Chaos in Cuttack: South Africa cricket team won; Indian cricket fans lost

Maybe it is true. We aren’t really a sporting nation. We watch a lot of sports but do we really understand it? Understanding sports does not mean mugging up trivia or understanding rules at a microscopic level. Understanding sports simply means understanding one basic fact – When one team wins, the other loses (unless it’s a Test match). [caption id=“attachment_2457352” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Are we really a sporting nation? Cuttack crowd left a lot to be desired. AFP[/caption] Having played some competitive sports myself I know that no sports person steps out wanting to lose. Yet every sports person steps out onto the playing field being fully aware of the fact that losing is a very real possibility. The fact that a winner and a loser exists turns an activity into a game. And when there is a certain amount of physical activity, that turns a game into a sport. It is unfortunate that the cricket lovers who were present at the India vs South Africa T20 International last night (5 October 2015) in Cuttack seemed unaware of this basic fact. Not being able to digest their team’s poor performance, they resorted to hooliganism. They started throwing bottles in the ground. They may have been upset with the way India played but the way they behaved was more upsetting. If you love a sport, you must accept when your team is losing and being outwitted. Appreciate the opponent. Appreciate the sport. Understand that the only place in life where you keep “winning” is in your dreams. Reality is different. It doesn’t work that way. Maybe that is why whenever we go to watch any live sport in India they “lock us within cages”. Thanks to the “Cricket Lovers” in the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, this is probably only going to get worse. But right now you, the “Cricket Lovers” at the Barabati Stadium, have a bigger problem to deal with. I hope you realize what you have done. You didn’t just disrupt a game last evening, you may have just ensured you won’t get international cricket in your city. So much for your love! Thanks to a bunch of hooligans, every Indian fan has been blackened. We are all hanging our heads in shame. This feeling is far worse than losing just a cricket match. Two teams played a game of T20 cricket last evening in Cuttack. The South African Cricket team won and the average Indian cricket fan lost. Last night we disappointed each other and our team. Our behavior was an insult to the sport we all claim to love. Until we mend our ways and learn to respect sports, rest assured India will never be a sporting nation. Don’t blame the government, the board or the players when ten years from now we are still in the same place, there will be only you to blame.