Remember...its only a game after all

One of the first things I do when I switch on my computer is look at the Cricket site to know the latest scores around the world, who won, who lost and who the performers have been...

Clearly, nothing prepared me for what the headline was today. Bob Woolmer, the coach of the Pakistan cricket team, was found dead in his hotel room shortly after Pakistan's shock defeat to unfancied Ireland in the World Cup currently underway in the Carribean. Woolmer played for England in the 1970s but made his mark more as a coach for South Africa in the 1990s. He was drafted by Pakistan a couple of years to help a mercurial side reach the pinnacle of glory in a country where the game is followed by tremendous passion and intensity. The fact that Pakistan were eliminated early in the World Cup automatically meant drastic repurcussions, but some that went way beyond the normal course of civility. Reports coming out of Pakistan talked about possibly arresting the captain, Inzy, and the coach, Woolmer when they arrived back in Pakistan. While the exact cause of his death is still to be ascertained, clearly the pressure was way too much for both the coach and the players. The point is- fans can and should be passionate but that doesnt mean they need to be mad and violent.

The Indian sub-continent fans are cricket crazy and the performance of the teams is met with extreme adulation during victory and utter contempt in defeat. That, in my view, is a problem. A game is a game after all. There will always be winners and losers. Also, nobody intentionally wants to lose. Hence, while disappointment in defeat is natural, the reaction should be just that- disappointment which in my terminology means a quiet swig of my favorite Guinness. Victory, on the other hand, means a celebration, which to continue on the same path, means three Guinesses with friends at a favorite pub. Either way- when we lose sight of the fact that it is a game where victory and defeat are natural outcomes, we lose our sense of balance and passion can turn into fanaticism.

My heart goes out to Woolmer's family, and lets all remember three things-
a) Cricket is a game- nothing more, nothing less
b) If you as a fan are disappointed with a defeat, the players are likely to be kicking themselves thmselves too
c) Fans showing their disappointment in a violent manner never improved a team's performance.

May Woolmer's soul rest in peace.