India in soccer World Cup! When? – FIFA 2006: HT Special
When, oh when will we see the Indian flag flying atop a pole during a world cup soccer match? I hope in my lifetime!
Can we not produce 11 players from our population of 1 Billion?
In my opinion, it is cricket that is the cause of India’s poor showing in all other sports – including soccer! So much money is being poured into that one game, that it has now become every youngsters dream to play cricket for India. It has always been my contention, that India is highly media sensitive. And the current media is cricket crazy. 2 of every 10 ads on TV feature some cricketer or the other. Soccer has been relegated to the backwaters! It is about time that we bring this game out in the open!
While this is my first post on this subject, I promise to cover this in grerater details in the future. Please send in your comments and thoughts on this. Maybe we can make a difference!
June 9, 2006 at 12:56 am
omg u should be in Aus..all channels always have some SPORT on. Aussies have an unhealthy addiction to sport!
Keshi.
June 9, 2006 at 1:36 am
@Keshi,
Welcome to my blog!
I was all set to give a very tart reply to your comment, but then I decided to first read your blog. Loved the first few posts I read! So I decided to let you off lightly!
This is a lot softer version of the reply I had planned! -
By blogging about soccer, I did not intend to make a sport-crazy nation of India. I was just making a point that we in India are like Pied Piper's mice. The front few mice follow the music, the rest just follow the mice in front! All I want is to offer the mice some alternatives, so each follows the music that he or she really likes. Its not just cricket vs soccer. The Pied Piper theory can be applied to daily life in India, from education, to career development, to business, to politics. By the way you just gave me an idea for my next post!
And to address your concern, addiction to anything is unhealthy – be it sports or alcohol, or, for that matter, blogging!
June 9, 2006 at 11:33 pm
[...] An Indian fans wonders aloud in his blog, appropriately titled Reflections: "When, oh when will we see the Indian flag flying atop a pole during a world cup soccer match? I hope in my lifetime! "Finally to the last thread in this post: the latest collab blog from India. This one is called Hafta Magazine , which translates to mean one week (that is one meaning and there are others) and every Monday you can expect to see new posts on various subjects. This collab blog is more like a magazine. Go check it out. [...]
June 30, 2006 at 3:15 am
Hi Ashish
Liked your article. Why dnt u send it across to http://www.merinews.com. It is a participatory journalism platform launched in India.
June 30, 2006 at 5:00 am
Thanks Asha for pointing me to merinews.com. I will love to contribute to it
October 18, 2007 at 10:18 am
I completely agree! People ask why i follow England in football and India in Cricket. I simply reply ‘because India does not have a football team!’ As a British asian i support both countries, but i will never forget my roots, so England V India, India will have my support every time. I just wish they would invest in other sports such as football or other popular sports!
On this matter me and a friend have thought hard and would like to take some steps to bringing soccer out from the ‘backwaters’ and into the spot light!