When he leaned in closer, Best looked up and told the man to **** off. “Make me,” he snarled. Best, who had never shied away from a challenge on the field, stood up and socked him one flush on the jaw. The man didn’t flinch. “That the best you can do then?” he sneered. “Oh, alright then. Get me another half!” said Best.
I was reminded of that anecdote when I read the non-story about the eight Indian cricketers inside Tequila Joe’s in St. Lucia. Show-cause notices were issued when they returned to India, despite the fact that all they had done was back up a mate subjected to vile abuse by fans who thought that paying their way to the Caribbean gave them some sort of entitlement to treat the players how they wished. Sure, Ravindra Jadeja had a bad tournament. But techies write rubbish code sometimes. Journalists deliver poor articles. No one takes a pop at us in a pub because of it.
It gets tiresome to hear that this comes with the territory when you’re an Indian cricketer. Are we actually condoning idiots pelting players’ houses when they lose, or drunken morons practising their upper-cuts in bars and pubs? Apparently, the board was unhappy that a couple of the players were “drunk” [probably had a couple of drinks]. Why? The tournament was over. They were heading home. Since when was it a crime for someone off duty to head out, and that too in a place like the Caribbean?
A couple of weeks ago, I heard one of the organisers of the now-infamous IPL parties saying that they provided an opportunity for the fans to get closer to the ‘stars’. Why would you do that, especially in a country like India where the concept of personal space is non-existent?
I recall sitting in the departure lounge at Nagpur Airport, the day after Australia had annihilated India to end 35 years of pain on Indian soil [October 2004]. It was just a few months after Virender Sehwag got married, and he was chatting to his wife. A ‘fan’ found his way to where they were sitting, put his arms around both seats and leaned his head in so that he was literally kissing distance from both husband and wife. His friend snapped away happily. Sehwag looked appalled, but said nothing, probably fearing “Arrogant Indian star” headlines in the next day’s tabloids. Not once had our friend asked him or his wife permission to take a picture. An Indian cricketer. Public property. Has no rights.
I asked Suresh Raina, who will lead the team to Zimbabwe, how much the excessive criticism affects him when the team loses. His expression was halfway between a rueful smile and a grimace. After all, these are players who care only about the next ad campaign, and not about playing for their country. “You can’t think about such things,” he said finally. “Whatever endorsements or shoots I do, it’s only because I score runs for the team. If that stops, they will too.”
As Julia Baird wrote in Newsweek in the aftermath of the Tiger Woods scandal: ‘Why do we even pretend that sports-people are models of propriety? Or rather why do we need them to be? They are physically gifted, driven, and disciplined. That’s what you need to excel at sport. Not moral strength, courage, decency, or fidelity. These virtues are admirable, but are a bonus: they should not be an expectation. Yet we continue to project an irrational desire for the physically perfect to be spiritually strong.’
In India, we are world leaders at that sort of hypocrisy. The board, with several individuals of decidedly dubious moral quality, tends to lead the way. It’s resulted in the gulf between players and fans, the two most important stakeholders in any sport, growing wider by the day. And as long as we don’t respect personal space, that’s perhaps just as well.
*This appeared The Sunday Guardian on May 23.
“Why do we even pretend that sports-people are models of propriety?”
Why indeed… but why do sports-people pretend that they are models of propriety too? Isn’t “Be like Mike” the distillation of sports sponsorship / advertising? Just as nobody would have a pop at a geek in a bar who had written bad code, the geek doesn’t pimp himself out as a “Be like me” paradigm.
Now I’m not condoning egregious behaviour and I’m aware that things are different in India, but there are many examples in music, film and sports of stars in the UK who do not pimp themselves out and, if not left entirely alone, are not as much harassed by the public.
Teaching young adults in a university makes the distance between bringing knowledge and skills to the table to allow those students to explore their potential. The best teachers never go near the “Be like me” message, but pursue relentlessly the “Be yourself” message, as only that will make a real difference to each person in front of you. Of course, advertisers and sponsors have shorter time frames and reach for the easy option, but it’s interesting to see how Stephen Waugh used his fame or Arnold Schwarzenegger or Gary Kasparov or Joseph Yobo.
Young men and women in the spotlight have decisions to make and they won’t get them all right, especially when hawks circle them offering “advice”. But, just like in the sports they play, actions have consequences and that can be cruel lesson to learn – one that some never do.
Sorry – wrote that in a hurry.
Teaching young adults in a university makes the distance between bringing knowledge and skills to the table to allow those students to explore their potential and the charismatic, nay egotistical leader, very clear.
Gary, we agree on the fact that they are mostly poorly advised. Which is why I’d love to see some respected ex-players get into the talent-management business. You’ll be pleased to know that one such person is contemplating the move.
Is it Anil Kumble? He recently wrote in HT about this too, didn’t he? That would be fantastic.
hi,
just chanced upon this article – very well written. our fans think cktrs are public property becoz as a ppl we DONT respect public property – look at the guy filmed vandalising chairs after the kotla abandonment some months ago. neither the journos reporting it nor the ddca thought it was anything other than a “natural reaction” . If people dont fear quick and exemplary punishment when public property is trashed, they will widen their ambit of what qualifies as “public” and treat that the same way.
i dont care for media bashing but in ckt, the media is greatly compromised – so there will the odd article talking abt the lack of loos for fans in the stadia but no concerted effort to cover the gamut of behaviour both of fans and administrators alike. My sympathies are with the players and tho i do think some of the younger lot are provocative – they’re caught b/w a rock and a hard place.
Good point about the public vandalism, Swati. Like I said, buying a ticket doesn’t entitle you to do as you please.
Sir,
I would be grateful to you even if you just glance at my cricket blog.
http://greyblazerr.blogspot.com/