Sport Has to Take A Back Seat, For Now

Sometimes, sport just has to take a back seat in life. Life isn't all about sport, and if I had ever thought differently in the past, I have changed that view radically.

We all love some sport or the other. India is a cricket-crazy nation. But the mindless attacks on Mumbai at a time the city was about to host the inaugural Champions League 20-20 of cricket made many accept the truth.

Life is bigger than sport.

We all have had smiles on our faces whenever the team or person we support does well. We feel so frustrated and grumpy when they lose that sometimes we end up being in a pathetic mood for a considerable amount of time.

But the frustration ends some day.

This time though, all the emotions with relation to sport went out of the window. When I sat down to watch the events unfolding in Mumbai, I was shell shocked. Considering that I lived in that city for almost seven years in all—I was absolutely gutted to see the landmarks such as the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel being attacked in what can only be described as dastardly acts.

Watching people desperately cling on to their lives, even on television, can have the most disturbing effect on people. I am thankful for the brave commandos of the National Security Guard and their wonderful display of courage during this difficult time for India.

The England National Cricket team, which was touring India, swiftly decided to leave the country after these attacks began. One has to agree with what they did because they had every right to protect themselves in a foreign nation which is being attacked.

It is also their prerogative to determine whether they want to come back and play the test series, although, my feeling is that things will become alright—the cities they will be playing in have been unaffected as such in any case.

Sport, though, cannot even be thought of in situations like this. People cannot expect players to turn up in such appalling conditions and play for their nations or whoever they represent, with their mind focused on the game all the time.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Indian Cricket Team put things into perspective when he said, “We are entertainers, but we should not be entertaining at a time like this."

However, nobody can underestimate the value of sport when all this madness is over. When the dust settles, sport can bring the greatest joy to everyone. Sport can be a bridge bringing together two warring entities, as cricket has so often been with India and Pakistan.

This was supposed to be a weekend when I might have been engrossed completely about Arsenal's game at Chelsea. Instead, my thoughts are with all those people who have so unfortunately lost their lives in Mumbai.

Even tomorrow, when the two teams will take on each other at Stamford Bridge, I will watch the game with a lesser than usual intensity.

India is a country with friendly, warm people. The November 26th attacks were horrible, but that doesn't change the image of Indians. My only hope is that sport resumes in India as soon as possible, because that can only be a sign of things returning to normal.

Until then though, sport will take a back seat in what is a very passionate, sport loving nation.