With the artistry of the South American teams yielding ground to the dominant football of the European teams for the second episode running, the FIFA World Cup has run out of steam in India. 95% Indians supported either Brazil or Argentina. The other half, like me don't know Soccer!
Looking at the devastated looks of surrogate fans in India, I am convinced Cricket World Cup is infinitely better! Even though there are a million reasons, I will enumerate the best 5.
1] One size doesn't suit All: FIFA World Cup is a four yearly event with the highest viewership of all sporting events. But it is too monotonous. We know there will be 90 minutes of kicking around; often not only the ball. Then an extra-time and then the shoot out. It just hasn't evolved sufficiently over the years.
Cricket World Cup on the other hand has evolved from 60 overs a side to 50 overs a side. We also have the T-20 World Cup to add to the already burgeoning itinerary. There is a justified demand for a Test-World Championship too! Such a cafeteria choice for the fans.
FIFA World Cup is like a small road side shop that serves same stuff to millions of its customers. Cricket on the other hand is like a Super Market waiting to offer variety entertainment to millions. You can watch the same match for 5 days at a stretch or get it done in one day or even in 3 hours. The choice is clear!
2] Fair for the not so fair skinned: FIFA World Cup is being played since 1930 and they have 32 teams contesting in every event now. But just 7 teams have managed to win the Trophy in 80 years as we are watching the 19th episode.
South American teams have won it 9 times and an equal number of times by European teams. In spite of such wide-spread popularity, it is dominated by a handful of Countries. No Asian or African team has won it. Not even Russia or China! Even Australia never came anywhere near the Cup!
Cricket World Cup was born in 1975. We have had 9 Cricket World Cup events so far. At the most 12 teams qualify to play this game at the top level. We already have 5 nations winning the Championships. West Indies, Australia, India, Pakistan and even the tiny Sri Lanka have won this Cup.
ICC World Cup is a lot more fair to the brown color than Soccer. We have England, New Zealand and South Africa who are capable of winning the Cup sooner than later in future. I don't see any team out of the top 5-6 winning the FIFA Cup. Forget about winning, South Asian teams don't even qualify for the main event.
3] Changing with times: Complaints against the mandarins of the ICC apart, Cricket World Cup has embraced change much better than any game, especially the recalcitrant FIFA. Use of Technology has taken the game to another level.
There still are mistakes committed in Cricket, but not blunders like what happened at the current episode of the FIFA Cup. England and Mexico will vouch for this. Sepp Blatter is apologizing to England after giving the match on a platter to Germany who have never looked back after that Phantom Goal of Lampard!
4] The Australian Angle: Australia have hated the Poms ever since they remember. They always wanted to prove their supremacy over the English. Soccer is the only game where the Poms have consistently done better than Aussies. England have won a Soccer World Cup which Australia haven't and that hurts.
But the Poms have yet to win the Cricket World Cup if you discount the T-20 Cup they won this year. Some solace for the exiled people down under! And what is worse is there is no Steve Buckner to officiate at FIFA World Cup!
5] Fan Mania: Boris Becker once famously declared, "I just lost a match, nobody died". I remember Andres Escobar with utmost sadness. He paid with his life for a matter as trivial as a self goal. Soccer World Cup isn't just a game for many manic fans.
If Cricket fans were to be as mindlessly mad; Chetan Sharma, Mike Gatting, Hershelle Gibbs and Abdul Razzack wouldn't be alive today. Thanks to the middle class values, Cricket still is a Gentleman's Game in spite of Andre Nel, Shoib Aqtar, Sreesanth and most of the Aussies!
I would prefer to be a Cricket fan and live with a lesser popular game than be a Soccer maniac and be a mercenary!
Govind, I'm married to cricket and it's only that I flirt with football, maybe once in 4 years. But still feel fotball is the truly global game that binds the world. Difficult to ignore its appeal.
ReplyDeleteYup Som, I too love flirting! But at my age though, the popular dames will care two hoots for me. So I will settle for our common wife. I'll leave the flirting to much younger you! :-)
ReplyDeleteIts far worthier than mere flirting guys, you can try it as your Mistress :-)
ReplyDeleteIt has not changed much, that's its beauty. Its very simple, fluid, easy on you, as long as its played in South American way. There is a sense of life in this Game. You learn to share, give, win as a team, lose as a team. You come to appreciate that you are a part of a whole. On and on. . . .
You cant ignore this Game.
Not for nothing its called Beautiful Game.