8 Things FIXED this IPL

People all around the world believe IPL is fixed. Is it?

I am not here to debate on the issue but rather to tell you that there are a few things in this IPL season which are FIXED. It is fixed for a lot of people in many ways. So, let’s have a look at 8 things which prove that IPL is FIXED.

1. FIXED Profits for the Advertising Industry

It is indeed an advertising carnival. Every Tom, Dick and Harry with a lot of money wants his product right in the middle of the field. Thank God for the respect of the game, or else they would have also painted the 22 yards with an ad.

Image Courtesy: Google

2. FIXED High TRPs for Sony MAX

No offence to the channel, but this is the only break Sooryavansham and Don No. 1 tapes get apart from played on loop throughout the year.

Image Courtesy: Google

 3. FIXED Public appearance opportunities for so called ‘Celebs’

We all know that this is that time of the year when the not so celebrated celebs get their chance to shine on the screen. The gorgeous Preity Zinta, sizzling Shilpa Shetty and even Shamita Shetty can be seen on the TV screens having a blast. Sure, there is indeed a big reason for them to celebrate 😛 (Not every day you get a chance to be on TV, you see!)

Image Courtesy: Google

Image Courtesy: Google

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. FIXED Fake excitement from Danny Morrison

He is the English version of Navjot Singh Sidhu. And if his loud voice wasn’t enough in the World T20, brace yourself for that added fake excitement throughout the season.

Image Courtesy: Google

5. FIXED Hullaballoo for tickets outside the stadium during the Indian Leg

No matter how soaring high the prices are, all the wannabe would want a president box seat to increase their chances of clicking a selfie with those ‘Celebs’ in the background.

Image Courtesy: Google

6. FIXED Injuries to players

It is given that such a big cricketing extravaganza will have its toll on the players. But for the amount of money they make, they will happily take it. So there goes a few international cricketing months for some lucky/unlucky ones.

Image Courtesy: Google

7. FIXED Dance moves on the field

Technique, conventional shots, copy book strokes will all be scarcely seen as players would like to woo the crowd with finding unique way to score.

Image Courtesy: Google

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. FIXED Entertainment

And lastly, we all will definitely get what this cricket crazy country wants – ‘Entertainment’

Image Courtesy: Google

10 Reasons Why You Must Never Date a Sportsperson

My heart goes out to all those people who have been in a relationship and wondered – ‘WHY? Why on earth am I dating him/her?’ –  An age-old problem that still persists, is the choice that we make while choosing the right partner and trust me! The problem will exist for many, many years to come.

So let me simplify this for you by taking at least one category of individuals out of the equation.

A very common phenomenon is to get attracted to sporting individuals. You look at ‘that handsome athlete who has a well chiseled physique and is the perfect eye candy’ or ‘that long legged hotty who is donning that sports bra and looks too hot to handle’.

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

You wish to approach them and make your move, but WAIT… I would advise you to turn back and run as many miles as you can away from them. It’s a quicksand trap! Don’t ever fall for it! Never Date A Sportsperson.

For all of you who are wondering why I say so? Read on…

1. They will enter the game only to WIN

It’s not their fault. It’s actually how they have been nurtured and trained. They know how important it is to give it all they have to win a game.

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

To be precise, they would do all that needs to be done to woo you off your feet and make you fall for them. Like those Disney tales, they will eventually make you wonder whether they are for real or not. Would you like to date a guy/girl who knows how to put in that extra effort to win your heart? Naa! Because such people are fake and suspicious or made to be ‘Friend-Zoned’, right?

2. They know how important it is to Practice

To prepare for the big game, you need to be sure you are thorough with your skills. It takes hours, days and weeks of practice to improve the skills for the big game and they know it.

They will hone their skills by observing other guys/girls to study patterns and learn ways to improvise in a situation. Why on earth would you fall for a guy/girl who looks around at other men/women? Yes! He is definitely trying to double-cross. Because you are not allowed to be mature enough (by experience) to know how to prepare for the big game.

