Opinions

As Rahul Dravid says in a recent ad, "advise tho sab log dete hain". Especially when it comes to Cricket, our supposed religion, the common thread, the unifier. I am one of those 'soft core' fans of the game - knows enough to enjoy the game, but would not remember when the last time Sachin took a catch falling to his left without landing on his tennis elbow. And hence theoretically, I should be one of those guys who should not be feeling too strongly about the latest 'developments'. But strangely enough, I have been feeling a bit 'cheated'. Must be "the-these-guys-are-there-because-of-fans-like-me-syndrome".

I was watching the last pit stops of Fernando Alonso - the one before he went on to become the F1 Champion & Kimi Raikonnen -before he went down trying. A million things could go wrong - one of the mechanics might have an off day, the refueller may not have had his mom call up on his cell phone & wish him luck, the guy holding the board saying "First Gear" might feel that his job is not getting the importance it deserves, the guy poking a needle into the front tyre may "peak" too quickly - but God, does it go smoothly. 5.8 seconds one of them took!

Last couple of days, I have been feeling that we may never have professional cricketers/sportspersons/office bearers/administrators, in the true sense. They all fall victim to the "opinions". Unlike other countries, where someone is considered worthy of an opinion only after he has crossed a certain threshold in his/her area. Is it because as a nation, we have too few celebrities worth the limelight?