Cricket Hits the Bigtime

Last Tuesday a group of us attended the first IPL match held in Hyderabad and an experience it was as always. We purchased the cheapeast tickets we could find and competed with the diehard fans for a spot that could see both the pitch (field) and the scoreboard (they totally have a guy behind the board who changes the score!) The Indian Premier league is the new top level professional cricket in India, and it has attracted much fanfare; one article goes so far as to claim it is having a transformative impact on how Indians view economics.

The IPL is not without controversy, as the lucrative television contracts and sponsorships have allowed the teams to offer salaries a fair bit above that of other leagues. The resulting small exodus amongst players from many national leagues.

We were astonished to see [very tall] nearly nude, white women in glitzy outfits. The expasts are aware of this custom at NBA basketball games, the Indian men must have thought they won the lottery: one ticket provides soft core and the best game on earth- at the same time! There were many heads darting between the ‘action’…

What is great is that the IPL is opening sport to a completely new cohort. We were surrounded by fans just learning the wave and complicated group cheers.

Seeing Cricket live did raise my appreciation somewhat, now if they can just get the vendors to start selling a decent beer…

Unfortunatly, not the nearly nude cheerleaders...