Fallen mighties and ash-risen Phoenix - tale of two sports in a day

In the Sporting universe, yesterday was a day of extremes in a nation usually given to mono-sports mania.

Its funny how sometimes, events in a day seems so full of meaning...almost as if the gods are making an emphatic point, almost to the point of a thrusting a finger on our forehead...

Cricket in India has been in decline for some time, a decline it brought upon itself by being so popular. Which is why it attracted obscene amount of money,which like a Newtonian law attracts the wrong kind of gentlemen to this gentleman's game. So you had Sharad Pawar, who is politely called a land mafia in Pune, becoming the head of BCCI. So what did Sharad Pawar bring to the table, one may ask, to warrant being the head of the cricketing association? Nobody knows...nobody asks too openly either...

But the last few months have been downright horrible for the cricket fan in the country. Getting whitewashed in series after series is one thing, being casual about it is criminal. And the much vaunted cricket team seems to be leaning heavily towards being criminal. When the captain says that he rather not play Test and concentrate on ODI and T20, you know that the ephemeral thing called "Pride for playing for country" has been hopelessly compromised. When players refuse to play India games citing injuries but come hobbling for T20 matches, you know that they are playing a scam on you.

Things reached a nadir yesterday. After the Test humiliation, The Indian team had proclaimed "Wait for the ODI...watch us play then". Well, we watched them play...and we watched them surrender. And then we saw them complaining like  school children about umpiring decisions. Riddled with internal strife, the team is imploding. And sadly, we are seeing the cancer right there on the most gifted cricketer India has produced - Sachin Tendulkar. His walk back to the pavilion yesterday, head down, oblivious to the standing ovation, in what maybe his last match on the ground, was a sad sad spectacle. Almost as if he was ashamed of the whole damn business...

A complete contrast was to be seen at the National Stadium or Major Dhyan Chand Stadium. Under floodlights, the Indian hockey team exorcized the ghosts past - especially the humiliation of not qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Cheered on by a 15000 crowd, many of whom came to watch Hockey for the first time, the Indian Team trounced France 8-1!!!. The crowd bellowed lustily each team the team went forward, went wild each time the ball found the net. And the Hockey Team played completely outside themselves. Used to playing in front of empty stands, finding themselves in front of full throated crowd waving tricolours must have supercharged the adrenaline....Giving the best performance of the qualifier, France was made to look mediocre!! I know - I was there!!!

It takes guts and balls of steel to get here. Just a couple of months ago, the Hockey team was humiliated when a sum of Rs 25,000 was 'awarded' after they won the Asian Championships. This was about the same time that IPL auctions were buying single players for crores.

Hockey goes to the Olympics - to try and get glory for India after 1980 (the last time they won Gold)

Cricket comes back home - eager to earn money playing in the private teams of rich men and women.

The contrast could not have been starker...

And all in a day's work!!

And you could see in the faces of the people leaving the National Stadium yesterday - They have started giving their heart to Hockey....I count myself among them...

 

Technorati Tags: india,hockey,cricket,winning,country,olympics,IPL

The case of the Old Warrior and his price…

So this truly is the end of Sourav Ganguly as we know him best – the bat in his hand, pads on feet and the classic charge down the pitch for the lofted six – stuff now to be seen only on YouTube videos, never live again…

Emotions are running high now and will remain on boil for some time to come – especially among the easily excitable Bengalis who see this as a personal snub…how dare some movie stars and corporates not see fit to take on Ganguly, they ask. How can they measure his worth in money, they ask then. Which is where I need to ask some questions as well…

In the midst of so many conflicting emotions (the twitter updates on Ganguly have really spiked in the last couple of hours), it is often   difficult to find a neutral position. And especially when I have been and will always be a avid fan of Ganguly – for me, not only of the best cricketer but also the most complete leader of men that cricket has produced in this country.

But life goes on, has to go on and Ganguly of all people, should have realized by now that there is a time to take a last stand and a time to slide gracefully into the sunset. There is a time for brave stubbornness and a time for pragmatism. The gunslinger past his prime will be eventually shot down by the younger one. Fact of life.

Before we start berating the rich smug corporate czars and the movie stars for demeaning a legend, let us ask ourselves an  uncomfortable question – was Ganguly a willing participant or was he not?

In fact, he increased his base price before the bidding began, (which may have actually been the last nail in his coffin), which may or may not be a last attempt to rake in the money before the end of a career.

Lets face it – he, along with everybody, was in this for money. Period.

So lets not keep shouting that this money fest is demeaning to cricketers and to cricket. For better or for worse, every sport is eventually about money. That's what gives us the spectacle that cricket enthusiasts have been lapping up for the last three years.

Its quite simple – if you don't like, don't watch it, don't give the advertisers your money or the event your attention. If it goes for us, it goes for Ganguly. But then, he wanted to be a part of it.

And when you are a part of it, you play by the rules.

