I must say I was cynical when I first heard about the americanization of cricket. What? You are telling me that you do not see the similarities between the NFL and the Indian Premiere League... those were Washington Redskins cheerleaders in Kokatta versus Bangalore game?! Did I just read about someone adding the IPL Fantasy League App to their profile? By the by, someone needs to consider mashing up the Codecx Video Score Board with the Fantasy Up.. that'll be a sweet mash up. Anyways back to cricket: I thought at the time that some things could not be treated as commodities, I mean Cricket did consider itself sacred once upon a time. But after watching the games (they are available on demand: willow.tv) all I could think of is: oh let the sweet times flow...
NFL is the best show in town... yes there is a little of the circus in the NFL, but at the same time the NFL showcases the best of athletes on earth, it is also a hotly competitive arena, it also has a lot of strategic maneuvering and then there is the drama. I hope the IPL learns those things from the NFL as well...
It was in the very recent past that Cricket and match fixing were synonymous and at those times profit incentive took precedence over nationalism… it is funny but true, at least in this case: doesn't take much for capitalism to trump nationalism… and ironically I think the commercialization of cricket to the degree that IPL has done so has actually benefitted cricket… these players are getting paid big bucks on field.. and are therefore (one would think) less likely to try to make the big bucks off the field..
At the same time it has to be about the sport… those 22 guys are getting on the field to play a sport… and the focus needs to be on the sport.. that is how you will engage and retain your audiences… and eyeballs = money in conventional media.
Well what I am trying to say is the Kolkatta Knight Riders need to be more about Ganguly than about Sharukh Khan and they need to be more about Ganguly the player than Ganguly the man and therein lies the key to the success of this venture. It is a lot of fun n profit when you commercialize a sport but it ain't so cool if you call a commercial a sport...