3. They respect the rules and stick to it

Every game has rules which every sportsperson needs to follow; else there is no fun or excitement left in it. A sportsman/woman will stick by them and make sure that they play fair and hard.

You will certainly notice that they might not do as what you expect them to do, because they know it ain’t right. But you’ve always heard “All’s fair in Love and War”, so why should you date them? Why should you date a man/woman who will do all the things right, even if they might sometimes not please you? Because all you want is to be happy all the time, Isn’t it?

4. They understand the value of time

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

An individual who plays or has played any sport in his/her life will always know how important it is to finish the job in its due course of time. Because they have been there, when their bodies were not responding as fast as they used to couple of years back or when they didn’t practice their routines on time due to which they lost a chance in the team.

But No, No, No! You won’t be able to enjoy the excitement of waiting for them for hours, days and maybe week, to say the right thing or do what they are supposed to.

 

5. They know how to beat the competition

All they have learnt is how to compete and win. They will always hit the +1 pointer on the scoreboard, because that is what they do.

Then this will take away the spice of that comparison element from your life. Damn!

6. They listen to their coach

Yes, they do take advises and make sure that they improve. Because they know a change for good is what will make them invincible.

So you will see them talking about the relationship and their problems with their confidante. And you will get a point to pick up that fight where you can say to them “This is not you! This is your XYZ friend talking. I should have better dated them instead.” Arrrggghhhh!

7. They know how to accept defeat

Sportsman spirit is what actually makes them stand apart. They will happily accept defeat and make sure that they do not repeat their mistakes.

Oh My God! This means that they won’t miss you after the relationship is over? No random messages like “I miss U, Please come back…” or “Baby, I am sorry I am a changed person…”

8. They know how to beat the shit out of their critics

You dare criticize a sportsman/woman about their skill and you won’t ever get a chance to do the same again.

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

They will stand in front of anyone or everyone who criticizes their choice (That is you). But then! “How dare you judge my friend/father/chacha/chachi/mama or anyone for that matter? You should’ve stood still and kept mum. You are not supposed to prove them wrong, they are my family.” Yaa, Right!

9. They will improvise

Technique and modifications are what they thrive on. They know how to play the game and how to work a way around the rule when required. But they will always play by the rules.

And so you should walk away because they have changed. They aren’t the same anymore, because they have matured as a player and are making changes to the game for the better.

10. They will not stop till the last buzzer goes “AAAAEEIIIINNNNNNNN”

They have learnt all their life that the match is not over till the last buzzer goes or the last ball is bowled. They will keep on playing till their last breath.

Ahh! So they are players and they will always keep playing no matter who they are playing for. Why should you be with them? It doesn’t matter to them if the team they are playing for, changes. It is the game that matters for them. Screw Them!

 Still don’t believe me? Go Ahead! Find one for yourself! See how your life turns out to be!

Image Courtesy: Google Images

And if you don’t find a sportsman/woman in your life! Make sure your kids don’t be at the same place when they grow up. Give them a racquet/bat or let them pick a sport and ask them to play.

Sports take the Social Route!

It is frustrating when you write a whole post and it just vanishes in thin air… 😦 Yes, it just happened! And so I had no option but to write it all over again.

The world around us is certainly in LOVE with SOCIAL MEDIA. Fallaciously, it is the make of these platforms that creates an enticing atmosphere for the user to communicate with the world. It provides an easy access to the world to communicate with their loved ones and/or strangers. A two way communication platform, that social media is, helps the user to express their emotions and thoughts with the world. And as we talk about emotions, what better than sports to express them?

The social media effect has caught up big-time on the world of sports. Fans now are using the social media platforms either to express, or to view, or to be updated about the happenings from the sporting world. They usually get active on these platforms during the game to express their views, discuss strategies, challenge rivals and virtual bettings. Fans flood the timelines and walls with their views during a game. The social media platforms have easily surpassed the news channels as people rely more on Twitter for instant updates as compared to any news channel. A survey report says that 45% of the online audience rely on Twitter for scores and news updates as compared to 18% who still use news sites for the same. Clearly, the online word of mouth is way too powerful!

