Be a Sport

Move over Swine Flu, the next big epidemic has struck India. And this time Tamiflu can't help you, nor can that hand sanitizer. You are destined to contract the FFF virus.

The Fake Football Fandom virus...

See, just a few months back, you would have heard conversations like this:

A: Dude, did you watch Drogba go yesterday?

B: No, dude. What Rap song has he sung?

or this:

A: Ribery is so cool!!

B: Do you get that flavour at Naturals?

or worse:

A: Ronaldo has an amazing physique

B: That Brazillian guy? Wouldn't he be... like.... REALLY old now?

Most then got a crash course in football after that re-eee-eallllly long Nike Write Your Future Ad.

And now all of us have a favourite player. A favourite team. A Waka Waka ringtone. A tweet. A fight everyday with the guy who supports some other team. I hear some are also writing blog posts about it ;)

But what does all this really mean? Are we all fakes? wannabes? cheats? liars?

Why are we suddenly having arguments, snides and bets with our best friends? Repressed anger, anyone? Attention seeking, maybe?

I guess it is something else altogether. All these fights, arguments, snides just give us a reason to connect.

Connect with an achiever, a great player, a guy just like you who has excelled

Connect with your own dreams... The pure dreams all of us dreamed as kids- achieving big time, with thousands in attendance and millions on TV cheering us, even as our proud parents wiped their proud tears.

And Above all, connect with each other... What is happening underneath all those snides and arguments is genuine human connection- an exchange of thoughts, emotions, energy, drama; otherwise so utterly lacking in our daily, mundane life!

That is the mysterious function of sports- Sometimes they bring us together by dividing us!

And hence, more adversarial the better. Think about it, what generates more excitement- IPL or the India-Zimbabawe-Srilanka triangular? In the IPL, you support a team, while everyone around you vouches by some other.... So there is so much more to share the next day-

"Hahah! your team's players suck!!"

"Woohooo, we kicked you all around the ground!!"

"Do you want us to humiliate you today... or will you just give us a walk-over"

[Virgin Mobile came up with a viral campaign with this insight.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHopkzltHRw. Notice the 2.4 lakh views!!]

You may fight all through the month, but at the end of the tournament what you get is a progress in relationships- That guy who was a distant acquaintance becomes your favoured partner to discuss the game. Or girls.

Its not the same when all people support India. Its not so much fun agreeing ;)

So when you go back tomorrow to work, or meet a group of friends, it may not be a bad idea to pass sarci comments, fight and give some cheap-shot arguments. You are just connecting with them!

Remember,Sports sometimes bring us together by dividing us!

I want to go back to a time....

I want to go back to a time when it mattered HOW the runs came.

I want to go back to a time when a ball almost kissing the batsman's pad on the leg side was applauded. Not signalled wide.

I want to go back to a time when Dravid used to let a ball go with a flourish, and people would clap and say, "Well Left, great judgement"; rather than saying RUN MAAR NA $*%*#!

I want to go back a time when one could see the captain or the bowler setting the field without having to see a very stupid commercial for the 100th time.

I want to go back to a time when a catch was "Great catch" and not a "Citi Moment of success"; when a Six was a much awaited shot "Out of the Park!!!!!" and not the 600th "DLF Maximum"

I want to go back to a time when a maiden over could be a Bowler's achievement without simultaneously being the Batsman's failure.

I want to go back to a time when there was enough time for the drinks trolley to make its way gracefully into the ground.

I want to go back to a time when giving an extra ball after a No Ball was punishment enough, without having to suffer a Free Hit (Cant think of another game where one error is punished twice)

I want to go back to a time when the scoreboard showed just the score.

I want to go back to a time...