Thursday, November 15, 2007

Cricket Crazy Country

Some say we love cricket, some even say we eat it, sleep it and dream it too. Cricket crazy Indians, that's what we like to call ourselves. But are we really crazy about the game? Which team was the Ranji trophy winner this year? Any clue? No? But, we know for sure which cricket star is linked to which star-let. So, we are chooset about being crazy. Why? The answer lies in the word 'star'. The thin line that divides a cricketer from a cricket star determines whether Indians like to be crazy about him or not. Even much-neglected hockey's popularity depended on a star — SRK.
So, it's stardom that we, the people, are crazy about. Cricket is loved, hated, adored because of its stars, not for the game. Here at least we are in the international league. We are proud that we not only play the world cup but also have won it once. Neither football nor hockey can give us this pride. And so our pride lies only with Team India or the Men in Blue and not with the numerous other talented players who aspire to become a cricket star one day.
Take the case of Sri Lanka or the Carribean, even a school cricket match draws a crowd of over 1000 people. Moreover, Sri Lankans love cricket so much that they don't forget to mention even in orbituaries that the departed had played cricket in school. Wow, that's love, that's craze for the game.
So in this starry starry game we just weave our dreams. We become one with the glamour of the game, make it a part of our lives. We love to watch only international cricket and don’t mind missing parts of the first and last balls in every over for the ads, neither do we really feel cheated if we find out later the match we were so exited about was rigged.
The day any other sport reaches international arena and proves its mettle Indians would love to love or hate that game, say kabaddi. And we never know, we may then be called kabaddi-crazy nation.