A Whole Other Ball Game
Tobacco Road may be the oldest bar in
Miami but it wasn’t the only entertainment
venue in town in 1926.
On the other side of the city stood the
facility that housed Miami Jai-Alai
Fronton, a newly introduced sport
hailing from Spain on which
spectators placed bets.
The game itself is quite intricate.
The basic equipment is the pelota,
a hard rubber ball covered with
goatskin. The cesta
(a wicker basket that is strapped to the
player’s hand) is used to cradle the
pelota and swing it against any of the
three walls of the jai-alai court at speeds
of up to 180 mph.
Aside from the fast-paced excitement
of the short 20-minute games, the
jai-alai related trivia is very
interesting. For example, the ball has to be
re-covered with brand-new goatskin after
each game. Plus, according to the Florida
Gaming Corporation Web site no machine
has ever been invented to perform this task.
That means that each ball is sewn by hand.
The cesta is also hand-woven.
The goal in the game is to score seven or
nine points. The only way to get points is
if the other team
is dropping, missing,
holding, or sending the ball
out of bounds. Bets are placed on a
particular player similar to how people bet
on horses.
Miami Jai-Alai, as the locals know it, looks
to be left behind, popularity-wise, by the
rest of the city. Where once this building
would overflow with bettors, it now
rarely pulls in a full house. But the air of
old Miami still permeates it. There is a
faint smell of Cuban cigars, mixed
with sheer excitement.
On my visit, the seats were dotted with
those you could tell were experts at the
game, all holding their bet tickets. Other
than the hollow thud of the pelota,
the few (mostly middle-aged male) spectators
cheer on their player — by insulting them.
But, suddenly I hear a smallish plump
woman of about 60, cursing out the
player she bet on. These weren’t just
petty insults either. Her screamed
obscenities would make sailors cringe.
Jai-alai is truly an underrated game. Try it
some time — you might like it.
Miami Jai-Alai is located at 3500 NW 37th
Ave., Miami. Call 305-633-6400 or
visit
www.fla-gaming.com/miami.
Admission is $1 and there is free parking.
If you really want to splurge, you can drop
$3 on valet parking. There is also a bar and
cafeteria on-site.
— Calendar Girl
calendargirl@miamisunpost.com
P.S. The New Year is a time for resolutions
and if your list includes “try something
new,” let me help. Send me an e-mail
with all the details of an ongoing event
you’d like to try this year and I’ll try
it for you. Then you can decide if you’d
like to try it out yourself.