The increasing presence of sporting authorities, athletes and brands have increased the credibility of these platforms and given a two way communication medium between the fans and their favorite team/sports athlete. Athletes garner the opportunity of increasing their fan base by constantly communicating with their fans (Which by normal means is hard to do). A lot of brands that sponsor the sports tournaments highly promote their products on social media during the event. One recent example that comes to my mind is the Vodafone‘s Made For You offer which they promoted through Twitter along with Ayaz Memon. The idea behind the promotion was to provide a direct platform for followers to get their queries about the India-England series answered by experts using the #Tag #MadeForYou. Also the broadcasting channel recently used #AaneDo for the India-Pakistan series which was heavily promoted through TVCs as well. It is also good to see that the Indian audience are being encouraged to use #Tags not only for cricket but for Hockey as well (for those of you who are unaware of it #LadoToAise is the #Tag used for HIL by Star Sports and ESPN).

The boom in the use of social media as a platform for sports talk dated back to 2007 wherein the NBA and the NHL were the most talked about sporting leagues. The NBA has been the leader of social media in the sports business world. More than 350 current and former NBA players are using Twitter. Counting official league, teams and player profiles, the league claims more than 260 million combined Facebook likes and Twitter follows. Staggering, isn’t it?

It is just normal to get caught with bloopers when you use such a dynamic medium of conversation. There have been a lot of social media failures as well for players/sports authorities. One of the most talked about failure was the Michael Vaughan tweet about VVS Laxman during the India-England series in 2011. It instantly caught the eyes and a lot of rage against Vaughan amongst the Indian fans. Soon after the decision was turned down against Laxman, Vaughan tweeted – “Has Vaseline on the outside edge saved the day for Laxman?”. Now, for a normal person it could have been taken as a personal thought but something like this coming out from a former English captain was not acceptable for the Indian cricket fans (Though, Vaseline benefited from the event ;)). Another failure that should be quoted here is the NHL one, wherein the league’s social media team asked their fans to “keep calm and pin on” – A pinterest activity, while the labour dispute that already cost the league 200 games continued to drag on. It resulted in their Pinterest page getting bombarded with cynicism, abusive and sarcastic comments.

So as we see, there are both pros and cons of the social media platforms. You need to use it wisely to get the desired impact. It will be very interesting to see how the trend goes in the coming years with more advertisers, marketers and big sporting leagues getting into the social media space for communicating with their fans.

Below I have posted some interesting inforgraphs (collected from various sources) that highlight the reach of social media in the world of sports. Hope you like them:

Source: Eventility.com

Source: Visual.ly

Are we ready for the Beautiful Game???

Its been long since I jotted down my views upon recent happenings in the world of sports……… But nevertheless it is important to do rather than thinking of doing it……..

After the huge success of the Indian Grand Prix and a disappointing Metallica affair, India definitely announced itself on a bigger platform and certainly raised many eyebrows for sponsors to step in and help sports authority develop more world class facilities for their people.

What I kept on wondering was, whether or not my dream of seeing a Football World Cup Match in India will ever be fulfilled……… I guess it should be right???? Seeing the present infrastructure India has on offer, obviously you must be thinking that ‘dilli bohut door hai’ but what I see, or rather I should say, I want is India putting its bet on for the chance of hosting a Football World Cup (Maybe the only chance India will get to book a seat for the world cup ;))

With the bids till 2022 being already won by Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, I definitely have to wait till 2022 but still I hope that the wait turns out to be sweet….. According to Wikipedia “The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA’s Executive Committee. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a “Hosting Agreement” from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives a form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament.”

The recent world class events hosted by India such as the Commonwealth Games and the F1 race have definitely raised hopes of seeing more such world class events coming India’s way…………..I just hope that some of the higher govt. officials notice the opportunity and let my and many of the other football fanatics’ dream come true!!!!!

Formula Won!!!!

