Ever so often, the buildup to a big game often overshadows the game itself. Besides reports in the mainstream media, the blogworld contributes its fair share to the same. This is an essential ingredient and adds a whole lot of excitement to the event. While the game itself might turn out to be a dull one, the stakes are so high that it wouldn't matter one jot to the winner, their fans and the neutrals.
As I write, the Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool is less than 24 hours away. Reports of the key battles across the pitch, the mood across the different camps, the unavoidable shadow of the 2005 final between the same teams are being discussed and debated. Soon enough BBC Sport will start its buildup wherein, readers across the world will be updated with information about the fans traveling to Athens, their activities, their whereabouts and their demeanours. Further, readers will send out their own thoughts and comments, some well informed and others outrageously stupid. Some will send out frustrated yelps about co-workers and their better halves, while others will vent out their anger against the bonehead sitting in front of the TV. Humor will be omnipresent. It will be subtle but will linger long in memory.
As for the viewing experience, the unfortunate reality is that, the local time noon kickoff dulls some of the excitement built up. While it does enable me to watch the game through an extended lunch break that extends further if the game goes into extra-time and penalties, sitting in a break room at work, with bright sunshine pouring in just does not cut it. In addition, ever so often, an unfortunate soul would wander in, stare cluelessly at the three or so individuals gaping open mouthed at the screen, and launch a grand inquisition about the tournament, the stature of it and the identity of the teams contesting it. Going home for these games offers a better deal, but it involves a lot of effort and worse, my reputation at work takes a battering, since it does not take too long for my peers to figure out the reason for my prolonged absence from work during a Wednesday afternoon. So, break room it is.
The absence of Manchester United in the final lineup means that I will be devoid of any stomach churning moments during this final. Unfortunately, they lost out to a great Milan performance during the semifinal. On the other side, Liverpool and Chelsea agreed that football wasn't their strength and that they would contest a game of chess to decide the winner. After hours of tedium, a coin toss was used to end the misery. Now, I will be ardently egging on Milan for the simple reason that both Wayne Rooney and I would be throwing up if Liverpool won the trophy.
When it comes to action on the pitch, I intend to have my eye out for Kaka livening up the proceedings while on his invisible pair of roller skates. The man is a marvel. Further, the Gattuso versus Gerrard battle promises much and has added needle to it considering the public slanging that has been going on between the two over the past couple of weeks.
Glory be to Milan!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Carribean thoughts
By all accounts, cricket did itself no favors during this World Cup. Supposedly, the carnival atmosphere associated with cricket watching in that part of the world was sorely lacking due to a multitude of reasons. Further, the ICC has been criticized for not taking the necessary steps to avoid the issues of World Cup'03 cropping up this time. Indeed, the complaint list of the two editions looks very similar - too many minnows, tournament too long, not too many close matches and of course, an inevitable winner. Strange, since my memory of the 2003 edition comprises of some gut wrenching moments, quite often followed by some serene celebratory ones. Clearly, my disillusionment with WC'07 has a lot to do with India's early exit. Having said that, as a neutral observer who always enjoys a good game of cricket, I have to admit that empty stands for the high profile clashes did make for a depressing viewing experience.
Compiling a comprehensive list of favorite highs and depressing lows does not interest me since I would have to do so based on reading experience rather than a viewing one. However, amidst the action that I caught the stumping of Brian Lara by Sangakkara of the bowling of Vaas stands out. West Indies were chasing Lanka's fighting total. They were two down already with dangerman Gayle gone. Lara was at the crease and had to carry the team if the West Indies wanted to avoid early elimination. Sangakkara was standing up to the stumps to Vaas as he did most often during this World Cup. Vaas bowled a delivery at 78 mph outside the off stump. Lara went for an expansive cover drive and missed. Sangakkara collected it without a hint of difficulty and in one fluid motion removed the bails, finding Lara inches outside his crease. There was fair praise for the dismissal considering that it was key one, however, in my opinion, not anywhere close to the amount it merited. My jaw dropped when I saw it. It remains the best piece of cricketing action that I caught during this World Cup.
I am quite aware of keepers standing up to bowlers of the medium pace category these days. Nevertheless, this was the first time that I noticed someone pull of a stumping. It was a show of skill that would have adorned any World Cup final. On that note, for this trend to become popular and worthwhile for a fielding captain, it requires two to tango. A keeper of supreme reflexes along with a bowler who can pitch it on a dot 60 out of 60 deliveries. Needless to say, India is not going to be seen doing it anytime in the near future.
