Indy Telecom & Industrial Media

When I was younger, I used to love several other sports besides cricket. Doordarshan, the national TV channel in India back then, would occasionally show a tennis or a soccer game but every time there was a cricket game, it would be at the expense of the other games.

It never made sense to me, because as far as I knew, India almost always lost. When I saw the spirit that teams and players exhibited in soccer and tennis, it did not compare to the callous attitudes demonstrated by the Indian cricket team. Yet, fools all over the country would act as if the players were demigods. I mean, I would watch Steffi Graf come back from a losing game and I would watch the Indian cricket team whine about some ridiculous excuse after losing, and I would stand there bewildered at the stupidity of the players and the fans.

Even when I grew older, the many cable sports channels would always kill every other game at the expense of cricket. This drove me nuts to no end, especially since I really do not remember the Indian cricket team playing even half decently, ever. In fact, during the many, many series that India consistently lost, I would find that cricket was being shown in place of my favourite channels. And it was always at the expense of a good channel. Somehow, the local language crappy soap-opera channels were left alone.

Now, you should understand Indian culture — good, thoughtful shows are not liked by the populace. Stupid soap operas are famous, but anything to do with thinking in any form simply does not go over well with the general populace. Science? Nature? Bah, we have no need for that. Just watch one of the many Indian movies if you do not believe me.

Me: “But today is the season premiere of Farscape!”

Cable dude: “Saar, nobody watches that saar. You should watch cricket saar.”

Me: “I don’t give a damn. India’s going to lose anyway.”

Cable dude: “You should not say that saar! You are an Indian.”

(I have never understood what being an Indian has got to do with supporting a team. You should support the best team, not a crappy team, just because they are from your country.)

Me: “But what about National Geographic! That’s a good channel.”

Cable dude: “Saar, we cannot get national geographic when we are showing cricket. They are part of the same package saar.”

Me (frustrated): “Can I kill you?”

Of course, this never changed through the years. And I could never understand why people would fawn over a team that always lost.

You see, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan etc. are teams that play to win. India? Not so much. In fact, Indians cannot play any sport half decently, the only reason we get up there is because the competition isn’t so bad. Once it goes up, we bail out. I’m fairly certain that if the Cincinnati Reds started playing cricket, the idiots in blue will get their asses kicked. And as cricket becomes mainstream, we are finding out just how well we do. Oh, it was all joy when there were all of 5 or 6 good teams in the world. But today? Not so much.

The saddest thing is that cricket in India has grown at the expense of every other game — even in school, you don’t get to play very many other games. If you wanted to play something else, you better find a way to do it on your own. And I have never understood this mad, crazy fawning by a billion idiots.

Indians do not play a game to win. Nor do they play because they like the game. They play to stay in the international team, make ads and while away their time. They play for fame and glory.

The best example of this is what Akshay was talking about the other day — the Ranji trophy players do not play for the sake of the game or to win, they play to get into the international team.

I am a big fan of the Australian and Pakistani teams. Why? Because they play well and they play to win. Because they have the spirit to do their best, no matter what. The Indian cricket team is like Britney Spears, a commercial product for the consumption of the Indian masses. But don’t you ever mention that to the Indian masses — in college, I have been threatened to be beaten up by people for suggesting that Australia or Pakistan should win.

And why not? It’s a game — and may the best team win. I’m sorry, my vote goes for the team that has it in them, not for a team whose only purpose is to make ads for companies and play cricket for snagging the hottest model in town. Maybe now, they could pay attention to the Indian talent in tennis or soccer.

So, I am finally rejoicing in the fact that team India has gotten kicked out of the world cup. Like the Brits say, about bloody time.

Now, on to the world cup. I’m rooting for either Australia for New Zealand!