There was a funny but true quote from a woman interviewed for this article (thanks, Technophobicgeek) on World Cup mania in India:
A young woman sold on soccer pointed out: “I like soccer because the men playing the sport are strong, fit, aggressive and much better-looking. Cricketers on the other hand are softies in comparison, and it is quite incomprehensible how 10 people can just stand and watch while one bowls and the other bats,” she argued.
In her view, the only exception is Dhoni, who combines strength with sensitive looks and style, the ultimate Beckhamesque combination. She said Dhoni started off being a soccer player, in any case. (link)
My significant other, who is very knowledgeable on these matters, agrees on the question of the appeal of cricketers vs. soccer players. (The question of which sport is better may be a different matter, of course.) The article also mentions the predicted 150 million (cumulative) Indian viewers for the games, which will be broadcast in Hindi all over the country, bringing in scads of advertising revenue. And incidentally, the “Dhoni” the interviewee mentions is Mahindra Singh Dhoni, and he’s the most eligible batchelor in Jharkand, apparently (also, pictured right). A bit Beckhamesque, is he not?
There’s a similar comment (minus the cricket) in a Slate piece by Bryan Curtis where he explains why intellectual American men seem to be drawn to soccer. Part of it is that they’re (ok we’re) “internationalist” coffee-drinking, Richard Linklater-worshipping poseurs, of course. But maybe it also has to do with this:
In a weak moment, the soccer intellectual might even admit that the sport’s stars are aspirational male role models. Most soccer players are not human grotesqueries like NFL stars or attenuated beanpoles like NBA players. They’re possessed of attainable physiques, strong and compact—the kind that might impress intellectuals and the women who love them. (link)
Yes, I always prefer my sports to have aspirational role models — and maybe voiceless velar plosives as well.
Dhoni is from my high school in Ranchi
I’m a labial fricative man myself. (“Oh, behave.”)
And though, yes, I find “the rest of the world” interesting, my love of footy hasn’t the faintest connection to the part of me that thinks.
OK, maybe the faintest connection. But, for the most part, we’re talking sheer visceral spectatorship.
That’s actually Mahendra Dhoni. Shaking head You NRIs 😉
footballers? drool
He’s a wicket-keeper batsman and a bachelor…does that make him a batchelor ?
Crap, wouldn’t you know it — on a day where I corrected someone else…
(Goes back to sipping Ginger Kulfi…)
And quite a clever linguist. Tongues will wag.
HOT…seriously.
“it is quite incomprehensible how 10 people can just stand and watch while one bowls and the other bats”
As opposed to football where all the 22 players play with the ball at the same time??!! That is why, women and sports dont mix(except in tennis…….yumm…and golf if you are korean).
Personally I find Steve Cherundolo on the US team dreamy and droolworthy. He’s got the hottest legs this side of Beck-ham.
There’s so many soccer dudes who are built like real men but have model good-looks. They’re the golden mean between the pretty boy and the neanderthal.
Why, btw, does no one speculate on the irresistible fascination these men have for intellectual women…
They do? Bathe them and bring them to me.
Hehehe, Check this out.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-200493822943077064&q=fielding
The Indo-Pak cricket match is nicknamed the mother of all battles and Dhoni is a modern day gladiator. I usually play soccer though.
The big question that looms over most of the cow-belt, naturally, is — WWDW: What Would Dhoni Wear?
A sarong, perchance?
I really don’t know how to hat tip this story. And I see all kinds of discussions happening here this week. I thought of posting this comment on the new guest blogger’s post, but then she is busy getting intro’ed and all.Also, I am scared of Anna the protectoress.So, Amardeep has to bear my burden, even if the story has nothing to do with Dhoni the Tarzan, or those Knights of St.George (St.David Beckham, St.Frank Lampard. St.Michael Owen and St.John Terry).
I will get back to Cricinfo now and see if the match at St.Lucia has begun.The Brazil match is not due for a few more hours.
Sorry, forgot to mention this:
Amardeep, cool post !
Beckham is a big time celebrity in India and because of him, most Indian kids know about and support ManU, where Becks made his name first.Even if Indians usually do not watch football, the World Cup has always been different.And now with a booming globalised pop and sports culture, not just football, even F-1 racing is followed faithfully.