Having witnessed that, reading about Buchanan's thoughts on developing the synergy between keeper and bowler a la baseball kindled my interest. Given that batsman are often able to pre-determine their strokes and jump out of the crease even to the pace bowlers, improved communication between keeper and bowler can be one way to rein them in. This is still a while away from becoming mainstream, but I think that there is huge potential to research this idea.
Undoubtedly, Woolmer's death cast the biggest shadow over the event. I had dropped my uncle at the LA airport and was buckling up to drive back to San Diego, when my friend, Rasan, called me and broke the news that Woolmer had died. I can't claim to have been heartbroken, because I was not, but the news was quite a shock. I recall continuing to discuss the news with a sad overtone for a while through the drive. Looking back, what stood out from the conversation was the fact that both of us took it for granted that it was a heart attack and nothing else. We tried to figure out exact reasons for the heart attack and wondered where cricket on the subcontinent was heading.
Before the ugly truth of murder was revealed, assuming that Woolmer took Pakistan's defeat to Ireland to heart, one of the locals said, "Even da biggest team can lose to little team, man. It a game, and da ball round". The cause of death has changed. The truth remains the same though.
I must admit that if the quote was "even the biggest team can lose to a little team. It is a game and the ball is round", the meaning would have been the same, but the impact, not so much. The unique use of words and the accent that goes with it adds an unquantifiable allure to this immortal quote. The quote s-p-e-l-l-s out the meaning and significance of a sport to us. Along with it, in one sweeping move it captures the well documented spirit of the volunteers at this World Cup and their refreshing outlook on life. An easily missed positive.
Compiling a comprehensive list of favorite highs and depressing lows does not interest me since I would have to do so based on reading experience rather than a viewing one. However, amidst the action that I caught the stumping of Brian Lara by Sangakkara of the bowling of Vaas stands out. West Indies were chasing Lanka's fighting total. They were two down already with dangerman Gayle gone. Lara was at the crease and had to carry the team if the West Indies wanted to avoid early elimination. Sangakkara was standing up to the stumps to Vaas as he did most often during this World Cup. Vaas bowled a delivery at 78 mph outside the off stump. Lara went for an expansive cover drive and missed. Sangakkara collected it without a hint of difficulty and in one fluid motion removed the bails, finding Lara inches outside his crease. There was fair praise for the dismissal considering that it was key one, however, in my opinion, not anywhere close to the amount it merited. My jaw dropped when I saw it. It remains the best piece of cricketing action that I caught during this World Cup.
I am quite aware of keepers standing up to bowlers of the medium pace category these days. Nevertheless, this was the first time that I noticed someone pull of a stumping. It was a show of skill that would have adorned any World Cup final. On that note, for this trend to become popular and worthwhile for a fielding captain, it requires two to tango. A keeper of supreme reflexes along with a bowler who can pitch it on a dot 60 out of 60 deliveries. Needless to say, India is not going to be seen doing it anytime in the near future.
Having witnessed that, reading about Buchanan's thoughts on developing the synergy between keeper and bowler a la baseball kindled my interest. Given that batsman are often able to pre-determine their strokes and jump out of the crease even to the pace bowlers, improved communication between keeper and bowler can be one way to rein them in. This is still a while away from becoming mainstream, but I think that there is huge potential to research this idea.
Undoubtedly, Woolmer's death cast the biggest shadow over the event. I had dropped my uncle at the LA airport and was buckling up to drive back to San Diego, when my friend, Rasan, called me and broke the news that Woolmer had died. I can't claim to have been heartbroken, because I was not, but the news was quite a shock. I recall continuing to discuss the news with a sad overtone for a while through the drive. Looking back, what stood out from the conversation was the fact that both of us took it for granted that it was a heart attack and nothing else. We tried to figure out exact reasons for the heart attack and wondered where cricket on the subcontinent was heading.
Before the ugly truth of murder was revealed, assuming that Woolmer took Pakistan's defeat to Ireland to heart, one of the locals said, "Even da biggest team can lose to little team, man. It a game, and da ball round". The cause of death has changed. The truth remains the same though.
I must admit that if the quote was "even the biggest team can lose to a little team. It is a game and the ball is round", the meaning would have been the same, but the impact, not so much. The unique use of words and the accent that goes with it adds an unquantifiable allure to this immortal quote. The quote s-p-e-l-l-s out the meaning and significance of a sport to us. Along with it, in one sweeping move it captures the well documented spirit of the volunteers at this World Cup and their refreshing outlook on life. An easily missed positive.
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