“Did you know Sachin
hit 100 100s ?”
“Nadal is number one
now”
“Portugal is through,omg
CR… oh you don’t watch no?”
I know, I know all of this and more. The media had managed
to etch it into my brain. But, I’m very confident that if you ask me next week
I might not recall any of this. I can never recall Djok’s grand slam tally.
Neither can I recall Dravid’s count of centuries. I love watching those guys
play though. I Egg them on; Shout at the TV pretty much like any other fan. I’d in fact drop everything and just watch them
play if I could afford to drop everything and watch them play. I’m a fan of
those two you know? The problem is sometimes, in social circles, I can’t claim
to be a fan. I have no idea what he did last week.I have no idea where he is
next week. I did not follow them properly, I forgot, my bad, it is really a shame.
So! it seems I’m not really a fan. Oh dear! I’m crushed. Well… not really.
I do not hold anything against statistics or numbers. When you
are a keen follower of a game, you naturally gather stats, scores, the dates,
match venues etc. the problem is sometimes, amongst the crowd, there are people
who are not that good with numbers or dates, or people who have pressing
demands but appreciate it nonetheless at leisure, or people who really don’t
care about what happened earlier or what might happen consequently. These
people might not know the exact match, location or the opposition but a sense
of déjà vu when a shot plays out in front of them is as good a validation of their
love for the game as any other.
“What kind of fan are
you?”
Without fandom, deification, the sporting world would
be devoid of a lot of fun. These people pique interest in the plebs lurking in
the periphery, letting them enjoy a few moments of unfettered joy vicariously
(what a snooty sentence already), thus initiating them to the game. A sportsman, for
every fan, is a man who inspires him, a man who stands for his personality,
beliefs and standards and wins games validating it. When a fan supports an
underdog it lets him fight his demons and he rejoices when his man wins, it
inspires him to be dogged and dedicated. While supporting a winner, he is
inspired to be perfect, to be the best at what he does, and to be more regimental
with his schedule. Sometimes, he decides to start hitting the gym the next day
but the day never comes. These emotions, the feeling of victory or loss that
course through watching a sport, which can be only perceived by the TV were it
a living thing, cannot be quantified in numbers, stats or memory.
If you were willing to give me a penny, I'd tell you that the term ‘fan’ is pretty fickle. The barometer for measuring
it is even more so. The point is, I believe it is perfectly fine to go around
doing your household chores while stopping for a second to admire a perfect
smash from Saina. It is also ok that you missed the better smashes or did not know
about them. It is alright to watch a sport as a movie, as a transient
phenomenon, as a background noise or as a companion when you need it. I believe,
Watching sport is a very personal and rewarding experience. You
don’t need to know everything.You don't need to convince anyone. You just need to know enough to appreciate a
long rally, a brilliant lap, a perfect straight drive, or the whole 90 minutes of
football without being bothered about its prognosis, and you are still in no-way a
lesser mortal than the other.
