Two incidents motivated me to write this piece: a mail I read this afternoon and my father’s reaction to a match’s highlights!
Being a huge cricket fan, I’ve had my share of praying, switching off the television when India is about to lose, shouting at the top of my voice at 1 in the morning when we lift a cup and so on. My most vivid memory was the Independence Cup at Dhaka in 1998. India was chasing Pakistan’s score of 314 and Hrishikesh Kanitkar got us through! I was in the prayer room earnestly praying, another friend crying and yet another, a millimeter away from the TV screen. It was late in the night and all the entire apartment could hear was screaming and screaming alone!
My family is known for being sports crazy, be it cricket, football, even kabaddi! So most believed that I was carrying it in my genes. It happens to this day, I do not let my mother watch the game when Sachin is batting ‘cause he gets out the minute she sits in front of the box! On the other hand, when a tense situation arises, dad and I would’ve no nails left to chew and mom, not able to see this, would bang the door and stay indoors and wait till she hears a cry of joy or otherwise!
But as my friends’ circle widened, the list just extended! Girls had cut-outs of Dravid, Kumble and now Dhoni which are countless in number. But mention must be made of two guys; one, my fiancée and two, his friend who I just know by name!
My fiancée claims to be the biggest Sachin ‘bhakt’ ever! I remember this incident when one guy, who hates Sachin, sent out a mail saying he was not GOD but the reverse! So my fiancée, Rohit, dismantled a rod from his bay and actually came running to where this guy was sitting and chased him till the entrance!!! Hilarious as it sounds, we were shocked that someone could be so crazy!
To beat this, here comes Rohit’s colleague, Ayan, who sends across a list of things he’s done to beat the fact that he’s the best bhakt and not the former! Here are some of the things this guy has done:
• Broke off with a college girlfriend b'cos I preferred watching Him bat rather than spending time with her
• Went to Melbourne and New Zealand (with posters saying Travelled 7,641 and 9,217 kms to see Sachin)
• As well as 8 stadiums in India for the sole purpose of seeing Him live (once in Chinnaswamy I just had day 1,2,3 tickets in a Test match against Pakistan and I cheered when Laxman got out hoping India would follow-on soon and I would get to see Him bat again)
• Always keep TV volume divisible by 3 when he is at the striker's end,
• Always sit on 2 cushions since that is lucky
Whew! I am already dumbfounded! And here comes my dad to top it all! The recent Compaq Cup between India and Sri Lanka which the former won – the highlights were on. As usual, we were glued to the set when Yusuf Pathan dropped the catch and my dad actually was on the edge of the seat and swore! He was aware that it was after all the highlights but emotions just took over.
Who can forget the entire theatre audience at the edge of their seats when the last ball was bowled in Lagaan? Whether it is the famous Sachin fan who travels everywhere with truck loads of paint all over him or a recent 60+ (age) gang who have come together and claimed that from now till the 2011 World Cup, they will travel wherever Sachin is playing.
BOTTOM LINE: Indians are the craziest fans of the game!
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