Living in India ever since I was born, my hobby of observing the Indian media behavior regarding sports has never been able to keep me busy. Cricket has always been the top most priority with nothing else getting any significant coverage apart from the once in a blue moon Olympic medals. People say that things were different before 1983; though I was not around then still I can imagine the way Kapil’s devils must have driven straight into the hearts of the Indian nationals riding on the crackling voices of radio commentaries.
Such has been the Indian media behavior, that even a layman can explain it’s inclination towards cricket. So much importance is given to cricket that to know the score of an Azlan Shah cup hockey match or an I-league soccer encounter, one has to seek help from google and the news of Saina Nehwal winning a grand prix event ends up in two paragraphs of a single newspaper column.
The general breakup of a sports page in an Indian newspaper reserves almost 75% of the space for cricket, the rest of the sports get 5 to 10% and the remaining is gleefully blotched by advertisements, much to the pleasure of the publisher. The story of news channels is no different as their half an hour programs which claim to cover all the sport genres are ironically called ‘Runyuddh’ or ‘Runbhoomi’.
It was after many years that Indian media faced a serious dilemma in deciding its priorities when it came to deciding the radius of the spotlight to be cast on the FIFA world cup 2014.
Football is the most popular sport in the world and the world cup is its biggest event. Add to it the vibrant hosts Brazil, the thrilling contests and the irresistible charm of watching the biggest superstars of the game in action; this world cup was set to be every spectator’s delight. Also, the violent protests carried out all across Brazil against the funds spent on staging the magnanimous event caught everyone’s eye even before the start of the tournament. Obviously, the global media lapped it up with both hands but the Indian soccer fan was still skeptical over his chances of enjoying a fair coverage of the event.
Started the world cup, and the Indian sports fan was in for a pleasant surprise as the media warmed up along with the fever of the soccer carnival. For a change, cricket took the backseat and soccer was on the mind and mood of the media houses and the houses outside them. The same Indian fans who used to wake up early to witness a Sachin hundred in Australia, started staying up till late at night to watch the Messi magic in Brazil.
England football team’s early exit from the world cup and shameful return to their country was much more extensively reported than Indian cricket team’s departure to England to play a high voltage cricket series. Similarly, Stuart Binny’s breath taking performance to register the all time best figures for an Indian bowler in ODIs was overshadowed by Thomas Muller’s hat trick against Portugal. It is also to be noted here that by now the common Indian viewer has comprehended and digested the fact of a ‘hat trick’ being possible in football too.
According to viewership stats, 10 million people are watching the FIFA world cup in India, which is only two million short of the number of people who watched the recent edition of the ICC T20 world cup. Starting from a common Indian’s behavior to watch a game to his preference to play one, this soccer world cup can do to Football what the 1983 world cup did to cricket in India.
The ‘83 world cup was a milestone for the country in many ways. The ‘rags to riches’ story of the Indian cricket team was latched upon by the media, the nation got a new religion to swear by and the role models of the kids were changed for the years to come. The 2014 FIFA world cup cannot be placed on the same pedestal as the 1983 world cup as India is not even a part of the most prestigious soccer event, still there is no denying the fact that it has opened a whole new world of possibilities for the game in the country.
The Indian Super League -still being referred to as the ‘IPL of football’- is to start later this year. Coming on the heels of the FIFA world cup; it holds the key to the future of football in India. A responsible act from the infamous Indian sports authorities and an encouraging coverage of the event by the media can instill life into the weak structure of the sport in country and ensure that the football fever lives on.
As the world cup has proceeded, it has become clear that the Indian media has reset its priorities and the common viewer has happily agreed to it. Being an Indian sports well wisher, I only hope that this trend continues even after the world cup. As for how things look now - ‘India is ready for soccer’.
