A few days back one of my very reasonable friends alleged that the interest any of the desi's in the US may exhibit in core American games/sports, like American football for instance, is very artificial..
This argument started when we were following a thrilling game between Washington RedSkins, the DC home team with the Philadelphia Eagles on New Year day. The game was important because a win on this game would give the RedSkins an entry into the playoffs. After a wonderful game (where RedSkins won 31-20), I was discussing the game with Eswar, when this very reasonable friend stepped in and asserted - the whole thing sounded very artificial and superficial to him.
Coming to think about this, I really do not blame him for that conclusion. I find many of what we desis do very artificial indeed:
- I find it artificial when we desis try to mimic the (horribly irritating) rap musicians - wearing a monkey cap, partially holding the hands upto the chest and yelling Yo wazzup! in a basal high pitch;..
- I find it artificial when we desis pickup an 'American' slang, adulterating the decent English that we can speak as pathetic as one could, thereby making it unintelligible for anybody to understand; ...
- I find it artificial when we desis listen to the traffic, check the weather and print out maps before we drive to the superstore on the next block; ...
So if all the above is considered artificial, then what is wrong in my friend's observation that cheering up for an all American team in an all American game to be artificial ?
That I cannot agree. I, for one, love sports/games blindly. Be it whatever. I can sit & watch any sport of any sort without getting bored for hours - Tennis, Soccer, Golf, Swimmi
ng, Cycling, Formula One, Pool etc etc., - I just love sports. And I know that there are quite a few of my friends - this one for sure, who do the same. We share a passion for sports. Sports is universal, just like how music is - borderless, boundaryless.Just because Iam from India doesnt mean that I have to sit & cheer only cricket - the game in our DNA, or hockey - the national sport or kabaddi - where we easily win medals .. I can equally appreciate Tennis and maybe cheer more when Leander or Sania get to the matchpoint, appreciate Racing and maybe cheer more when Narain completes a race, appreciate Golf and maybe cheer more when Vijay Singh hits a birdie, appreciate Chess and maybe cheer more when Anand does a check mate. Being in India has never hampered us to follow any of these 'imported' sports.. And coming to America has just widened our scope to look & follow more sports - basketball, baseball, football and the like.
I agree that (I used to think) American football is nothing but a game of rough bullies weighing 250+ lbs each falling over each other just like that - a bigger version of relatively leaner Sumo players or WWF. I used to laugh at the irony that this game is called Football, when they rarely use the foot and the ball isnt even round. But I have come to admire, follow through and enjoy the sport over time - and just like how some need exams to increase seriousness in a reading, just like how some need a speedometer to pump adrenaline while driving crazily on a freeway, I just need to cheer & support a team/player to take a more active interest in sports (just a variation of Maslow's theory X, I guess;)). And so I support a team, conveniently the RedSkins - home team from Washington, DC where I live.
When one does something not just for conversation starters or to look cool, when one watches a game waking up at crazy times like 3:20 AM because a favorite team plays, when one travels a few thousand miles staying in rubbish motels just to follow a 90 minute race - the interest sure may be an acquired one, but definitely is not artificial.
Ciao..
PS: On a totally different note, DC folks - do visit Misha's coffee at Old Town. They serve excellent coffee and the place is cozy. You can catch up on reading, play scrabbles/chess, discuss politics, blog(the internet is weak & unusable though) or the best - sip coffee and engage in advanced ornithology !
15 comments:
Siva,
I see your passion towards all the sports as an exception and not as an example. You are one of the few guys who see the sport for the content of it, but there are many around us who see it for different reasons. For many, American sports are conversation starters, easy tool to break the ice etc. Indians good at consulting tend to use these tools effectively. This is definitely artificial and superficial.
For once I like to concur with your very reasonable friend.
Siva good blog. I personally dont see anything artificial in following a game be it from you native land or the land you work in.
Its sports, so there is nothing wrong is getting hooked on to it starting with the silliest of reasons and then growing on to admire the sport.
For a country like India...where everyone plays cricket or atleast watches it...one is born into such an environment and so grows up with the cricket itch.
For folks coming into america, all around they see people talking about NFL (during the season) so one begins to get an itch to know about the game. So what starts as a curious venture ends up as a passion.
My intro to F1 was similar. When my cousins talked about F1 all the time, it peaked my curious side. Thats how i got into watching the sport.
So Siva...your so called "reasonable friend" is unreasonable and full of bias after all !!
