For God's sakes, its just a game!!

I couldn't bear to watch anymore. We were going down. Digging our own grave. Getting ready to pack our bags. And still why do I hope? Well, because I'm an Indian of course!

What am I writing about something that is happening thousands of miles away at 3AM? Well what else could it be? The cricket match between India and Sri Lanka .... That I am not a cricket fanatic who has Sachin's statistics or the Indian cricket team's history on my fingertips could seem a little out of the ordinary. But like every other Indian I would want the Indians to win the World cup... It seems a distant dream as of now, and with every passing wicket, a dream fading into thin air...

Cricket has been hyped by the media to crazy heights. That a national news channel makes the match its headline news seems really nuts.... to me at least. All it does it put more pressure on the players. Being disappointed when your team loses is one thing. Expressing it in words is okay... But burning effigies and attacking homes is quite another thing. Whats with the people of this country? Dont we have better jobs to do? I think its a vicious circle and the media has a big part to play in it . ( Some may say I'm just attacking the media for the heck of it. But staying outside India, the media is your only connection to what's happening at home and you tend to become more of a news junkie that you were. I check the websites of CNN-IBN, Times Now, NDTV and The Hindu at least thrice a day! ) But the fact is that these channels turn their limelight on whatever they can grab for the moment. That's the only way they can keep their viewers and their ratings. So it conveniently becomes a way to become famous on national television to sell kidneys to attend the world cup. This in turn galvanizes the channels into another frenzy of coverage... And the circle is never broken.

I think whats really needed at this point is to realise that cricket is just a game. Its meant to be enjoyed . Not politicised, commercialised, raped on national television for its failures. Its definitely not worth losing lives over.

Anand Vasu of cricinfo points out here that what the team needs to understand that its not about what others think of them , but what they do on the field that matters. And that for while, they should think of it as just a game between bat and ball and do what they do best and do it for the country and more importantly, enjoy doing it. The players seem to be appearing on TV more on commercials than on the field. To me it seems that they have stopped loving their game . That they have begun seeing it as a stressful job to just play in the team. With a billion expectations resting on their shoulders, its not hard to imagine why.

I cant bear to watch the match. Even on cricinfo it seems painful...

But me being an optimist , I believe in taking away the best from any situation...

Situation 1 : India Wins : Well and good.. we progress, holding on to the thin threads of hope that we have and maybe even make it to the semis ( Lets go one step at a time fellas. Semis first and then maybe, just maybe the finals..)

Situation 2: India Loses ( ouch!! even typing that out sounds bad! ):

The Nation : The media goes beserk again. India's loss becomes front page news, ousting our most favourite pastime of politics. Speculations run amok. People lose faith in the team ( for a while. And then another victory against Bermuda and were back to hoping that we will win the next ten world cups in the current form )

The 'boys' : Pack the bags. Head back home. Let the losses to sink in. Get back to their homes and families and take some time off live the non-cricketing lives. And then do what every army does. Rebuild. Cricket 101. Back to the basics. Most of what went wrong is in the mind. They should get back to the basics and begin to enjoy what they do. Complacency can be a cruel teacher.