I need to write this because I fear I may not experience the same exact emotions that I am experiencing right now. Or I may not have enough enthusiasm to write it. It’s on the game of cricket.
For a good number of years, I have been trying to avoid getting carried away with the commonly expressed over-enthusiasm over the game of cricket when it comes to Indian matches. Naturally, during this World Cup , I tried to stay away from that kind of crowd at my institute. However, due to some reasons (maybe psychological reasons like trying to derive some source of pleasure/entertainment after going through a phase of mental unrest or my appreciation for sports, in general) I have been unsuccessful. After watching India’s match against Australia at my home during mid-sem recess I got curious to see India’s performance against Pakistan. It’s kind of become a habit for me to question why certain things make me feel the way they do. In this particular case, I should have asked myself the question: Why on earth is it going to make any difference to me or to the millions of people in our country, if India wins or loses. But I didn’t. I had enjoyed watching India winning against Australia and perhaps sub-consciously I developed the hope to experience that feeling again while watching India’s match against Pakistan, with the contribution coming from my exposure to my friends’ positive status messages on Facebook about outcome of India’s match against Pakistan. So, today I ended up sitting in TV room of my hostel during India’s batting. I am not a very great fan of this game (I didn’t watch any of the recently held IPL matches or the T20 World Cup matches) and neither do I have a sufficient technical knowledge about its batting/bowling/fielding techniques. I also lack in my knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of Indian batsmen/bowlers, so while watching a match, I do not easily form quick opinions or pre-notions as to how things will turn. I am adding this information so that you have an idea about the reasons why I responded to the match in a manner I am about to describe.
As the match started, with Sehwag hitting boundaries on Pakistan’s good bowlers, I saw guys around me shouting and screaming. I have long considered this behavior to be somewhat absurd as the energy spent in behaving like that doesn’t affect one bit the outcome of the match. So, I concluded that that behavior must have satisfied their psychological needs of expressing joy over things happening according to or beyond their expectations, or perhaps having experienced the thrill of behaving like that previously and desiring to experience it again or due to some other reasons, which I think would likely fit in the field of human psychology. At those moments I also showed my appreciation by simply clapping my hands. It was an involuntary act of mine possibly due to my appreciation of the beauty with which the players played the shots or due to the influence of the environment I was sitting in. Sometimes, I also clapped (very mildly, so as to not gather much attention) when I saw a good instance of fielding from the other side. I never felt good when India lost a wicket, but on the other hand, I also didn’t feel too bad either. It was a complicated mixture of feelings. I wanted to see good batting from Indian side and had hoped to witness it and had sort of been convinced that it would make me feel good. I watched the entire Indian batting innings and when the game started getting slower I tried to pay more attention to instances of good sportsmanship that were being displayed. Somehow, I started thinking about what values sports hold. As mentioned earlier, I have always appreciated it for it teaches us many good things which can help us cope up with the kind of environment we live in – a competitive environment. And for quite some time, I have been breeding feelings of how this kind of environment has created a lot of problems for certain populations of human beings in the world. I have also been breeding hopes of living in a society where people of the world (all countries) don’t have to compete to survive, instead they work together to lead better and meaningful lives. And sure enough, I encountered the question: exactly how would the present nature of sports fit in that society?
To be honest, I still don’t have an exact answer. But let’s not get into that for now. I was concerned with the level of fervor being shown towards cricket which, ultimately, tends to foster unusually strong feelings of patriotism. And I think that withholds the collaboration of people of the world to work with the common objective of betterment of humanity, not a particular segment of some country. For people to have compassion for not just the people of their country but for every person suffering in any country, with the same degree, cricket is not helping, at least not in India, in my opinion. Moreover, I am beginning to think people have stopped paying attention to the underlying values in any sport, with cricket on the top of the list. So, I have kind of developed certain distaste for boisterous acts of people in front of television sets and at cricket stadiums.
Sitting there in the TV room, immersed in those kinds of thoughts, I continued to watch India’s batting till the end. I really appreciated the efforts being put in by the lower order batsmen. Since I didn’t have too much of a bias, to me the way the match was unfolding was ok. After watching India’s batting I came back to my room. I had a cup of coffee and decided not to watch India’s bowling. Somehow, I haven’t developed the patience to see Indian bowling and I mostly avoid it. I also had some important academic stuff to study and decided to go to the library.
After spending much time in the library, having had my dinner at a place with no television set, and guessing that the match would be nearing its end, I decided to go back to my hostel to watch the remainder of the match. I found that Pakistan had lost 7 wickets and needed some 70-80 runs in about 30-40 balls. It was an interesting scenario and I decided to watch the rest of the match. I again witnessed a lot of screaming and shouting by guys, with things seeming to go in India’s favor. Yet, I was really impressed by the efforts being made by the Pakistan’s batsmen. Every time Misbah hit a boundary, I had a mixture of feelings - appreciation for his skill and courage and fear of India not making it to the finals. At that moment, I think my desire to see India in the finals was mainly because of my slight knowledge about Indian players and thus, subsequent interest in seeing their performance and having experienced the joy of India winning a match previously. I have very little knowledge about other teams’ players and maybe because of that I don’t have any interest in watching the matches of other teams.
Pakistan fought till the end, but they lost. I saw the players of both teams shaking hands with each other. I felt nobody seemed to appreciate that aspect and that all they were concerned with was the outcome of the match. I observed the reactions of Afridi and the people in their dressing room. It was moving.
So, what do I conclude? As an external observer (not playing the game) I can appreciate the lessons learnt in a sport. But if I am to play the sport, I cannot afford to harbor such emotions for my opponent if I am to win or at least not to a degree that I develop compassion for my opponent. I am more interested in my role as an external observer only, since the purpose of writing this to encourage a perhaps more meaningful attitude towards the game of cricket. The paradox is that if I just try to appreciate the skills of a player irrespective of the team to which he/she belongs then watching the game doesn’t remain entertaining any more. It becomes like a visit to a beautiful lake or like reading poetry or like appreciating the beauty of science. I do not know the degree to which our minds demand entertainment. In my experience, I have found that it’s possible to strike certain balance between entertainment and blissful experiences. Watching cricket with a meaningful attitude not only gives some deep inner satisfaction but also prevents creating misplaced feeling of identification with one’s nation, which people call patriotism. Instead, if looked at more carefully, it develops a feeling of identification with humanity – each sportsperson being a representative of our species and displaying outstanding qualities and abilities.
Having said that I admit I look forward to India winning the World Cup. The reasons for such an expectation have been elucidated above. But I think somewhere I too have developed some identification with my country and its people and thus I cannot help harboring such feelings. But I know that had I been brought up in a different country and indoctrinated with different set of social values I wouldn’t have had such feelings. But as long as I am aware of this and don’t cross the line, I don’t consider this a serious issue I need to grapple with. I am glad I jotted down my thoughts.
