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Friday, June 18, 2010

Listen To What The Vuvuzela Says..





Are we listening to the Game?

The realistic Oxymoron of Fair IPL auctions;the unrealistic oxymoron of cash rich hockey team;the fantasy of some olympic medals;the hullaballo over foreign teams playing in the FIFA world cup.
                 Some of the things that are dominant in the minds and times of a average sportsman when he thinks about sports in INDIA.The advent of corporates in the sports arena has set the cash counters tingling ,but it has also brought the snake of corruption with its fangs, slithering and stalking.
            The IPL is rapidly becoming a graveyard for pure cricket.The cricket ball instead of being hitted out of the park by a batsman finds itself swinging reverse between the warring factions of the indian cricket board in a game that more resembles a musical chair.But what is the problem that has plagued the concept?what has got into the mind of the owner of the golden goose?Is he going to kill the IPL..He has almost done it.
     The Problem with IPL is the inordinate amount of money involved.The problem of IPL is the mix of politicians in the cricketing circles,and the spreading of the cricketing virus amongst the political gentry.The IPL auctions were recently under the scanner as well as the ownership of some of the teams.But how and why all issues burst into prominance at the opportune time ?Its like that the master now dont anymore require the sevices of his servant and hence he is sacrificed.The layers of the corruptions if so deep and so very meticulous begs the question of the sanctity of all those involved in the concept from hair tip to the tooth nail.Some billions spent over a team purchase had many eyes rolling ,and then just after 2 editions some billions spent on just one player who hasnt played even test cricket had free heads lolling also.However the problem is not the money or the dearth/Excess of it.The problem is the way that the greenback has taken over the red cherry in the central discussion about the game.The distress signal that the game is getting is far more worrisome from the cracks now visible in the administrator`s boat.
                      
                Mr Modi,tharoor,pawar,etc ...,are you all listening !!"


At the Diagramatically opposite point on the circle of money and fame sits our hockey team.It seems that the national game has been jinxed.Many a times it happens that the team performs well,wins a trophy,after much protest and strife gets a good sponser and then again slips into the loosing manhole.The cat and mouse game between the money and performance in hockey would have even got Lord disney interested in another series of tom and jerry.Recently the team won the sultan azlan shah cup ,though jointly but is a great achievement.The win however pales in the disappointment of not making it to olympics.What i feel can be done to spark interest in the game of hockey now so very dominated by europians is allow the subcontinent nations to have the grass pitches.On the lines of cricket,let the home country decide whether they want an astro turf or not.A far shot ,but atleast it would be a spark in an otherwise controversy ridden and breaureaucracy stricken game of hockey.
            
               "Mr Gill,Are you listening !!"


 Now since the time abhinav bindra won that Au medal,the only times i hear him in the news is the rift that the shooting fraternity and himself are involved in.The way we treat our champions is indeed very pathetically different.It seems that to secure that elusive medal,the players need to be prepared all by themselves ,hire a foreign coach,get the kits by themselves,and worst of all owning to complete lack of support also they have to be self motivated.We love to drown our heroes in anonymity it seems.The medals are just a testimony to an athletes hard work of years.So instead of reserving money to shower it after a poor athlete wins a unexpected medal,spend it on the support our athletes need.(atleast they are not playing with injuries and arent overweight!!)

              "Mr Kalmadi,Are you listening!!"
        


        And Now is the turn of the FIFA.Apart from the usual and the daily clamour over the vuvuzela and the jabulani,the celebrations are as riveting and moving as they could be.But it pains me to not being able to root for a indian football team.The movie GOAL actually spreads the idea,as pathetic the movie was ,worst is the state of the beautiful game in the country.Why cant our bhangra match with the brazilian samba? why cant our innate conservatism be of the same quality as german defence? Why cant a messi dazzle be seen in the feet of a local bhutia or vijayan?
                
 Sure we can play the beautiful game beautifully,just need to get that jabulani out of its holder and learn to control it better than the foreigners and also for the fans:learn to honk the vuvuvzela..the opposition players might not like it!!
                "Soccer Fans,Are you listening!!"

Random Musings...