel with the Tigres fans as they turn an away fixture into a huge party.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

PopUlous in

history

Where? OLYMPIC STADIUM, LONDON, UK

When? 9th SEPTEMBER 2012

HISTORY // THE 2012 PARALYMPICS

It set new records for disabled sport both on the field of play and off it. As well as all its sporting achievements, the London 2012 Paralympic Games sold more tickets than ever before, attracted more TV viewers than ever before and, with over 4,300 athletes from 164 nations, it featured more Paralympians than ever before.

But ultimately it was the way the sport changed the public perception of disabled people that was perhaps the Paralympics’ greatest achievement. The climax to the Games was the closing ceremony at the Populous-designed Olympic Stadium where pop artists Coldplay, Rihanna and

Jay-Z performed live. In his accompanying speech, chairman of the organisers, Lord Coe, said: “I genuinely think we have had a seismic effect in shifting public attitudes. I don’t think people will ever see sport the same way again. I don’t think they will ever see disability in the same way again.”

MEN OF STATURE How do NBA basketballers compare in height to the rest of us mere mortals?

10ft

Basket rim

8ft 11ins

Tallest ever human being Robert Wadlow, USA

7ft 7ins

Tallest ever NBA player Gheorghe Muresan, Romania

6ft 7ins

Average NBA player

Shortest ever NBA player Tyrone ‘Muggsy’ Bogues, USA

POPULOUS // THE TEAM We are true individuals – innovative, fun and highly creative architects and designers who enjoy working together to give our clients unique design services. Whether it’s bespoke design, sports stadia, entertainment venues or convention centres, we are passionate about everything we do.

5ft 3ins

London 14 Blades Court Deodar Rd London SW15 2NU United Kingdom

Kansas City 300 Wyandotte Kansas City MO 64105 USA

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Tel: +44 208 874 7666 Fax: +44 208 874 7470 Email: info@populous.com www.populous.com

Tel: +1 816 221 1500 Fax: +1 816 221 1578 Email: info@populous.com www.populous.com

Tel: +61 7 3838 3839 7900 9155 Fax: +61 7 3839 9188 Email: info@populous.com www.populous.com THE TEAM //

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