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Nehru Cup Comment: Looking Beyond The Obvious
Yes. India have had a poor start to their Nehru Cup campaign but amidst all the negativity, there is a silver lining...
21-Aug-2009 10:50:57 AM
To once
again speak about Wednesday’s game would be repetitive. I would rather look at
things from a different angle altogether.
Rewind: It’s Wednesday evening and, in my efforts to maintain sanity while bearing the acute headache which has lasted for the last week or so, as the match is to kick-off, I call out:
“Switch to Zee Sports.”
My mom inquires: “Who’s playing?”
“India,” I answer.
The boring serials on some female protagonist which are usually being watched at my place are replaced for once with a football match!
The game has begun with India conceding early and my mom is already bored. As I speak to our reporter Amoy Ghoshal, who is in New Delhi, asking him for the names, and to specify, I wanted the Lebanese ones.
“Do you know the names of the players?” I asked.
“No...Ah only Bhaichung,” came the reply.
I began to wonder what’s wrong with Amoy or maybe the change of weather and of course, the presence of too much grass (read: weed!) at the Ambedkar Stadium would have caused him to lose his judgement.
“I shall send you the list. Come on gtalk,” answered Amoy.
As I disconnected, I realised it was my mom who replied earlier. Therein began the thought process.
Of course, Bhaichung is the face of Indian football for many. Why? Primarily because he played in England and the reason which Mohun Bagan would love to ignore. Have you heard of Jhalak Dikkhla Jha?! I haven’t, to be honest!
When a tournament is organised in India, it doesn’t matter what problems and issues come up, as it ensures that the game is being watched and read by Indians all across. It generates interest and passion amongst the people, who otherwise wouldn’t even care to bother about Indian football and its plight.
Are We Interested In Indian National Team?
They aren’t even distantly concerned as to whether India has dropped in the latest FIFA rankings. But they shall follow in whichever way they feel comfortable.
India lost, critics chimed. The Indian team had to face the music. While one may be tempted to answer the so-called experts but if one looks at the larger picture, it’s definitely an encouraging sign as pointed by Mahesh Gawli as well.
Very often, you hear federations of ‘other’ sports, or rather the non-cricket ones, raise the issue of them not getting an equal treatment from the media and the sponsors.
“Unfortunately it is true in our country that except cricket, others struggle to get sponsorship,” the Indian FA acting president, Praful Patel had earlier said this month.
The question is why would they? Why should anyone carry football stories as their lead ones? Even the most biased editor wouldn’t do it?
There are seldom any international matches being played in the country despite the enormous interest in the people’s game by the people of India. But when the tournament is organised, you can see the level of coverage given.
Today, you have papers discussing the ‘why’ issues of India’s loss, experts commenting and what not. What does it show?
People taking an avid interest in the Indian national team as very often the media dishes out what the people want to read, or to better phrase it, what sells.
The ‘who cares’ attitude has been replaced with the questioning mindset; which is certainly a paradigm shift resulting in more eyeballs.
Many claim that the renewed interest in the activities of the national team is due to the ‘much publicized’ tours to Dubai and Barcelona. Yes, when you spend a big amount, the pressure to deliver follows behind like a shadow and as does the people’s interest. In case, you are interested in doing a case study on this please refer to Chelsea when Roman Abramovich took over or Manchester City’s Sheikh Revolution.
But the primary reason is that the game is popular and if you play in India, it shall help you reach the audience better.
In view of the above mentioned points, whether India does well at the Nehru Cup or doesn’t, it’s a win-win situation for the game in general. If they do well, the positive aspects shall be highlighted while if they don’t, the negative ones would hog the headlines. As it’s said: Good publicity or bad publicity, publicity is publicity.
By this, I don’t mean that Indian football fraternity is looking for publicity, but it’s what they essentially need!
Rahul Bali.
Rewind: It’s Wednesday evening and, in my efforts to maintain sanity while bearing the acute headache which has lasted for the last week or so, as the match is to kick-off, I call out:
“Switch to Zee Sports.”
My mom inquires: “Who’s playing?”
“India,” I answer.
The boring serials on some female protagonist which are usually being watched at my place are replaced for once with a football match!
The game has begun with India conceding early and my mom is already bored. As I speak to our reporter Amoy Ghoshal, who is in New Delhi, asking him for the names, and to specify, I wanted the Lebanese ones.
“Do you know the names of the players?” I asked.
“No...Ah only Bhaichung,” came the reply.
I began to wonder what’s wrong with Amoy or maybe the change of weather and of course, the presence of too much grass (read: weed!) at the Ambedkar Stadium would have caused him to lose his judgement.
“I shall send you the list. Come on gtalk,” answered Amoy.
As I disconnected, I realised it was my mom who replied earlier. Therein began the thought process.
Of course, Bhaichung is the face of Indian football for many. Why? Primarily because he played in England and the reason which Mohun Bagan would love to ignore. Have you heard of Jhalak Dikkhla Jha?! I haven’t, to be honest!
When a tournament is organised in India, it doesn’t matter what problems and issues come up, as it ensures that the game is being watched and read by Indians all across. It generates interest and passion amongst the people, who otherwise wouldn’t even care to bother about Indian football and its plight.
Are We Interested In Indian National Team?
They aren’t even distantly concerned as to whether India has dropped in the latest FIFA rankings. But they shall follow in whichever way they feel comfortable.
India lost, critics chimed. The Indian team had to face the music. While one may be tempted to answer the so-called experts but if one looks at the larger picture, it’s definitely an encouraging sign as pointed by Mahesh Gawli as well.
Very often, you hear federations of ‘other’ sports, or rather the non-cricket ones, raise the issue of them not getting an equal treatment from the media and the sponsors.
“Unfortunately it is true in our country that except cricket, others struggle to get sponsorship,” the Indian FA acting president, Praful Patel had earlier said this month.
The question is why would they? Why should anyone carry football stories as their lead ones? Even the most biased editor wouldn’t do it?
There are seldom any international matches being played in the country despite the enormous interest in the people’s game by the people of India. But when the tournament is organised, you can see the level of coverage given.
Today, you have papers discussing the ‘why’ issues of India’s loss, experts commenting and what not. What does it show?
People taking an avid interest in the Indian national team as very often the media dishes out what the people want to read, or to better phrase it, what sells.
The ‘who cares’ attitude has been replaced with the questioning mindset; which is certainly a paradigm shift resulting in more eyeballs.
Many claim that the renewed interest in the activities of the national team is due to the ‘much publicized’ tours to Dubai and Barcelona. Yes, when you spend a big amount, the pressure to deliver follows behind like a shadow and as does the people’s interest. In case, you are interested in doing a case study on this please refer to Chelsea when Roman Abramovich took over or Manchester City’s Sheikh Revolution.
But the primary reason is that the game is popular and if you play in India, it shall help you reach the audience better.
In view of the above mentioned points, whether India does well at the Nehru Cup or doesn’t, it’s a win-win situation for the game in general. If they do well, the positive aspects shall be highlighted while if they don’t, the negative ones would hog the headlines. As it’s said: Good publicity or bad publicity, publicity is publicity.
By this, I don’t mean that Indian football fraternity is looking for publicity, but it’s what they essentially need!
Rahul Bali.
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