CRICKET LOVERS
The Sri Lankan fan
Cricket World Cup season is worse than the flu season. At least with the flu, you can get yourself a jab and forget about it. However, the World Cup season isn’t so easy to get over or dismiss. No siree Bob, it certainly isn’t! At first there’s the excitement, then (in the middle of the season) there’s uncertainty followed by anxiety and by the end of it, we are jubilant… or absolutely flabbergasted, gutted and disappointed.
Ah yes... and the fans! We the fans never have it easy, do we?
We follow the game better than we follow our religion, we worship our heroes beyond the realms of understanding and no matter how badly our team does, we cuss, kick the dust, bash a couple of TV sets… and then shamelessly go right back to watching the game we love.
The Sri Lankan fan is a different breed altogether! He, she or it follows the game with an undying zeal; a passion that can only be
described as ‘indescribable.’ All in all, you could say we’re downright mad. We come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life, and range from the hardcore fanatic to the passive aggressive little man down the lane.
Sri Lankan cricket fans unite for two causes – to rally around the national team and cheer ourselves hoarse at any game they play… and to see India lose! There’s yet another reason nowadays, and that’s to rant on social media about the sacking of players, administrators and coaches.
In the grand scheme of things, you’d say the Sri Lankan fan is one that endures. We watch our team lose game after game and when we win a match following 10 losses (or more), the whole nation breaks out in songs of praise forgiving the very men they wanted to shoot only a few days ago.
So what makes the Sri Lankan cricket fan so special? Is it that desire to don a Sri Lanka Cricket jersey and bravely venture onto the grounds knowing that we may not end up on the winning side?
Or is it that overenthusiastic attitude that keeps telling us that this is the one game that’ll turn it all around? Could it be that we just don’t know when to quit? Or are we vested in cricket because it takes us away from our world of worries for a few hours?
I’d say all of the above.
And it’s also the only time that Sri Lankans put aside their ethnic and religious differences to cheer for a common cause. Apparently, the power of cricket is stronger than the power of love in this part of the world – fans travel in their numbers from the island and neighbouring countries to cheer our side.
Before the season dawns, fans may scream, yell, cry and even call for heads to roll. Some may even disown the team and the gentlemen’s game citing frustration. But when the World
Cup season comes around, all’s forgiven and forgotten. They polish their musical instruments and play that funky papare music all day long… singing the same baila tunes, and screaming and shouting ’nava gilunath ban choon’ and ‘ara okata ara, lanuwa udin ara’ along with other fancy slogans.
Yes, the Sri Lankan fan is a patriot and true lover of the game. He always complains and always finds fault… but never deserts his team.
So here’s to all Sri Lankan cricket fans; you are the only consistent factor in Sri Lankan cricket today!