It just seems like a few days back when India brought the elusive World Cup trophy home.The fact that it has been almost 4 years since that illustrious win seems quite unbelievable. All the madness,euphoria, and hoopla around the last World Cup victory seem surreal and sometimes even refuse to die down. And that should most certainly be the case, I say. After all, it's no joke that we got the trophy back home after 28 long years. The wait was quite long, but it was definitely worth it. And all of the hype and craziness around the victory was justified for this cricket - crazy nation where cricket is no less than a religion. As rightly said, cricket is more a feeling than just a sport. Indians eat, sleep, walk, and breathe cricket. So much is the love for the game, that we literally worship our cricketers and make them living Gods. And those Gods need no introduction. 'It's a magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years....' These words still send shivers down our spines and keep coming back to our minds often, not letting the World Cup victory be a distant memory. But, with another World Cup series being just a few days away, the nostalgia about our previous victory is sure to increase manifold. So much has been written and predicted already about the upcoming World Cup event and the excitement only seems to keep increasing with every passing day. Unfortunately, this time around, World Cup will not take place on the Indian soil. This being the only downside, I'm pretty sure there are other factors which will make up for this happening. Of course, there are questions raising against the outster of some good-but-out-of-form-players, but that is another story altogether. But, the larger picture, which is that of winning, remains intact, irrespective. Catering to people across all ages and overlooking the barriers of religion, cricket has succeeded in uniting the entire Indian population with its mass appeal. Till sometime back, I used to wonder, what the fuss around cricket was all about. I'm still not exactly clear in my analysis about cricket overshadowing the other sports. From all the sense that I have tried to make out of the passion and craziness for this game is : a) Cricket, for Indians, is a feeling that cannot be denied. b) Non-cricket lovers will never be able to understand that feeling and affiliation of a cricket fan towards the sport. c) The resources required to play the game can be afforded by a common man and hence active participation in the sport doubles up the overall interest levels. d) You cannot overlook the crazy passion India holds about cricket, which gets you thinking if you are the only odd man out in your dislike for the sport. And when there is so much tom - tomming about the sport, how can one not follow suit and join in the chanting and cheering! Well, that was my analysis and I assume there are many others who may feel the same way. Whether you observe a watchman or a chai-wallah or go to any roadside food stalls or a market area or even a luxury shopping mall or whether you eaves-drop in on a conversation, cricket discussions seem to be dominating among other interests. Period. Every other person, nowadays, knows about the World Cup scenario, the players who made the team, the reason behind the dropping out of some, and the list goes on. And not to forget, they have the schedule of matches right there with themselves. It almost seems like the whole of India is gearing up to play the World Cup. So much is the curiosity, that during the World Cup, you will find many people making sincere efforts to get the latest score updates irrespective of where they are and what they are busy with. And you know, the best thing about this entire World Cup episode is that they don't care about anything as long as they are fulfilling their duties of being avid cricket lovers.
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