Sunday, March 18, 2007

Heights of stupidity...

It was shocking to hear a person calling up a TV channel during one of the post-match analysis shows and say, "He is a stupid captain".
And on another news channel a well educated person (with a baby in hand) comments, "He doesn't even know how to hold the bat".

Wondering who they are talking about? None other than a couple of cricketers from our world cup squad after the shock defeat the team suffered at the hands of Bangladesh. I am no great fan of the Indian team but I felt sorry for the players and disgusted with the way 'the so called fans' voice their opinion; and that too saying such words on public television is crossing the limits.

What aroused me was the fact that there are so many people who criticize Indian cricketers and pass comments saying they can do this, they can practice on their weakness, they are mentally weak, they don't have aggression, they don't have the will to win, they are playing rash shots and getting out etcetera etcetera. How many of these 'fans' do any introspection into their own lives; how many of them have told themselves 'never give up', how many of them have fought in adversity, how many of them have tried to change things around them, how many of them have been in pressure cooker situations, how many of them have been perfect in life never committing a mistake, how many of them have the strength to resist temptation, how many of them have the energy to motivate others?

Just any X, Y or Z throws comments in public as if they are Mr. Perfect or as if they have represented India at the national level. Why don't they get into the national side and prove themselves instead of passing such comments in public. Freedom of speech is good but it should't be used to mock someone. Fans might get emotional over the way their team performs and if they do badly there is limit to the kind of words used. Feeling disappointed is fine, but getting angry and personally attacking someone is downright horrible. I really wish the same people would look into their own lives and change themselves; I wish people would become more critical of themselves, scrutinize their lives and change rather than keep pointing finger at someone else. It is so easy to point fingers at someone and say "they are doing wrong", but it is so difficult to do the same to ourselves. It hurt seeing educated people talk like that in public - you learn subjects like moral science but what use is all that if you don't have basic respect for another fellow human being.

To end on a lighter note, it was a really spirited performance by the minnows Ireland and Bangladesh in the world cup - I enjoyed the way they played; especially the effort and commitment showed in their fielding and on the day they played better and deserved to win.

2 comments:

Sachin Sebastian said...

Completly agree...
Infact I was planning to blog on the same subject... Just didn't get time.... Maybe I will put it up after a copule of days....
The day after India lost to SL- People just expect you to just criticize the players blindly... the person who blasts the team/ players most vociferously (even without proper reason) will get the applause.... If someone stands behind the team (saying for sure they would have put in their max effort and commitment - I mean its not like they wanted to lose and come back to India), or even if he says 'I didn't find anything to be ashamed of backing the team/ watching the whole match'... he is sure to be laughed and made fun of.... Sheesh.... Yes, people have the right to criticize.... but this is going too much....
Seems they will understand anything about it only if They were part of the team, played their heart out only to hear people screaming - as SS has pointed out: 'He is the most stupid captain', or 'He does not know how to hold the bat'... or throw stones at his house!
Yes. India lost to SL. So what! Does that qualify you to call names/ make fun of the players/ burn theur effigies/ break their Window panes?!

Sachin Sebastian said...

Completly agree...
Infact I was planning to blog on the same subject... Just didn't get time.... Maybe I will put it up after a copule of days....
The day after India lost to SL- People just expect you to just criticize the players blindly... the person who blasts the team/ players most vociferously (even without proper reason) will get the applause.... If someone stands behind the team (saying for sure they would have put in their max effort and commitment - I mean its not like they wanted to lose and come back to India), or even if he says 'I didn't find anything to be ashamed of backing the team/ watching the whole match'... he is sure to be laughed and made fun of.... Sheesh.... Yes, people have the right to criticize.... but this is going too much....
Seems they will understand anything about it only if They were part of the team, played their heart out only to hear people screaming - as SS has pointed out: 'He is the most stupid captain', or 'He does not know how to hold the bat'... or throw stones at his house!
Yes. India lost to SL. So what! Does that qualify you to call names/ make fun of the players/ burn theur effigies/ break their Window panes?!