I don’t know why others watch and follow cricket for – but I am a big fan of the game for the sheer pleasure I derive watching Australia play, which is also the reason why I love watching Federer play and this “pleasure seeking” is similar to pleasure one derives in listening to shehenai by Ustad Bismillah Khan say (which I don’t care a bit about.) Following a game with passion doesn’t make a person or crowd foolish.

Another interesting point which I happened to remember about Cricket and American football or Soccer mostly Team Games a bit OT. (I read it probably in “billions and billions” by Carl Segan). Why are we so much fond of team games. He argues thats it is in our genes (ie. in the genes of males of our species). Most of our ancestors (men) hunted in teams and hunting was a team sport. That probably also explains why women love shopping, women were gatherers!

Coming back to ill-gotten wealth. Whatever may be the ways (questionable perhaps) but the wealth was earned by industry and smartness (just because they made fool of people who were already fool enough doesn’t make them worthy of being condemned). Now if that is ill-gotten, so be it.

Coming back to Islam – This is my personal observation, probably needs to be corrected. Most of the successful people in the field of art, music specifically follow the religion of Islam. That may be a coincidence or may be not..

The other thing I hate in Cricket is that the ordinary/poor cricket has to beat the system to come up in the profession. But here, college recruiting is amazing. I do remember one kid from our neighborhood, got offers from 20 to 30 universities just because he plays football(well!). And the length they go to get that player! If there is talent somewhere, then they will find that. But in India, you have to be rich & connected to succeed.

Do anyone know where all the cricketing money go? I am surprised to find that a lot of universities here generate a lot of cash (by just having 6 home football games). I know that Indian cricket do generate a lot of money. Where does it go?
If someone does some research on that, it would be very useful.

Infact all this commotion about cricket makes me feel as if my brain lacks serotonin or something like that.

In my adoloscence I was as much interested in cricket as most people but I grew up lost the fascination with it as I found other things which interested me. For me, sports at best is for some physical exercise and fun. not for scores and national pride and all that nonsense.

Interesting point there.A few years back, I read some where on the internet (probably an article by Rajeev Malhotra of the Infinity Foundation)that there is a possible link between mythology (or lack of it in Islam) and Jihadism.

“It is their time and their ill-gotten wealth that they are spending”

Just teasing you. Don’t take me seriously.

Just curious: Does your antipathy towards cricket extend to other sports as well, say, sports that are popular in US – baseball, basketball, american football etc?

Also, if you don’t follow cricket, I don’t understand why you had to humour Marianne by posting her request on your blog.You could have declined her request considering that what she wants to cover is not the general popularity of cricket, but the ‘crazy deeds’ of a few followers out of the ‘blue billion’.To me, her angle to the whole event comes across as a contrived ‘anthropological interest’, meant to pander to the lower denominators of the readers of her newspaper.

IMO, the masses (including all of us) need something or the other to feel passionate about.Better cricket than say, religion.

However, agree with you on the stupidity of the Govt involving itself in sporting matters.Also, if I remember correctly, the Supreme Court upheld the contention of the BCCI that the ‘Indian’ cricket team represents the BCCI and not ‘India’ the nation ! What twisted and utterly useless logic.

Atanu’s response: Kumar, no, my antipathy does not extend to all sports. Cricket stands alone in that regard. I think my distaste has to do with what I consider the mindless obsession with the game I note among the people of the so-called “Third World.” This is true with American football as well. I dislike the para-religious status of football among Americans. And that may be the clue. As you note, people need to have a passion. In some cases, the passion is for knowledge and understanding, in others for amassing wealth, and in some cases it is about “doing what god ordered us to do.” Jihadists are passionate people. Perhaps if Islam stressed sports and music and dancing, the world would have fewer suicide bombings.

So all things considered, cricket is better than jihad but not as good as a passion for amassing wealth or finding things out.