Respect the sport

India. A country where every single entity is obsessed with cricket; right from a small kid who just started putting on his diapers to an old man who is lying on his death bed. A country where every kid dreams of becoming a cricketer one day. The love and passion for the sport is so deep that people prefer watching India-Australia match, or for that matter even India-Bermuda match, than going to college or getting some important work done.The situation gets very tensed for a family; when some 85 years old heart patient is watching an India-Pakistan match with India needing 10 runs to win of the last over with one wicket in hand and, Dhoni and Zaheer at the crease. Its a sport where the emotions of a hundred million people are involved. The number of people who broke down when Sachin announced his One Day retirement; portrays the gravity and the emotional connect that we have with the sport.

Now, given such immense passion for cricket and love for the country, its quite obvious that the whole nation hopes that India comes out triumphant in every single match. There is nothing wrong in hoping for the best and encouraging the team for the same. But the problem is that majority of the homo sapiens of our country feel that team India owes them a victory. Failing to do so, they are severely criticized as if they've committed a heinous crime.

There's a very fine line between craze and passion/love for the sport. People who love cricket and are passionate about it applaud the team/player when they come out triumphant; and give them the same encouragement and support when they lose a match. I genuinely respect these people.
But the ones who make me pissed off are the ones who pose that they are crazy and mad about the sport. The reactions of these people is too irritating to be explained and analyzed; they can only be quoted.
India wins (Mr. Cricu: 148*): " Aaj ne tho India macha di. Faadu performance tha yaar. Cricu tho team India ka next Sachin hai be."
India loses (Mr. Cricu: 5): " Abey, bakwaas game tha yaar. Chutiyo jaise khel rha tha sab log. Aur Cricu tho sabse bada chutiya hai. Team se nikalna chahiye usko."
Hope you got the essence of the cheapness of their mentality. (And I'm sure many of you would have felt for a moment - "Is he referring to me??")

The point is; the 15 odd people who made it into the team proved their mettle. Its their genuine talent which earned them the spot from among'st a thousand million people. Our passion for the sport is very puny in comparison with their's. They work their asses off, shed gallons of sweat, training hard in the nets, to deliver in every single match bringing glory to the nation and smiles on millions of faces. Every player has his unique style of play. Try to respect that. And when a particular player is unable to deliver, understand that he is out of his form at the moment. We people sitting in our homes glued to the television cannot understand and comprehend what's going on in the mind of the player when he's out of his form. They are the people who made cricket as their life, their religion. So when he's out of his form, he spends every drop of his blood to regain back his original form and deliver for the team. After all its the passion of his life which is at stake. Understand that every single player out there is carrying the responsibility of representing the whole nation, and they give invest micron of their energy to bring glory to the nation.

Still didn't get what the above bakar was for??
-Stop criticizing the team and players when they aren't able to deliver; encourage them and support them with the same spirit and enthusiasm.
RESPECT THE SPORT is all that I want to say.