Futball....
Somewhere during my dis-illusionment with the Indian cricket Team during the late 90's and early 2000's when the Match Fixing Scandal broke out, i started following other sports - Basketball, Soccer were the obvious choices given the ample TV Coverage.
7 Years following the sport - Game of Basketball seems to have taken a backstage and somehow the players are in the spotlight - Retirement, Comeback and Subsequent Retirement of Micheal Jordon, Disbandment of the Kobe - Shaq parternship and subsequent fate of the Lakers. Its only individuals who might pull you to watch a game of Basketball. Even the NBA bosses are worried about the steady decline in the viewers.
Soccer on the other hand has been growing on me. Come Rain, Sunshine, Storm - The Game goes on. The dependence on the pitch, environmental conditions is so less that it really boils down to skill, commitment and the way a TEAM plays. It is one of the few sports which really embodies true TEAM WORK. So you cant have an forward who scores all the time, but a defence which leaks goals and yet have a Winning team. You cannot have grounds on which your defence can perform exceedingly well, but your forwards cannot do enough to survive ( reminds you of Cricket )
2002 World Cup got me hoooked onto Football and subsequently the coverage of English Premier League is breathtaking. You realize what a wonderful game it is, when the teams at the verge of relegation fight it out with the bigger teams and give them a run for their money. The teams with the bigger stars and names are never guaranteed a Victory. And there is no crib when a star player gets injured, game just moves on - someone from the squad steps in and trys to fill the void.
If there was a complaint i had from the sport, it would be that the game gets over too quickly, but then i guess even that adds to the charm and the speed of the sport.
I guess its more like fore-play, U always end up wanting MORE :-)
7 Years following the sport - Game of Basketball seems to have taken a backstage and somehow the players are in the spotlight - Retirement, Comeback and Subsequent Retirement of Micheal Jordon, Disbandment of the Kobe - Shaq parternship and subsequent fate of the Lakers. Its only individuals who might pull you to watch a game of Basketball. Even the NBA bosses are worried about the steady decline in the viewers.
Soccer on the other hand has been growing on me. Come Rain, Sunshine, Storm - The Game goes on. The dependence on the pitch, environmental conditions is so less that it really boils down to skill, commitment and the way a TEAM plays. It is one of the few sports which really embodies true TEAM WORK. So you cant have an forward who scores all the time, but a defence which leaks goals and yet have a Winning team. You cannot have grounds on which your defence can perform exceedingly well, but your forwards cannot do enough to survive ( reminds you of Cricket )
2002 World Cup got me hoooked onto Football and subsequently the coverage of English Premier League is breathtaking. You realize what a wonderful game it is, when the teams at the verge of relegation fight it out with the bigger teams and give them a run for their money. The teams with the bigger stars and names are never guaranteed a Victory. And there is no crib when a star player gets injured, game just moves on - someone from the squad steps in and trys to fill the void.
If there was a complaint i had from the sport, it would be that the game gets over too quickly, but then i guess even that adds to the charm and the speed of the sport.
I guess its more like fore-play, U always end up wanting MORE :-)
posted by Manas at 5:22 AM
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