Ugh..I must stop getting tempted by posts such as these and focus on the kind of news I hat tipped about in my earlier comment. I am serious. I am in that kind of a guilt trip today for some reason.
There are many fine sports, but none stands close to Cricket. No stroke so powerful as Sachin Tendulkar smiting a punch drive, no man so superior to his peers as Sir Donald Bradman, no action so noble as Iman Khan exhorting his men to fight like cornered tigers.
Next to cricket, football is but a meagre pastime of effete Continentals and their unfortunate subjugates.
Don’t know if I’d get so worked up about powerful strokes and punch drives, but I will say that Irfan Pathan is about a gazillion times hotter than Dhoni, who IMO just looks like a Delhi boy trying to be all cool flees
The great brown hope Vikash Dhorasoo almost scored in France’s first match.
well dq, unless you are dating one of them i don’t see why you would say this—posh spice? come on. 🙂
anyway with the US getting kicked big time by the czechs, i don’t think the soccer fascination will last too long here even among intellectuals. next time may be.
anyway with the US getting kicked big time by the czechs, i don’t think the soccer fascination will last too long here even among intellectuals. next time may be.
With the US gone, I am not sure which team to support. Maybe I should support my revolutionary ‘Persian’ brothers but they got bitch slapped by Mexico!
The U.S. isn’t gone yet.
One way to organize your World Cup viewing might be to always root for the smaller country. Thus you root for Paraguay against England, the Czech Republic against the U.S., and Trinidad against, well… anyone. (The state of Connecticut would do just fine!)
(Doing this helps justify India’s eternal failure to qualify: it’s simply too big. Ditto China. They’re so big, you couldn’t root for them even if they were in.)
To be fair RC, almost the entire French equipe almost scored in that match. There were so many close calls, we had a time-limited betting pool: $5 says no one will score in the next 15 minutes, and so on.
lets keep the commentary coming! lets get excited!
Brazil, what did you think? I thought they played well, Cafu was inspirational. at his age, he’s a wise man. Ronaldo…..looked old, he looks like a liability. Ronaldhino, an amazing man
the tournement has been great so far, i think the play is very good, with great sportmanship so far
no darlings of the Cup so far, but its early. everything will get more clear after the second games. If England do well, they may be on their way. If T&T pull off a shocker, they might be the Senegal of the Cup. South Korea may be a looming powerhouse in Asia. I think the real group of Death is Group F with Australia, Japan, Brazil and Croatia. Australia might be a surprise darling as well
My question was why there was only like one Arab guy on the entire Saudi Arabian team? What, do they import their players from Kenya? And what was up with the badly dressed ministers up in the booth?
We could also talk about where the Indian guys are on the Trinidad and Tobago team — a country with a 40% + Indian population.
And there’s still this ongoing nagging question about why no South Asian team has ever made it to the tournament…
Don’t worry, we’ll be doing more World Cup posts. Lots of them 😉
ah yeah, forgot the desi-angle. didn’t mean to divert the thread, just wasn’t thinking in that vein
Yes.
Did anyone watch the Italy-Ghana match? I was watching that with some of my girl friends (not girlfriends) and all they could talk about was how hot the Italians were. And they were playing the Ghanians, who umm, aren’t exactly the model-type. I felt so bad for them that I started supporting them. But they still lost, unfortunately.
Dhoni u hav done a grt job in srilanka nd south africa series in 2006.Ur highest score in a match with srilanka is excellent.Ur relationship with ur team mates is awesome.
Cricketers get their fair share of hotties as well…Michael Clark, James Anderson, and KP are a few examples. Women may go for footballers more because footballers can give their spouse lots of money, compared to poorer cricketers. Anyway, cricket is far better than football and will be like Allen Stanford said…more popular than football in about thirty years.
soccer is far better than cricket, more entertaining very simple rules, played al over the world.
cricket stands nowhere near soccer.
Cricket requires more thinking, plot, strategy. Maybe that is why a duller American sport like soccer has more fans. Nothing \,absolutely nothing can beat a last ball finish ODI. And i am from trinidad, in reply to the qn as to why no indians on the team, very simple, they are playing cricket.