Alvaro Blanco Miami, 25 Mar The jai-alai or cesta punta was for years one of the great symbols of Miami, but the brightness of this type of basque pelota faded after the arrival of professional basketball and baseball in the city. Now he is looking to regain momentum with a new competition to the “americana”. Gone are the years when pelotaris played in front of thousands of people who crowded the pediments of South Florida, where millionaire sums were left in bets every year. Such was its rise that jai-alai was one of the images of the start of the iconic 1980s TV series “Miami Vice” (1984-1989). But as Miami-based ex-pelotari Juan Ramón Arrasate explains to Efe, everything started to change at the end of that decade. Everything came together; the pediments closed for more than two years due to the longest strike in professional sports in the United States (1988-1991) and the strike came at a time when casinos began to open in South Florida and local NBA and MBL teams, the Heat and Marlins, respectively. “The entertainment dollar had to be spread out in many parts,” explained this Basque who now organizes the championship of the Magic City casino in Miami, the only one in Florida. He arrived in Florida in 1977 and lived the best years of this sport in the United States. GOLDEN YEARS He still has some “phenomenal” memories of that environment with a full pediment: “When you threw the ball against the wall, with so many screaming audiences, you couldn't hear” he continued hammering. Then the jai-alai was the best choice in entertainment, the place to go and be seen and where to win, hopefully, thousands of dollars in bets. But now he sees the new momentum with enthusiasm. The Magic City casino in Miami bet on this sport in 2018 when greyhound racing was banned and formed a team of motley pelotaris, with Basques, Frenchmen and boys who had been part of teams at the University of Miami (UM), including American football. The Basque fellow Jairo Baroja, one of the judges of the new competition in Miami, feels the same hope of being able to fly back. “Since I've been here, it's the most exciting moment that jai-alai has ever experienced,” he says of an impulse that includes organizing this autumn a world championship in the category with the best pelotaris from Spain and the United States. The fruits are beginning to show. “This Sunday was full” the pediment, says Arrasate. Although now the key is to increase the stakes. If last year it was possible to do it in the fronton and online in two states, there are now seven US regions and there are several more in negotiations, explains to Efe the operating chief of the Miami casino, Scott Savin, who bet on this sport. The five-year goal includes a contract with a national television network, agreements with a global streaming platform, big sponsors, adding more teams and cities and betting on women's pelotaris as well. To convince mass audiences, the Miami casino decided to innovate. He said goodbye to the long stone pediment and opted for a glass and shorter one, which allows the goals to be prolonged and each point must be worked hard. SIGNINGS A large part of the protagonists of this Basque sport are Americans, who started around the age of 30 and come from very different specialties. One of them is Les “L.A.” Bradley, who was part of the athletics team of his university and has a plant that is quite different from the image of the traditional pelotari. Beyond being African-American, this New Yorker is 1.90 meters tall and weighs 95 kilograms. “I fell in love with this sport, it was a hard start because it's a very challenging sport to learn how to play it, but I've learned a lot,” he tells Efe. Jeff “Laca” Conway, from the National Association of Jai Alai (NJAA) and in charge of the specialized blog “Pelota Press”, is optimistic about a future marked by broadcasting and betting on the Internet, because, as he “hates to admit it”, it will be difficult to see again full pediments where everything is “much more exciting”. You never know, though. The Dania Beach pediment, which had closed its doors at the end of last year, will temporarily reopen them this spring to take advantage of the momentum and green old laurels. But to do it very “americana”, with a lot of promotion, more spectacle and even with collectible stickers with the image of the pelotaris that make up a still reduced squad, with a view to expanding it. “I wish they would open another ten pediments and thus we could bring 200 young people from Spain, and that this sport that is so beautiful does not die”, dreams Arrasate. CHIEF abm/jip/jrh (photo) (video)
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