When is a game only a game? ALL THE TIME!
Okay, I'll say right off that I’m very glad India won the test match yesterday. I'm glad Sehwag got his half-century and that Tendulkar got his century.
See, I don’t have anything against cricket – at least, no more than I have against any other organised sport (I think they’re a terrible waste of money). But it IS only a game. The match was not vital in the sense that helping the victims of Mumbai was – and is – vital.
So the general attitude prevailing, that the English team rescued India from some devastating danger merely by continuing the tour, kind of gets on my nerves. This particular comment from some cricket-mad doofus made me want to bite someone/something really hard just to get rid of some of the irritation caused by his overly gushy and unnecessary gratitude.
"It was a great match given the circumstances. People of India will always be grateful to England and its cricket team for standing by its side in need of crisis. And Pieterson, you are now part of Indian cricket folklore as a hero.
gaurav, Mumbai, India"
Oh my GOD. It’s a game! A GAME! The English cricketers didn’t save India from any crisis, they just played a GAME! Why do men lose all sense of perspective when it comes to cricket?
Considering the amount of security that was set aside just for the cricketers, did the tour really have to go on? I think I read there were about 5,000 policemen and commandos to keep the players safe. Wouldn’t that have cost a lot of money, and did the BCCI or the various commercial sponsors pay for the security? If they did, this rant has no worth whatsoever - its backbone is not just broken but excised without a trace.
But … if it was the TN Government or even the Central Government that bore the costs, I think it was a shocking waste of money that could well have been given to the families of the soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in Mumbai.
Tendulkar’s dedication of his century to Mumbai is a nice gesture, but it isn’t of any material use. Now, if only the cricketers from both sides would donate all their earnings/fees from the entire tour to the victims, I would consider the tour well worth it – and think better of sports in general and cricketers in particular.
Note: I’m not sure, but were the English cricketers going to donate some money to the Mumbai victims? Sure hope so.
9 comments:
Disagree on this one.
The point is, it is only a game. And the fact that a game can take place, despite what happened, shows that things can get better - and back to normal.
Suggesting that the match shouldn't have been played is wrong on so many counts - should people not be going to offices? Or films? Or buying books? And what about other sports - should all internal tournaments and matches in badminton, tennis, chess, kho-kho be stopped?
The country needs to function as it did earlier, and cricket is India's strongest passion. QED. The fact that so many people turned up on the last day, after near-empty stands on the first three days, shows that there was a need for this match (and victory). Even if just to feel better by having won something.
Also, yes, they're all donating their money to charity.
Hooray, that's the best thing I've heard so far - that they're donating their money! GOod ol' cricketers!
Consider my backbone to be a bit cracked, if not quite broken...
Good trip, huh?
the english team announced that it would donate half the match fees. BCCI has said that it will give Rs 3 crore (i think that's the amount). agree with ??! that the game must go on and all that, but really! 5000 cops and commandos does seem a tad excessive
It's only a game, it's eating up taxpayers money, everything is true. The only positive is that the tour kind of snubs Pak, which has been fuming over the fact that no team wants to tour Pak while they're quite willing to tour India. Pak's stance is -- India is as terrorist-ridden as us so why the bias? So in a way it's good the Brits came over.
I do wish, however, they hadn't come over during the half-yearly exams ;-)
It IS only a game. And dedicating a century of runs sounds...dandy but how does it help? I agree with you. People do go overboard with cricket. Period. Life goes on anyways. I don't think we need a cricket match to prove it, but whatever. Obviously, am not a cricket fan;)
I'm so tired of cricket. I couldn't care a rat's rear who won the match. Don't you think there's too much of it anyway?
Agree completely with ??! on this. Even if I feel like Ammani does about cricket.
it is NOT only a sport. come on. i am not saying this because i am cricket crazy. it's just that this proves that we will get on with our life, our ties will only be stronger, and nothing they do is going to screw us up. see what a mess pak cricket is in. we are not in that mess. people don't mind coming here. that's a testimony. and the fact that some 90k folks turned up on the last couple of days to watch the match, shows that the public is not running scared.
and sehwag didn't just get half a century, he WON the match for us.
i am glad the English came back to India. and i am so glad not a single cricket playing nation has expressed doubts about coming here.
it does mean a lot.
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