Emotions must be controlled when it comes to sport

Yuvraj Singh

It was 1996. I was 8 and completely enthralled by a phenomena known as Cricket World Cup. I made it a point to cram up all the figures and stats that were available in the build up to the World Cup. I could tell you how many centuries Tendulkar has scored. I could even recite to you the number of wickets Courtney Walssh required to match Richard Hadlee.

It was a special occasion indeed as the World Cup was being played in the Indian subcontinent and people were going crazy. There was a certain euphoria that cannot be overstated today.

That was when cricket as a game was at its peak. Fast forward 18 years and we find a game reeling under its own past reputation and constantly failing to live upto it. I, who considered myself to be the greatest cricket fan ever (we all do that, c’mon), haven’t watched a cricket match in years.

People used to hold banners that read “Cricket is our religion”, followed by “Sachin is our God”. A cold but growing feeling was burdening me. Was cricket, as a game, coming to the end of its reign after the great man’s retirement? Come to think of it, even India-Pakistan clashes have lost the fervour they used to have in recent past.

And then it all changed a few days ago. The T20 final was upon us and India, as is the norm, “united” once again to witness magic in the making. Only it wasn’t to be. Our team lost and once again the Indian audience/viewers/fans or whatever they call themselves nowadays, pelted stones at Yuvraj’s house. Probably the same people who had pelted stones at Mohammad Kaif’s house 10 years earlier after a disappointing start to the World Cup. Or at Sourav Ganguly’s house before that. Do I see a pattern here?

It made me realize that maybe the enigma for cricket is not ending. That should be a good thing. But then when enigma turns into hooligan-ism, it creates havoc. This is the same Yuvraj Singh who famously hit six 6s in the 2007 World T20 which India eventually won. This is the same Yuvraj Singh who was diagnosed with cancer and returned to the game after a year of fighting with the disease.

This was a pathetic act of shamelessness and should be rightly condemned. In probably no other country will athletes get such treatment. England fans have a reputation for being wild but they haven’t pelted homes of their football or cricket players even after decades of mediocrity and not winning anything.

Cricket is a passion in India, something to be admired. But the violence is unwelcome. The players deserve criticism for their bad performances. That’s what the coach, the board, the captain and the media is there for. We, as fans, have a responsibility to enjoy the game while appreciating the efforts being put into the show by the players. We can condemn them, abuse them but violence is just taking it a bit too far. Each and every game has ups and downs. Nobody can maintain their good form over a stretched period and that is an established fact.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the show because its just a game, not a religion as most would have you believe and the players on the field are just humans.