Dinx - the Jinx Posted April 13, 2014 Posted April 13, 2014 Hey guys - I made a short video for a an ongoing competition in my company. Its been doing well. I thought I will share here as well D70RWxXbOek&feature=youtu.be Oh dear Fandemonioum… where have you been all these years? I had been waiting for someone like you. And boy… I had waited long enough for a Forum and Audience where I can ‘show-off’ the faith in my chosen religion. The religion of one billion people. Now that I have you… am not going to let you go easily. I’m not here for the competition or the prize. I’m here to share my joy of following my team to my colleagues and friends, many of whom wouldn’t have the faintest idea, that I have been hiding a monster fanboyism under the white collars and black trousers. I’ve been on a roll with Team INDIA since 1987 when my dad took me along for the first ever world cup in the sub continent, being played in my home town Chennai. I was instantly hooked and there has been no looking back. Since then I have attended every single International match (Test or ODI) played at Chennai, until I shifted base to Bangalore in 2007. After that I continued doing more of the same in my adopted home town which introduced the world to IPL Watching LIVE cricket in the 1990s India had its own challenges. The long queues – not only to buy tickets, even if you had the ticket, you had to get in a couple of hours early, the hot and humid Chennai weather and ofcourse money to purchase the over priced tickets. I was in school for the better part of this decade and I wasn’t quite resourceful around that time. I had to go in for some of the lowest priced stands. While I can never match the fanboyism of Shardy or Sudheer (the famous Sachin fan who paints himself head to waist), I had done my bit of fanboyism myself as you’ll see in this video. With my limited mobility and resources, I am very proud that I had made it to so many no. of matches, sat on stands with concrete slabs for seats which can heat up to 40 degree C during Chennai summers, slept on wooden benches, spent nights in the queues to get a hand on tickets for important matches in the pre-online tickets era. The sheer happiness and joy of being able to root for your team, shouting slogans, waving flags, is what keeps me going back. Mind you – I can watch a 5 day test match in a stadium all by myself, without getting bored J and every year depending on whether I am in Chennai or Bangalore, I have attended Test matches in those centers. Plus a no. of ODIs and IPL games. I wont even leave the domestic Ranji Trophy games, as that gives an opportunity to get closer to India players playing for their states. I have many photos to share from these many years of fanboyism. There are several more that I cannot share as I did not have a camera or a mobile when they happened in the 90s. Since I could not add them all in the Photos section, I decided to make a short video. In order to spice things up, so that you do not get bored seeing my pictures alone, I have added some pictures that are general cricket pictures and some nice music to accompany the visuals. I've sort of attempted story-scaping here to share my story with pictures, text and music. I'm not a designer from the Studio team - I am just a poor Project Manager, running Daily SCRUM meetings for my living. Dont mind if the pictures and video are not of highest quality. Hope you'll enjoy the video and if you did... please 'Like' it and leave a comment of encouragement. Here is to 'Fandemonium' and 'Team India' ====================================================== Putting the words ‘Commitment’ and ‘Dedication’ in perspective In order to understand the commitment and dedication that is required to be a die-hard cricket fan in India, one needs to understand the pain and sacrifice that goes with it. Watching a LIVE cricket match in India means (especially in the 80s and 90s and before Indian Cricket became rich), you should be prepared to subject yourself to a lot of hardships pictured below Buying the ticket 8 hours under the scorching sun on concrete steps or wooden benches (look behind the batsman and the wicket keeper) benches.jpgStands 1.jpg The occasional lathi charges from the police lathi charge.jpg Post 2006 ie after the Champions Trophy in India and in build up to the 2011 WC in India, the Stadiums and facilities have vastly improved, and what I have mentioned above have become things of the past. Tickets can be bought online on the click of a button (albeit occasional crashing of servers like the one witnessed when the 2011 Finals tickets went on sale). More and more new stadiums have been built in smaller cities like Pune, Ranchi etc and the older ones getting renovated into world class ones. For instance, look at MA Chidambaram in Chennai (before and after). chepak stadium before reconstruction.jpgThe_new_and_old_stands_at_the_M._A._Chidambaram_Stadium.jpg These are good times to be an Indian Cricket fan and I urge those of you who have been passionate about the Indian team but never went to the stadium, to venture out and experience what I have done over the last 2 and a half decades. It’s a whole new atmosphere out there and an experience of its own kind when you are in the midst of 40000+ people rooting for your team. This will take your passion to the next level. All the best! Hope you'll like it. Comments and questions are welcome :)
Dinx - the Jinx Posted April 13, 2014 Author Posted April 13, 2014 Many thanks guys. Glad you liked it.
gattaca Posted April 13, 2014 Posted April 13, 2014 Great display of emergence of Indian cricket from 90s
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