Live match !! and nobody is blocking the TV !!

I have been to a couple of live matches (A couple - exactly), One one-day cricket match and an American Football match. It was not the differences, instead the similarities I saw that were amusing. For one thing both these sports have so much hype that you will be a bit disappointed if you are not really much of a sports enthusiast. But, really the fun is all in the air and less in the sport itself.

Lets start with cricket. The one dayer I got to watch was between India A and India B :D.. yes no big hype about this match , but hey I got free tickets, and I got to sit with the best known cricket fan (my dad) just 4 feet from the boundary line, pavilion side. That was a very good deal if you ask me.

This was the match where Irfan Pathan was introduced to the big deal cricket (i guess...cos i had not heard of him before). Two things I remember clearly about where we were sitting. One, We had shelter, which not only meant no rain or sun, but also meant hordes of pigeons up on the beams. This meant a shower of droppings, so most people were either wearing caps or holding umbrellas :P. I got to wear the only cap we had got with us, and my father got the secondary rebound shower of droppings from my cap too. But thank fully that adorable man is such a fan of cricket that he barely noticed this. The second thing I remember is that we were sitting 5 feet away from the boundary line (first row seats), and manning the boundary line was Irfan Pathan himself. I clearly remember thinking he was cute :P

One thing is true about any sport. Watching it live means being part of the unbelievable energy. Being a part of that 50000 odd crowd is something to feel. But, I don't think I was able to follow the game as much as I would have on TV. For one thing, you cannot see the ball when the bowler bowls it. They are not called fast bowlers for nothing. You will be surprised the batsman can swing his bat and actually connect with the ball. And another stage to this whole story is you have no clue where the ball went unless you see one fielder running. It was then I would start understanding the whole shot.

American football... I'd always think "Now there is a game that includes all of a boy's dreams... has a ball and more importantly it has fighting for that ball". The game is so rough, you are surprised when a fallen player gets back up and runs again like nothing happened. To think there were 4 grown men fallen on him just a second before makes you admire that dude's strength. The one thing I remember most about that game was not the sport itself but the temperature. It was easily 43C and I had the privilege of sitting as close to the sun as possible in that stadium. We had the topmost row seats in the open area! The Egyptians will envy me for this I am sure, they built pyramids for nothing. I got closer to God than they ever would!

Of course I have to mention that, that proximity to God did not go well for me. I left the game within 45 minutes of start of play. I don't regret either going or leaving. Me writing about it is testimonial to that fact.