One of the first things that is usually associated with sports is passion. Passion, the common thread that unites the players, fans, families and even nations. I’ll name two games, football and cricket and I think the craze and devotion need not be explained. To an Indian, Cricket is what Football is to a Brazilian. 

Now, it s not uncommon for the fans to feel dejected, angry and even cry when their team loses. And the statement that irks me more than anything in such times is “It’s just a game after all”. It’s a casual statement for the speaker who apparently doesn’t have much regard for the game but I have had numerous discussions on this with my friends and I still cannot accept this statement. 

Everyone needs inspiration in life, some take it from books, some from historic events, some from personal life and some like us, from our teams. Everyone has ideals and for us it is our players. Their effort to bring their team to the pinnacle and the sweet smell of victory therein is shared equally by the fans. 

Yes, it can be sometimes amusing or bewildering for people to understand why adults would cry over a match but then again, thats the craze of the game. Crying is ofcourse quite a small thing and if you consider the English premier league (EPL) fans, the levels of devotion and internsity reach totally new heights. As they say, there. you are born with that love for your team. 

These games are more than a form of entertainment, they are a part and parcel of our lives and it does not feel good when someone says ‘what’s the fuss all about.’ Of course, for someone who does not share the passion, it may certainly be difficult to understand the emotions but I don’t think the term passion or devotion is new to anyone. We all have some form of passion in our lives, so why is it that difficult to understand that a game can me more than just a recluse from the tensions of life. 

There will be loads of people out there favoring both aspects of the question. Which one are you on ?

With the start of the Indian Premier League or IPL as it is known, cricket is heading the football way. We all know the passion of the fans of different clubs of the English Premier League or EPL. Though IPL is still quite knew and it will take it many many years before it can come any close to EPL  and its clubs match the aura of famous English clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal; the first season has shown that people are very eager throughout the world to do just that.

The fact that each match which is a Twenty twenty match or T-20 match takes only 3 hours helps in increasing its popularity with the audience who can come to the stadium after work, enjoy with their family and leave without having to spend a whole day. The money involved with the IPL is also huge, what with players being bought for millions by various franchises. 

Lets hope we can someday see Cricket being played all over the world by many many more countries.