Siva,
You are right that many watch sport as a sport. Being in India, should I watch only Cricket and Hockey? And watching anything else would be branded "artificial"? Full load of crap!
I have seen enough number of people (Indians) who have no passion towards games/sports and still watch NFL/NBA soon after entering the states. Your "reasonable friend" is talking about that section, I guess!
But I wouldn't agree on accents et al. If a person is surrounded by a different accent he/she tend to adapt the same! Its common, go and stay in Madurai for a year, lets see how your tamil changes! I have seen/experienced this quite often (my visits to Tirunelveli for 3-4 months, invariably makes me accented!).
Again, you are referring some of the folks, who voulantirily do that with a view of gaining some mileage out of it.
Your "reasonable friend" can not and should not generalize about us watching foreign sports. On the same vein, I don't think you are right in generalizing about gaining accent.
There are different sortsa ppl who do certain things with passion/feel and certain other ppl who do the same things with a view of gaining something!
~A
Adding one other side topic here (related to watching all sports):
Peter Windsor (F1 Racing Mag, a well respected F1 Journalist, Ex-Williams Employee, knows the ins and outs of racing from machinery to driving) says, "It (F1) is bigger, in terms of annual turnover and audience, than the Olympics (which in my view have become too commercial by far) and that ridiculously boring game they call soccer."
He is passionate about F1 (IMHO, much more than us and rightly so). But what he says about Soccer, to me, is bullocks!
Your idea of "I watch all sports with passion" - doesn't impress me. Once you are watching a sport for a long time (once you cross the glamour/adrenalin effects of it and see the sports/rules and the logic behind), I am sure you must find some sports are just gimmics! I have liked some sports before but not anymore. Because in my opinion, they are bullocks. Let me give some examples...
1. I may be opening a controversy by saying this...(its your blog anyway!).. I don't like cricket - espescially, the 1 day version of it. The rule changes are killing the sport that I used to like.
2. I don't like NBA (not basketball in general, i love to watch the same in olympics/world cups). NBA - a bad set of 100% commercial minded organisation. I wouldn't watch NBA finals (Eastern or Western or the real finals) anymore. A sport, in which fouling is a strategy to advance is degrading in my opinion. I am sure USA will not be a super power in Basketball (they are eating sand already!). You know why - NBA!
So, I am sure you'd also cultivate some opinions about certain sports. If you say "I watch all sports forever and ever", may be you are closing some of your rationality.
Siva,
Another aspect of it...
Everyone feels something is artificial, if that thing is not appealing to them.
Rapper's lifestyle/Accent etc...Do you like doing these? If not, apart from appearing artificial, what else can we expect from you on these? Nothing. (By the way, I like Eminem and 50 Cents...not hearing much nowadays though. But, I can't imagine me adopting their lifestyle! I just like their products)
In the same way, does your reasonable friend like watching sports patronized by other countries or alien sports nationality-wise? If not, what else do you expect him to say?
Eshwar, All ppl - reasonable or otherwise, are biased. Shiva has chosen to call him/her a "reasonable friend". The blog is not about that. Any reasonable person can be biased too, there's nothing unreasonable about it.
~A
~A - is it you Anand ? I can guess by the style, just wanted to confirm
~A...I know this "reasonable friend" personally and I know he is reading this too, so that was just an attempt to yank at his chin !!
siva, yaaru antha 'reasonable friend' machi. you can include my name in the list of people who watches every sport & also like to play every sport.
have a nice weekend da.
Siva,
I really dont get what is artificial about one printing out a map before driving to a particular destination (even though ur supermarket example was a hyperbole) or listening to the traffic? Anyways, your blogs always appear extremely sensible to me except for those 3 bullets that threw me away a bit!
Do they still drive on the left side and call it reasonable...:)
When your are in Rome just be Roman. :)
Good one siva..
even i started watching NBA as ABC or ESPN or TNT or any channel is not showing cricket..
Enna Thalaiva now a days your blogs are only so sweet(i mean mild issues)...not karam...
Yeah its me
- Anand.
Guys, check out http://ambarthejovian.blogspot.com .
Siva,
Traffic weather is being unreasonable ? - if only our weathermen were as close to predicting 'vanam sila nerangalil mega mootathudan kanapadum, mazhai peyyalam peyyamalum irukkalam' kinda stuff ;)
re: sports, do what one is comfortable with - the only thing that i found is there are so many desis that do it coz they can 'look-down' upon others to say oh-you-never-dunit kinda glare !
makkale-
danx for all comments.. :)
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