Tough life? Become a journalist!

In the long gone days, Wednesday morning was something I always looked forward to. This was before internet browsing had entered my life. Wednesday was the day THE SPORTSTAR would be delivered at my doorstep. That was the only day when I would beat my parents to bringing the print media inside the house. And once the SPORTSTAR was in my lap, browsing the issue was the habit.....browsing until I reached the Harsha Bhogle article, that is.

Harsha has been a favourite of anyone and everyone for a long time. His common man outlook and passion for the game (besides being the non-controversial host) has lead to this scenario. His latest article is another of those articulate ones that follows a good balancing act. I, though, have to fill in some of the blank spaces and the untouched areas.

When I was younger, I thought that the press vs players battle was an easy one for the players. The press was at the complete mercy of the players for comments and insights, was my perception. Over the years though, this viewpoint has undergone a radical change, and not without reason. Azharudin's demeanour underwent a sea change during the mid-90s and I for one, place a majority of the blame at the doorstep of the media. Every single low score of his was linked to the presence of the new lady (now wife) in his life. And this was in respectable newspapers. I recall picking up a copy of some magazine at a saloon hoping for some beautiful pics - rather, pictures of some beautiful people - and instead finding pictures of a spotting of Azhar with his erstwhile girlfriend at a hotel. Ganguly went through something similar (during a successful period for Indian cricket). And all this is mild and conservative intrusion when compared to the harassment that Warne/Eriksson/any footballer go through in their lives.

Harsha rightly points out that none of this can prevent anyone from scoring runs or taking wickets. But, let us remember that anyone and everyone goes through hard times. Which is precisely when the 'vulture like' qualities of the press ensures that someone who is down stays down. Personal vendettas are staged with the 'good of the game' as the excuse. Public opinion is turned against the players who already face a huge battle to find elusive form. Enormous 'unfair' pressure is exerted. Thereby making a comeback doubly difficult. And make no mistake, there is a single all encompassing motivation for all this....THE NEED FOR A STORY, ANY STORY!

Spiderman's 'With great power comes great responsibility' is something I dismissed as a cheesy one-liner when I first saw it. However, events in life (both recent and past) have made me sing a different tune to that very same caption. So much so, that I now own a DVD copy of both the Spiderman movies, with the second one being a particular favourite!

Getting back to the main story, the press with its wide reach wields absolute power. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can ask the BCCI board members/players/anyone under the sun to show honour and commitment to the job and then publish something like this. That's the kind of power they wield. All Power and NO RESPONSIBILITY. Life sure is a bed of roses.

Hope Harsha or someone of the same ilk can talk about that sometime....for once, do it for the 'good of the game'!