And the rules of this particular game is this – This is a young man’s game, this is a game that calls not for class or even talent but for brutal quickie power, this is a game not played for pride or glory or even for sportsmanship or country – its played for money

It is not – a place where legends will be feted and celebrated for their own sake – if you haven't played for some time, you cant hit em out of the ground from the first ball, a place where huge egos can be pampered

Which then brings us to the next question that is being asked – How dare they they think Ganguly was not good enough? After all, he was one of the big scorers in IPL3.

Well, he may be good enough or maybe not. After all, he has not played cricket in a long time – long, short or the Blitz versions. So let me play the classical trick of turning the tables and putting your money on it. If it was your $4m and you had a choice of Ganguly with his legend or two players with $2m each but who are battle ready, and you stand to gain if your team won and lose if your team loses, which way would you go? At such times, the head easily wins non? So lets not blame easily…

So yes, it is a disappointing way to hang up your cricket bat but hey it was a war out there and Ganguly lost fair and square (though conspiracy theorists will undoubtedly see one in this one as well – we all have ways to deal with disappointments!!).

I do not believe that this is a disgrace. We, Ganguly’s fans should be confident of the one we admire. Ganguly’s accomplishments are enough to wipe out this distressful day. The man who turned around Indian cricket cannot be disgraced by an event, which in the final analysis, is not much more than a extravagant gully cricket tournament.

Long after the cheerleaders have packed up and gone, long after the after-match parties (which will still be more important than the match itself) have faded into the dawn, long after the fixers have gone home with their booties and long after people will stop giving a damn about the advertisement fuelled match adrenaline, the vision of Ganguly’s waving of his shirt above his head will still define the spirit of Indian cricket…

My Captain, my Captain…Adieu…

Technorati Tags: Sourav Ganguly,Ganguly,cricket,India,sports,IPL,IPL 4,auction,KKR,Bengalis

The Game for Life…

World Cup is gone…long live World Cups!!!

Its only been a few days since the void has started to get filled up..the void that inevitably comes after the end of what is arguably the most awaited one month in four years. A month when TVs are switched on no matter what the hour is and you hold your breath as fame and infamy exchange hands within seconds…

World Cup South Africa 2010 was the sixth world cup for me and over the years, no matter where I have been or what I have been doing, the one month becomes a time when nothing beyond the action in front of me matters. I must have sounded like a zombie on the phone with G since at that point of time my heart beat with Forlan and his magical left foot…

In life, we have various yardsticks with which we mark our time and which we use to look back and say ‘Aha’, that's when I was there and did that.

Four years is a long time for someone who is growing up…a time when circumstances around you are shed and you come out as a completely different person. Your thoughts and opinions about the world around you and the people in it change. You have moments when you grow up suddenly, you have heartbreaks, get over them (sometimes overnight), you read books that change you for life, you meet people who mark you for life and you discover things about yourself that you may or may not like…

But in the end, when the next world cup comes around, you have done your time and its time sit and cheer for your team. You also realize that like so much of your memories so many cherished players have become a part of the past.

For me, World cup started with Maradona and the Roger Milla dance,  a world cup that I ended with tears along with Maradona. I remember the incredible vibe around my house as the tournament started. Its my great luck that I was born in a family where everyone watched sports together (especially two things – World Cup and the other – Ganguly batting!!) and that was like a virus that I caught onto…

That was Italia 1990 and the world cup that I remember wolfing down magazines (this was 8 years before internet came into the house and atleast 10 years before any more-than-humble surfing can be done) which offered any information about what was happening around me. I remember reading and re-reading about the heroes of the past – the Peles, Garrinchas, Cryuffs, Lev Yashins, Kempes, De Stefanoes, Eusebios, Pushkas ; the heartbreaks of the past – Netherlands’ defeats in  consecutive finals with arguably the best team, Hungary’s defeat in the finals after being unbeaten for four years and subsequent decline after the revolution, Garrinchas death in penury and so on…

By the time the next one came up, old heroes had slipped and new ones came up, probably my first lesson that sports taught me about life – things change and we must go on. Milla’s dance was gone and Maradona was soon to go, in shame. Aryton Senna was to go too, in a car crash. That world cup was to be of Romarios and the dance was to belong to Bebeto and the tears belonged to Roberto Baggio…

I saw that world cup half in Calcutta and half in my home. My dad, uncle (who had gotten married in between the cups) and brother stayed up to watch the finals and I remember recording the final on VCR. Baggio’s thundering kick which missed the post by a mile will probably always remain indelible in my mind – a sign of how you can be the best player in the world and yet be remembered forever for   one bad penalty kick. The golden cup is unforgiving to those who fall by the wayside…

1998 France was the time when it was my tenth boards. But studies were to take a complete break as Zidane unleashed his magic to power the Les Blues to their first world cup, the first new champion since 1978. This time the tears were Brazilian and glory was of the team that signified ethnic unity in a former imperial power. Almost a fitting end to the last world cup of the century which saw its first in 1930 between two world wars!

