Our answer? Because it’s OUR team, you morons! O-U-R team. India. The men in blue.
We don't support this team because it's the best team in the world. Or because it's filled with good looking hunks. Or opening batsmen. Or great scientists. Or whatever.
We support this team because they play for India. And, in case you haven't noticed, we're Indians.
Stay with it, little one. Stay with it. Don't let them tell you any different.
I'm no apologist for the team. I think our approach to fielding is woefully hopeless. I agree that our bowlers and batsmen are too indisciplined, too inconsistent, to provide us with anything more than patches of brilliance (but WHAT brilliance!). And no, I don't think we're going to win the world cup.
So, what do you want me to do? Paint my face yellow and support Australia? Sounds ridiculous? Exactly.
It’s all about loyalty, you superficial palookas. That’s why people support Atletico Bilbao. Or Charlton Athletic. Or Tim Henman. Or England. Or India. Loss after loss after heartbreaking loss. That’s what real supporters do. That’s what makes them different from fair-weather fans who will guzzle the bubbly during the good times, and change the channel during the bad.
Yes, we'll castigate the selectors. We'll say that Suresh Raina needs a kick up the backside. We'll dream of throwing the fast bowlers off a plane. We'll crucify the captain and make plans to assassinate the coach.
But when the game begins, we'll be there. When a single wicket falls, we'll dream of an impossible recovery. When a tailender finds the boundary, we'll start hoping for cricket miracles. We'll believe in our hearts what we can never conceive with our minds.
Because that's what we do, us cricket fans.
That's why none of you outsiders will ever know the sweetness we feel when India wins. I hope you're happy waiting for The DaVinci Code 2, or the next Shah Rukh blockbuster, or whatever. Because we have a world cup to look forward to.
P.S. - I lost a large number of posts due to some technical issue with wordpress. This article is a reconstruction - and may differ slightly from the original. Also, all the comments were lost, so I'm putting them all up in one lot. Thanks for visiting.
SRT
ReplyDeleteGreat post Anand. Agree with you in toto. If you want to join other Indian fans, visit this site: http://indiancricketfans.com
Onejubb
way to go.......aravind murali couldnt agree with you more!!......and im soure i speak for vishwanathan srinivasan and tony chacko as well......bring on the world cup.......and the small matter of the SA series!!...
Svasti
Two thumbs up!!!! In other words, India Rocks (even when it doesn't :)
Sumant
ooh aah south africa (series).
Ranjit
I even support the Indians in the other teams - chanderpaul and sarwan in windies, jeetan patel in NZ, monty for england and the whole bangladeshi, sri lankan and pakistani teams (when they're not playing against India of course :)) but well said, that's been my philosophy as well.
Sports Snob
err.. you really cant complain the Indian cricket team to ANY of the other examples. We are infinitely more successful than a Charlton Athletic! I would say we are the Tottenham Hotspur of world cricket! Not poor, not brilliant..just mediocre with flashes of brilliance!
But nice article. My sentiments exactly.
Gowri Shankar
I beg to differ.Our players are just spoilt brats and they should be brought down to earth.For all the love & support we show them, they return the favor with inconsistent bowling, pathetic fielding and 'poor batting form'.This is what irritates me.I shall NEVER forget the 2003 WC finals!
Adi
Support is fine, but you shud make sure that they dont take u for granted. remember, unconditional love of mother spoils the child, this seems to be the case at present.
a poetry, a perfectly expressed emotion, a passion, a hope, a well shaped lass, a sexy description, a philosophy, a musical rhythm, a shared cigarette, a peg of old monk, a drama, an amitabh hit, a lata mangeshkar melody, a kishore kumar yoddle, a peg of old monk, and above all
ReplyDeleteA VOICE OF INDIA.
Nice words Anand and a true illustration of Team India fans. Hope there is more to come.
.
its not like you've said anything spectacularyl new, anand- but you're spot on- this needs to be felt and said every so often for thos like a couple here, who think that support is dependant on performance.
ReplyDeletecheers
A cool blog man...
ReplyDeletegood job...
[...] Anand explains why despite everything, he still supports the Indian cricket team. Spoken like a true fan! [...]
ReplyDeleteWell said mate! Some muppets do not grasp the basics of fanaticism!
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ReplyDeleteu dog .. good for nothing. get lost
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