Football, Cricket and us

Dedicated to Fifa (the game).. I would be absolutely jobless without it!!! :D

Just the other day, I was wondering what makes football that is today.. And what makes cricket what it is. Luckily for me, from my balcony, I was watching 7-8 kids playing "tag" with the football. Some of the tricks they were doing were quite brilliant.

It reminded me of my childhood days when each evening, 4 30 to 6 30 was dedicated to cricket (3 matches of 8 over each) and 1 hour for discussion and bitching on other players... And the kind of hype around the games.. The post of "pellu" was the most coveted one. The best batsman had the coolest group (should mention Rudresh Bagchi here!). A member of school team was extremely revered!! I still remember how my entire school lunch sessions were spent watching class VIII bhaiyas play while I joined the group with other class V, VI to watch it.. hoping one day I will be on that pitch..

This hype makes Sachin the brand he is today.. Dhoni the icon he is.. This is what makes us idolize Ganguly when he guides India to World Cup Near Success in 2003 and curse him when he scores straight ducks...

It is this kind of passion that makes Indian Cricket team one of the best in world stage. And this is the kind of passion needed to see India in World Stage of Football... We need to encourage kids to run around that ball for hour and half, then stop and analyze themselves...

But therein lies the major problem.. We Indians, are inherently very LAZY... no offenses meant.. But we prefer keeping the wickets than to field on the boundary.. We prefer coming down one floor by lift rather than stairs.. We prefer to cross the tracks than take over-bridge..

And I believe that this very mentality has lead to India's less than impressive performance in world of sports.. For us, jogging is always an exercise and not a recreation.. Swimming a way to keep ourselves fit than to clear your mind..

And this is where parents come in.. It is how they behave in front of kids that molds them.. Mother's hatred to anything involving friends, Dad's curfew of reaching home before him.. This is what needs to be changed... Otherwise Football will just remain four-year passion for us...