2002 S Korea and Japan. I was done with my school long back and had started on a good boy’s career path– engineering after a hard fought battle with various entrance exams. There was a creeping feeling that there were too many distractions in life, time seemed short, a good career seemed suddenly a holy grail to a perfect life and life seemed to be suddenly in too much of a hurry.

Yet, everything was swept aside as time stood still for that one month. The hero of the last millennium, France, went out shamed in the group stage without scoring a goal and Brazilians and Ronaldo had the last laugh. Asia came into its own with S Korea reaching the semis defeating Italy and Spain. Africa again flattered to deceive as Senegal went out in a heartbreaking golden goal decision. Asia had its first world cup and Indians had to be content with the knowledge that India had once qualified back in the 1950s.

2006 Germany saw me with my first job after engineering in Kolkata (Cities, even if names, too change between world cups!!) working away as the greatly glorified job of being the genius third world technical problem solver for US MNCs, at a company that prided itself at having no Indian clients and whose employees prided in working in a company that was listed in NASDAQ.

Ah well, all cynicism were swept away as France, the model of ethnic unity 8 years before, now torn by ethnic strife and rise of anti-immigrant politics, looked to heroically regain glory with a visibly ageing team. A task that they almost magically grasped before footballs most famous header took it away from them. I had to hurry home from work to watch the matches on a small 14” TV in my one room guesthouse in Salt Lake. The good part was that I did not have to make any excuses to hurry home. Bengalis being Bengalis, it was an unspoken and tacit agreement throughout the city and indeed the whole state!!

In a sign of how rapidly things can change in four years, especially for those ‘starting off in their lives’, the next world cup was to see me in Shimla after having completed my MBA and having already started to feel a bit older after a heavily eventful four years. But the excitement has only grown, visibly. Forlan’s free kicks and Spain’s golden boys made the four year wait more than worthwhile. What made it even more enjoyable was the realization that I may not have been around to see it at all!!!

The gap between each World cup was filled to the brim with life that can only be appreciated by a rear view mirror. I have lost and gained so much – so many thoughts, so many convictions, so many dreams and so many people.

Each world cup seems a metaphor to me of life that goes on – enjoy while it lasts. You wonder where you would be as the next opening game kicks off and with whom. But I can promise one thing – I would still be loving every minute of it!!!

del.icio.us Tags: football,soccer,world cup,growing up,sports,history,india

History witnessed – Slovakia defeats Italy

There are some sporting moments that become marked in the collective memory of the world and which become iconic events, burnt deep into the history of the game. They are talked long after the shock, bewilderment and the euphoria has died down.

And decades down the line, people will talk in wonder about the spectacle that was. They will wonder whether they would be able to watch anything like it themselves – watch it as it unfolds, live or being physically present, not necessarily knowing at the start that they are living in a historic sporting moment but knowing fully by the end of it…

Then there will be people who would have seen it live, as it unfolded before their eyes, as history was created in their lifetime, people who were privileged to have been there, in the right place and the right time. These people would remember the moments vividly, moments when their blood would be throbbing and they would be on their feet, all aches and worries of this world forgotten…

Yesterday, I was one of the lucky millions who was a part of such a moment. And the magic was provided by one of the most extraordinary game of football that I have ever seen.

Slovakia, World Cup debutantes, with no victory in their first two matches, against all odds, defeated the defending champions Italy 3-2 in a pulsating match that had one of the most intense last 10 minutes of football ever seen. Italy ended up at the end of the group, below New Zealand!!! Who would have thought that when the world cup started? Italy and France, the finalists in 2006 WC are both out (both defeated by so called minnows – France eliminated by South Africa)

It may be a pivotal moment in world football, which in a world cup marked by many upsets (and we are still in group stages), a moment which may herald the coming of age of footballing nations which played second fiddle to the great footballing nations (Later, in the night, Japan defeated Denmark 3-1, crashing them out, first time the Danes had gone out of group stages).

It was a game that Italy had to win or atleast draw to get a safe passage into the round of 16. And everyone gave the Italians thumbs up. After all, that's how the Azzuris have their history – they are slow starters but they eventually come good. This time, the law of averages caught up with them.

For the game review, read this from the Fifa site (if the link does not work, click here)

And see the goals and the highlights of this game which along with being a historical landmark also had its more than fair share of drama and controversy (can the two be ever separate, I wonder)

 

 

The snippets and the highlights can only capture a small part of the drama of the live action when every second seemed heavily pregnant with possibilities of the game swinging any which way. The late surge by the Italians was wonderful to watch and your heart went out to the Italians as they realized the nightmare that they are living through and the nightmare that most of them would carry all their lives, this being the last world cup for the majority of the ageing Italian team.

And what better way to capture the moments than by posting some of the pivotal moments of the game, a game that would live long in the memory of those lucky to witness it…

Slovakia vs. italy 2010 WC from protik basu on Vimeo.

Perhaps the most poignant photo of all is of Cannavaro, walking back in the proverbial sunset but with no happy ending, an end that no-one would have wanted but that's the way the game goes…

del.icio.us Tags: football,world cup,slovakia,italy,upset,goals,group stage 2010,south africa