A blog hours before IPL takes off!
India has begun the countdown for its first ever celebration of cricket. IPL and the magnanimity it has assumed even before the first match is played, is a symbol of how people of this country love cricket, and how some capitalists of the same country know this.
Hype for cricket in India is never too much. And putting your money where madness knows no end is a good idea.
But what is IPL about.? It's T20, so it's certainly not about cricket at its best, as T20 is everything but that. I don't give a damn whether you hit the shot on the off or the leg, drive it straight or hook it above the keeper, I want runs. I don't care whether you win the toss or loose it, whether you choose to bat first or bowl, whether you open the full face of bat or don't even hold it proper, whether the pitch is bouncy or dead. All I want is runs if you are my team and dot balls if you are not.
IPL is also not about stardom. People have watched cricket to watch Sachin. They have watched cricket to watch Jaysurya, Lara, Ponting, Hayden, Gilly. And they have watched cricket to watch why Sachin is better then them all! I don't think people would watch IPL for Sachin, Dravid or Ganguly specially when they might as well be pitted against your "own team".
IPL is also not about "playing for us" feeling that international cricket brings in. Sachin scored a century playing for India against Australia. I am an Indian. He played for me, I feel great! But in an IPL match, when I see players from some other state, some other country, playing against players they share their regional credentials with, I doubt he is playing for my city. He is playing for bucks. And I haven't spent those, so he is not playing for me. Much of my city's team has no one from my city I can wreck the house of, should he choose to drop a catch!
IPL is not about money. I don't care how much those guys have spent on these players to play for them. I am not going to get anything if they do good! And I can't understand what these guys who have spent these millions are going to get if their team wins.
IPL is not about brand promotion. Cricket works wonders for brand promotions but though IPL teams are related to corporate houses, no IPL team is associated with any special brand. Only way brands can be promoted is spill boards, TV ads and all that. And it can in no way get better than international cricket in its ability to do that!
IPL is not about anything I have been following cricket for.
IPL is about HYPE. A corporate house gets a boost if it is in someway connected to anything that is hyped. When a world cup is on, ride the sponsorship wagon and be a part of the Hype. If hundred corore people watch the ball hit the boundary, at least a part of them will see the label pasted on the spill board. And at least some part of them will recognize it when they see it next and at least a part of that will be willing to go for it in case they have to make a choice between that brand and another not so hyped one.
But hype does not come everyday. World cup happens once in four years and there are no sixers in hockey, soccer, tennis, volleyball, athletics etc etc. So what do I do if I need the HYPE.? You guessed it right, I create it.
When I need to create hype, what medium do I use? I use the one that is easily propagated. I choose a language which everyone understands, a star that everyone wants to look at (even with indifference) and an event whose outcome is not certain. That's right, I choose cricket, all international cricket stars and a club-like tournament to suffice the three purposes.
IPL is about hype, and willingness of capitalist outposts to generate it. How successful will they be.. is an answer which we will start getting from 6 PM - 18 April onwards.
India has begun the countdown for its first ever celebration of cricket. IPL and the magnanimity it has assumed even before the first match is played, is a symbol of how people of this country love cricket, and how some capitalists of the same country know this.
Hype for cricket in India is never too much. And putting your money where madness knows no end is a good idea.
But what is IPL about.? It's T20, so it's certainly not about cricket at its best, as T20 is everything but that. I don't give a damn whether you hit the shot on the off or the leg, drive it straight or hook it above the keeper, I want runs. I don't care whether you win the toss or loose it, whether you choose to bat first or bowl, whether you open the full face of bat or don't even hold it proper, whether the pitch is bouncy or dead. All I want is runs if you are my team and dot balls if you are not.
IPL is also not about stardom. People have watched cricket to watch Sachin. They have watched cricket to watch Jaysurya, Lara, Ponting, Hayden, Gilly. And they have watched cricket to watch why Sachin is better then them all! I don't think people would watch IPL for Sachin, Dravid or Ganguly specially when they might as well be pitted against your "own team".
IPL is also not about "playing for us" feeling that international cricket brings in. Sachin scored a century playing for India against Australia. I am an Indian. He played for me, I feel great! But in an IPL match, when I see players from some other state, some other country, playing against players they share their regional credentials with, I doubt he is playing for my city. He is playing for bucks. And I haven't spent those, so he is not playing for me. Much of my city's team has no one from my city I can wreck the house of, should he choose to drop a catch!
IPL is not about money. I don't care how much those guys have spent on these players to play for them. I am not going to get anything if they do good! And I can't understand what these guys who have spent these millions are going to get if their team wins.
IPL is not about brand promotion. Cricket works wonders for brand promotions but though IPL teams are related to corporate houses, no IPL team is associated with any special brand. Only way brands can be promoted is spill boards, TV ads and all that. And it can in no way get better than international cricket in its ability to do that!
IPL is not about anything I have been following cricket for.
IPL is about HYPE. A corporate house gets a boost if it is in someway connected to anything that is hyped. When a world cup is on, ride the sponsorship wagon and be a part of the Hype. If hundred corore people watch the ball hit the boundary, at least a part of them will see the label pasted on the spill board. And at least some part of them will recognize it when they see it next and at least a part of that will be willing to go for it in case they have to make a choice between that brand and another not so hyped one.
But hype does not come everyday. World cup happens once in four years and there are no sixers in hockey, soccer, tennis, volleyball, athletics etc etc. So what do I do if I need the HYPE.? You guessed it right, I create it.
When I need to create hype, what medium do I use? I use the one that is easily propagated. I choose a language which everyone understands, a star that everyone wants to look at (even with indifference) and an event whose outcome is not certain. That's right, I choose cricket, all international cricket stars and a club-like tournament to suffice the three purposes.
IPL is about hype, and willingness of capitalist outposts to generate it. How successful will they be.. is an answer which we will start getting from 6 PM - 18 April onwards.
posted by UltaChashma @ 11:54 PM
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