The much awaited Indian Grand Prix is no more a dream…… After all those permutations and combination which went through in deciding the fate of the Indian Grand Prix, we can finally have a sigh of relief. Official now!! India will be hosting its first ever Grand Prix on the 30th of October. After all those speculations upon the credibility of the country to prepare itself for one of “The Most” costly sport, India proved its mettle!!!

Since 1997, there had been plans to host an Indian Grand Prix at Kolkata and since then strong contentions were shown by Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai, which penultimately resulted into five options; Bangalore, Gurgaon, a permanent track somewhere near New Delhi , a street circuit in New Delhi, as proposed by Vijay Mallya and a site in Lucknow. Following months of negotiations, the Indian Olympic Association and Bernie Eccleston announed in June 2007 a provisional agreement for India to host its first Indian Grand Prix in the 2009 season. The track was supposed to be built in Gurgaon, on recommendation by Hermann Tilke.

The “track” for hosting its first ever F1 race was not as smooth as we would have wished!!! A lot of ‘Ifs and Buts’ were still hovering over the race. The Indian customs department denied the organisers’ demand of tax exemption for the event, giving a disgraceful excuse that the F1 race is not an event of national importance. The Indian Govt.’s point of view was total nonsense, which portrayed F1 as a form of ‘entertainment’ and not as a sport. Can you believe it??? The Formula 1, which has the second highest no. of followers next to soccer was not considered to be of national importance!!!

Taken aback by the criticism from all quarters of the public, the Indian Govt. finally announced that it wouldn’t force the organizers to pay the custom duty. The Government after facing all the criticism looked at the positives of hosting the event rather than sticking with a criteria of the past.

And after waiting for years……. dreams of many Indian F1 fans will finally come true!!!

DIS is your Ability!!

I have always wondered!!! Why on earth did God gave diseases and disabilities to Human Beings?? Always thought that how nice it would have been if there were no diseases or any physical disability in this world. But to my astonishment, I realised the fact that these diseases and disabilities were nothing but a challenge that God threw to us………..

A lot of people would have accepted their disabilities as a curse and would have adjusted with them to suit there comfort, but there are a lot of strong and brave men who overcomed their disease and disabilities to emerge out as Champions. A real sportsmen knows no disability accept one that is the disability to avoid sports!!! The disease might be making the body weak and lethargic but it surely adds strentgh and power to the will of a sportsmen. This reminds me of a famous saying and the most appropriate one in accordance to the life of a sportsmen “Gold does not rust on the ground, and rocks don’t get soaked in the rain.“

You may have seen many inspirational stories about how people fought hard to defeat their disabilities and made the world stand in appreciation. Lance Armstrong, seven times Tour de France champion fought his way hard with Testicular Cancer and emerged out as the only men to have won the championship seven times. The Sultan of Swing Wasim Akram and his opening partner Waqar Younis, both had their own disabilities to fight with………… Akram who suffered from Diabetes was very stressed and disturbed when he was diagnosed with the disease and it took him almost 6 weeks to get over the news. Also it was diagnosed in the peak years of his career when he was 31 years old, being a sportsmen, he was ready to accept to challenge and fight with it and the rest is all history. We all know what he has acheived in his career. Waqar Younis had cut his finger in his left hand after he had jumped into a canal. It took him quite long to recover from the accident but he emerged victorious.

It is the sporting spirit and the lessons of ‘never giving up’ that makes these iconic sportsmen stand out in the league of great men. Also some of the biggest examples of fighting hard agianst your own disabilities are the sports events such as the Olympics for the disabled, Basketball on wheelchair, Blind Cricket and many more………. the list will go on and on….

So Stand up and fight…… Its not your Disability…..DIS is your Ability!!! Give yourself a Chance!!

5 Gifts IPL has given to us…..

IPL-Indian Premier League!! The “golden-egg laying hen” for BCCI has knowingly or unknowingly given many gifts to Indian cricket which are surely noticed by the fans but with closed eyes and cotton-plugged ears, that is what I have seen. It all started with the controversies between BCCI and Zee Network Ltd. upon the broadcasting rights which resulted into ICL-a rebellion effort against the most powerful sporting board in the world (at least in the monetary terms).

