I chased the devil for an hour, wanting to kick it as hard as i could. But it always got better of me. I gave up and sat near opposition goalpost, drained. Took off my shoes started heading to my dormitory. Just then the opportunity arrived. I slapped the ball and as the luck would have it, the ball went past the diving goalkeeper into the net. And the deadlock was broken. This was weird not because i scored the only time i touched the ball, but because i had my left shoe in my right hand when i slapped it. No more play was possible after that on that day. A food for thought for all football lovers. Next day i went for cricket. I hadn’t conquered football but in cricket i always got opportunity. I went into bat as last man for my team with more than 10 balls to spare. I lasted for 3 balls only but i felt good about it. This marked the end of my short footballing career. I have been a devout of cricket since then.
I may not be the perfect storyteller around, but this anecdote roughly explains the poor treatment of football in our country.
My theory of “See to Believe” puts television as the mother of all reasons. I have reasons to believe. Also, television brought with itself 1983 cricket world cup. The format of cricket is just tailor made for a televised show. We have a commercial after every 5 minutes in between overs which keeps all the stakeholders happy. Now compare that with football’s non stop action for 45 min with no breaks possible. Advertising is almost a no affair.
No discussion revolving around cricket is complete these days without a mention of IPL. IPL brought together Cricket and Bollywood, the Jay and Viru of Indian television. Together they were a smash hit even after 35 years. India found Ravindra Jadeja, a batsman who could not ball and a bowler who could not bat. Had it not been for IPL, “The King of good times” may have utilized his funds for his ailing airlines.
But is all gone for football? I am an optimist. HOCKEY – 6, CRICKET – 7, FOOTBALL – 8. Cricket with 7 letters followed hockey with 6. Football has 8 letters. I have reasons to believe.
One in a million numerologist will support my theory of 6 – 7 – 8 ( Hockey – Cricket – football ), but i want to be right this time. Cricket’s boom in India had a spark in the form of 1983 World Cup win. Even Indian Tennis had its moments. Sachin was injured with Tennis elbow and India found Sania Mirza. All we now need is an ignition from The God of Indian Cricket. Sachin, may be its just about the time you had a Messi knee or a Ronaldo shoulder. Then we can truly say “Cricket is the secret of Football”.