Sunday, April 1, 2007

Hmm,which one are you?

Witnessing our team's 'wonderful' performance in the world cup and observing the barrage of brickbats thereafter, has set me thinking about this phenomenon that I will call the 'taking fanaticism to ludicrous lengths' phenomenon.
I must admit, I was totally shocked at the performance and lapsed into depression the day after myself, but never once did I think of undertaking the sort of character assassination that I have seen undertaken by all and sundry who pose to be 'critics' and worse, responsible media, a term I think is fast losing credibility in this country. So I decided to pen down the various prototypes of fans I have observed. I'm sure there are many many more... Anyway, here goes:
1) I will die for the game-
I mean this literally!Needs no exlanation. I'm shocked at the value given to human life.
2) I will vary between volcanic extremes-
India has won????!!!! yippee yaay, best team in the world, bengal tiger, karnataka lion, mumbai cheetah all walk the earth like a colossus in my estimation. India has lost- banish the team! Throw them into the depths of the pacific! The 'system' has to be changed.
3) Iam a fan of the game-
The result does not matter, its the game that does. Sagely wisdom about the state of the pitch or that little extra bounce that made all the difference bursts forth in a sort of dignified fury.
4) I knew the team would lose-
Good for nothing, paper tigers, arm chair critic par excellence, but not so offensive. A resigned sort of pessimism rules. I dont know why we bother to watch this godforsaken game and yet (in an aside all to myself), next time India is on TV, I'll watch from the tarot card forecast and of course criticize everyhting from the batsman/bowler ratio in the side, to that chap fielding at mid-on who seems to be lacking that 'fire in his belly' and moves as if a 100 pound weight has been chained onto his foot. Will I secretly pray for that victory?!of course!!!!!!
5) I'm the superstitious one par excellence-
Oh god,lets have a private deal-let India win, no I'm sorry, India has to win, I mean its fated right?!!! Its written in the stars, These are our demi gods, our superhero's. The must slay the enemy.
6) I'm the cool dude-
Hey chill yaar, its just a game, win some lose some. Is it so surprising, its our beloved Indian team after all. Hehehee, meanwhile, I will go to office and create those forwards or wait for those forwards that so usefully make my company's coffer jingle and jangle!

As for me, I fall between 3,4 and 6 with a bit of 5 thrown in depending on the situation. Its difficult to typecast to the nth degree, these are like sunsigns I guess, just basic patterns of behaviour.
My aim here was not to offend anyone or to defend myself, but just to share some of my observations, with which you may or may not agree. The only thing that I would like to reitrate here again and again is give those poor boys a break, they are our own and if we dont support them who will?

22 comments:

Vaibhav said...

auntyyyy...tht was an awesome observation...i'll make u the head of the indian balmy army!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for part 1 of ur comments, no thanks for part 2.lol

sansmerci said...

add number 7:
i don care i don follow nethin but i still send fwds about them n spend my day at work !!!

anyways very nice work .. keep writing more often babe !

Arvind said...

Very Good Ramya!! Well written!! Keep it up...

Anonymous said...

@Sans and Arvind, ur esteemed comments are valued:)

Ram said...

3 comes the closest in defining me. 5 sometimes :D

Inderjit V M said...

Frankly...its a very interesting point of perspective from a gal for a game which is not so famous topic in the girl's chit cat.

Coming to the topic. I would say India have got a very good cricket team but bot so good cricket fans. We loose or win i would still support the men blue and say ooh aah India aaya India... Cheers. inderjit.vm@gmail.com

Sarathy said...

well written machi!!

There is one more category. THE SCAVENGERS!! waiting in silence for a collapse so that they can pounce on it like hounds on a carcass.
That's where I'd put Ian Chappel!!

Unknown said...

Glad to see some activity on your blog again :)

Shreya said...

Good post!! Though I still maintain that I am objective fan- I will not blindly support them because they are OUR team. They need to know that they cannot saunter into a championship tournament without being prepared looking tired and despirited. They seriously needed to make less ads and promotional films for India to win the WC and train harder!!

Vignesh said...

most ppl probably fit into one of ur 6 but there are many ppl who ll be interested in seeing wat dineshkarthik,raina,kaif,yuvraj can achieve in the future...can they surpass sachin,dravid,ganguly,kumble in terms of winning something big for our country..btw they did win us the under19 world cup..so tht mite be an indicator..eh..i mite be the die-hard fan tht u were talkin abt!!!!

Anonymous said...

@Ram, glad to know abt ur private deal with God sometimes.lolz

@Inder, I know lady cricket fan's aren't common, but hopefully our breed is increasing.kool to seea die hard fan, lets look fwd to 20-20 WC:)

@Vijay, absolutely agree with u there!!!!Ian Chappel, Sidhu all need to be packed off!

@Anty, thanks u thank u!

@Shreya, chill babe, thanks for the comment:)

@Vinay, even I'm very interested to know what these youngsters do. I htink karthik is a definite find and I think Yuvraj can be moulded,Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for great things!:)

Unknown said...

Gr8 views..I am of course a die hard fan of the game and an ardent supporter of the Team whether we win or lose...let us be dignified in our loss and watch the world cup...

Anonymous said...

@ Shree, thanks!:)

Unknown said...

good work ramya, didnt know you were so much into blogging, keep it up, write more ..seems to be a good mode of entertainment !!

Anonymous said...

ya di its good fun, thanks will do, I get inspired just once a month:)

Jagadeesh said...

romba peel panathenga
bangladesh super 8 pokattumuthan india appadi velaiyadunanga
indiavoda nalla manasai yarum purinjukkala ...
mmmm.

Rider on the Storm said...

There's also another type...the one that watches Football instead :)

Ram said...

ok...it's that time of the month! time for a new post :P

Anonymous said...

@Rider, if you watch football, ur not a cricket fan, not in the sense I visualized at least.:)

Anonymous said...

@ram ya man hopefully Sunday:)

Ram said...

May is almost over! :P