by Fatihah
photo by google
Just when sports had looked the most vulnerable, it showed why it has survived wars, economic depression, and pandemics. From inside the bio-bubble, it screamed out that its strength was its script and its mass appeal was not a slave to spectators or superstars.
With the Olympics, Euro football, and T20 World Cup slotted for 2021 and the vaccine distribution expected to take time, the resilience of sports and its administrator will continue to be tested. The 2020 experience, though, has shown it will do fine.
The IPL 2020 success story gives hope and sets the template. In an alien country, inside the UAE’s brilliantly lit up but eerily desolate coliseums, the intensity of the contest didn’t dim. There was no one dancing in the aisles, no cheerleaders to encourage, or barracks to instigate. Sixes kept spilling out of the stadium and small groups of ex-pats would scramble on empty roads to secure the IPL souvenir balls without even knowing who had hit them. On the other side on the imposing walls, circling the sanctum sanctorum, recorded roars would be played out.
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