Opinion Football is all
Why bother scheduling anything interesting on TV when all eyes are glued to South Africa?....
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It may be that Sreeram has had a haircut because of Sanjay Dutt and this has not impaired his ability to sing on Indian Idol 5 (Sony); it is also possible that Abeer and Leher will begin to annoy their parents less (although this is by no means for certain since thus far his and hers are behaving as if they are dishonoured khap panchayats) on Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam(Colors); and the chances are Lali will finally be reunited with her own child and the villainous Loha will be exposed for exchanging babies. Its also possible… but why continue does anybody care what happens anywhere else but in South Africa?
Its time for soccer. Still. Nobody is watching much else,leastways nobody but Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara who were seen at Wimbledon. Its been that kind of fortnight. Those looking for the elegance of Federer and the ripple of Nadals muscles,will not find them easily because the tennis is tucked away on Star Cricket and only diehard fans will choose them ahead of Arjen Robben helping the football into Slovakias net.
Chances are you did not remember to look out for the smashing Saina Nehwal on Sunday as she won her third consecutive badminton title. You may not have known where to even look. Think there were highlights on DD Sports,Monday.
If Nehwal was overshadowed by soccer spare a thought for the Asia Cup cricket tournament and the Natwest one-day series between England and Australia. India won the former and Australia lost the latter momentous events in the world of cricket but who cares when theres the prospect of England being Klosed out,or Mexico coming to a Messi end (sorry,could not resist the puns!)?
And if you caught fleeting glances of Sebastian Vettel winning the European GP it was not only because he was racing by but also because you were impatiently switching channels for the football World Cup.
Such a lot of sports on the air but eyes for only one. So,okay,Wimbledon is sacrosanct,the dates cannot be changed,but the Natwest Trophy and the Asia Cup could have been rescheduled so that we watched them. Since these tournaments live off the telecast rights,it makes no sense to pit them against the biggest sporting tournament in the world,every four years,in the battle for eyeballs.
Now a word about Mayanti Langer. Who? You know,the lady who appears before,during the interval and after the World Cup matches on Star Sports and ESPN. Shes a winner. And were not speaking about her looks. Those are fine but her charm lies elsewhere. Close your eyes and listen to her voice: its unexpected. Its more soothing than sunburn cream. It oozes,it snoozes,it makes you feel so comforted,you want to sit back in the armchair and nap. Langer is the opposite of the action on the field: unhurried,unruffled. And she knows enough about the game to keep the ball (read conversation) in play.
The commentators arent half bad either. They keep track of the ball,the names of all the players and referees,efficiently and still find time for eloquence and humour. During the Brazil-Portugal match,the commentator remarked: this was meant to be a football feast but we havent got past the bread-sticks so far,or words to that effect!
Those who watch the midnight matches and find it difficult to stay up for the second half can switch to entertainment channels for a spot of teleshopping. Channels like Imagine,Zee,and even the news channel India TV play games with you: they ask you to guess who is smiling back at you and win lakhs in gold. Now,that should shake you awake.
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
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