As soon as ICL came on field, the talks were on for a big ticket come back from BCCI, as ICL was a direct attack on the supremacy of the board in India and so was born the Indian Premier League. Lalit Modi came up with a blueprint of a cricket league based on the English Premier League format and it surprisingly drove the cricket crazy nation crazier. It was launched with promises to take Indian cricket a level higher and indeed it did, here are 5 gifts that IPL gave to Indian cricket

1. Increase the revenue of the Advertising Industry – Whether the upcoming cricketing generation was benefited or not is a different scenario altogether, but the amount of opportunity that has been on offer for the advertising world is definitely a strong statement in itself. The amount of different mediums that the advertising world was presented with, were surely high in no. as compared to those provided to the upcoming cricketers. Being an advertising professional myself, I should not be commenting against my own daily bread, but I can definitely write another blog dedicated only to the benefits, that IPL has given to the advertising world, rather than the cricketing world.

2. An awesome World Cup winning celebration – It took a 28 year long wait for us to see India lift the cup and it just took one IPL season to take all the celebrations away. For many of us, including me, it was the first and may be the last chance to see India lifting the cup in its own backyard and when I was waiting for that grand celebration that should have been happened in Mumbai, it was the IPL fever which kept the players away from their well-deserved felicitation.

3. A Chunk of Injuries– I don’t think that you will deny the fact that a lot of back to back cricket has taken a toil upon the bodies of our cricketers and all credit to the board for giving a new money making fish to our boys. It is obvious that if you flag off chunks of money to people they’ll surely go after it, isn’t it? Big corporates paying good money to the players make them neglect their body fatigue and play. The most recent result being the shameful loss in England because of the unavailability of our top performers.

4. A list of upcoming cricketers who are already running after money and glamour – Rather than focusing on their performances, the upcoming so called bench strength of the Indian Cricket Team is already addicted to a lifestyle filled up with leisure and fun. I am not contradicting that Indian cricketers are not working hard, they surely are, and the likes of R. Ashwin, Varun Aaron etc. cannot be ruled out but there are also players who are addicted to the glamorous and monetary benefits of the league and have shifted their focus from the national side.

5. Degrading the importance of our domestic trophies – IPL has completely taken over the scope of making the likes of Ranji, Irani or The Duleep Trophy popular. The board gave a commercialized look to cricket which could have been done with the Ranji or any other domestic series, in turn refurnishing the lost glory of the Ranji Trophy or the Irani Trophy.

Declaration: All thoughts and belief are a personal opinion of the blogger and are not intended to comment or criticize any one.

Sport – The best test of tenacity

SPORT!! The language that has been a definition of heroics, strength and honour since ages……Ageing way back to the Roman era…. sports had been the most popular and useful way to unite people and spread the word. From times then to times now, sports have changed and so have changed the values attached with them. But one thing that has definitely not changed is the spirit and the passion that accompanies with the sportsman.

As Nick Seitz says, “The breakfast of champions is not cereal, it’s the opposition“, a sports field is no less than a battle ground where people sweat out blood to conquer what they are fighting for. Sports brings out the real caliber and strength of an individual alongwith the emotions that flow on the field. As the great saying goes… if you wanna see the varied emotions that a human being can show!!! Go to a sports field!!

Alongwith the emotions, strength and caliber it is also one of the best way to test the patience of a man. The art of taking defeat with a smile and sweating hard to win next time is what shows us to live life like a sportsman. “The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle”, and the more you work hard in your life the more you get out of it when the opportunity strikes.

Sport is all about winning, it is all about walking out of the field as the Champion. Injuries, defeat, bad-luck…. no scope for them!! You have to win to make it count…. surely there is always a next time but being on the field next time is never assured, what is assured is the time when you are actually on the field. The one who makes the most of the opportunity has the last laugh and the one who doesn’t stands in the field thinking of what went wrong!!!!!

Never drop your shoulders, no matter how many times you get defeated!! Remember…. Strike hard when the time is right!!