It has indeed taken four years to remind the world about what one sport can do in bringing everyone together. While the World Cup in Germany has done more than enough to grasp and glue the viewers' attention, other games are quite perceivably falling behind. The other day, I got an SMS from my mate, who wanted updates from the tennis match between Nadal and Lubijic ! Unfortunately, the tennis fan in me took a backseat and it took me no time to put my football jersey on, and that poor friend was perhaps distraught me being naive to the courts ! Another fine incident that I can personally relate to was the choice between the slack cricket match between India and the West Indies or the gruelling encounter between England and Paraguay. Obviously, being an English fan, my hands held sway from the remote and cricket got termed into a lagger, of course with no regrets.
It must be known that apart from the Olympics, the World Cup has a larger appeal. The Olympics is more of a worldwide phenomenon and automatically the 200-odd countries participating in them have their people gripped with anxiety, enthusiasm and passion. But, football unravels a different yet charming story. Having put through the grind in the qualifiers, 191 teams try and vouch for the 31 vacant spots in the Finals (the hosts are automatic qualifiers). And once these teams qualify for the World Cup, there is a telling hysteria that grips their respective nation. A hysteria that blends itself with an acute amount of anxiety and an equal amount of expectation. And what more, the marketing of the game has been done in a professional and immaculate manner that even the non-qualifying nations have a large say in the viewership charts. For example, even with cricket being the number-one sport in the sub-continent, there are little takers for the ongoing India vs West Indies matches as compared to the FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Another question it raises is about other sports - like tennis, cricket, golf and the second most popular sport after football - F1, vying for their share of viewership ? The worst affected sport seems tennis. I am sure given the current hype and hoopla about Germany, France's very own Roland Garros seems a smaller place to be in. Tennis in its own way has given birth to many a rivalries, and none bigger than the emerging one between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Be it the off-court mouth-slinging or be it the intense baseline battles, this contest has surely exceeded expectations and promises to enthrall its takers. Another sport that would feel the heat would be F1. Apart from football and to an extent tennis, F1 has a large following all over the world and will surely lose its ground to football when it comes to viewership. And if the race collides with some of the matches, it will have a few loyalists glued to the TV sets, but there is a heavy chance of defection of passions to football ! Cricket, most certainly bites the dust in the sub-continent, with India's tour of Windies going hand-in-hand with the kick-off timings at Germany. It will be a challenge to red-card this immense sense of euphoria that has surrounded the world.
This World Cup will surely be the grandest of them all. And five matches down, it is already becoming a World Cup - where goals will be scored, players will be booked and of course as proved by Trinidad & Tobago yesterday, unscripted stories will be written. It has surely achieved its goal in galvanizing the world through its motto of "Its time to make friends" ! The FIFA World Cup 2006, even though in its initial formative stages has left a huge unerasable mark on the viewer that only threatens to grow as the tournament moves on...
It must be known that apart from the Olympics, the World Cup has a larger appeal. The Olympics is more of a worldwide phenomenon and automatically the 200-odd countries participating in them have their people gripped with anxiety, enthusiasm and passion. But, football unravels a different yet charming story. Having put through the grind in the qualifiers, 191 teams try and vouch for the 31 vacant spots in the Finals (the hosts are automatic qualifiers). And once these teams qualify for the World Cup, there is a telling hysteria that grips their respective nation. A hysteria that blends itself with an acute amount of anxiety and an equal amount of expectation. And what more, the marketing of the game has been done in a professional and immaculate manner that even the non-qualifying nations have a large say in the viewership charts. For example, even with cricket being the number-one sport in the sub-continent, there are little takers for the ongoing India vs West Indies matches as compared to the FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Another question it raises is about other sports - like tennis, cricket, golf and the second most popular sport after football - F1, vying for their share of viewership ? The worst affected sport seems tennis. I am sure given the current hype and hoopla about Germany, France's very own Roland Garros seems a smaller place to be in. Tennis in its own way has given birth to many a rivalries, and none bigger than the emerging one between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Be it the off-court mouth-slinging or be it the intense baseline battles, this contest has surely exceeded expectations and promises to enthrall its takers. Another sport that would feel the heat would be F1. Apart from football and to an extent tennis, F1 has a large following all over the world and will surely lose its ground to football when it comes to viewership. And if the race collides with some of the matches, it will have a few loyalists glued to the TV sets, but there is a heavy chance of defection of passions to football ! Cricket, most certainly bites the dust in the sub-continent, with India's tour of Windies going hand-in-hand with the kick-off timings at Germany. It will be a challenge to red-card this immense sense of euphoria that has surrounded the world.
This World Cup will surely be the grandest of them all. And five matches down, it is already becoming a World Cup - where goals will be scored, players will be booked and of course as proved by Trinidad & Tobago yesterday, unscripted stories will be written. It has surely achieved its goal in galvanizing the world through its motto of "Its time to make friends" ! The FIFA World Cup 2006, even though in its initial formative stages has left a huge unerasable mark on the viewer that only threatens to grow as the tournament moves on...
2 comments:
Nice post.. :-)
I'm not much of a follower of soccer myself..but can't help notice how living rooms, pubs and restaurants have been converted into football-viewing arenas, overnight.
I used to cheer for Italy while my bro was amogst us, but now that Baggio has left...the team looks a bit dry.
Let's hope this world cup springs some surprises...Trinidad and Tobago are definitely looking good, more so with their goalkeeper like an inpenetrable wall..
I'm a bong..so soccer definitely is running somewhere in my veins..my dad was a club goalkeeper in Kolkata during his hey-days..
regards,
arco
PS: I guess you dunno me much, but I've herd a lot about you from Raj. I'm currently at VES, TY Journo. Cheers!
Nice post! but your frequency is a bit less now a days! also this was a more general post saying things that most people are aware of. i mean same perspectives. Some of your earlier ones were different.
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