Racism and football
The 2011-12 English Premier League (EPL) football season will forever be remembered for all the wrong reasons. While the football on display has hardly lit up the televisions this season, other incidents on and off the pitch have revived the long-standing controversy of racism among players and supporters. The embarrassing developments first occurred in a league match in October 2011 between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, in which the latter’s Luis Suarez allegedly racially abused the former’s Patrice Evra, a coloured player. Suarez later admitted to calling him a “negro”. He was subsequently banned for eight matches by the Football ...
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Battles at the Premier League
This mid-week in Premier League saw some interesting battles being fought at the top half of the table as well as between the relegation bound teams. It was also one of the rare occasions when the match day’s late kick-off (7:45 pm) nearly collided with the Transfer Day deadline that ended at 11:00 pm. All this made for an exciting day. Let’s start from football itself from the top half. Manchester City, fuelled by the Arab Oil-gazillions, started the week right at the top of the table and determined to tighten it grasp on the No.1 spot after being dumped out of the ...
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Team Pakistan: Back with a bang!
Can anything taste sweeter than victory? If you are a Pakistani fan who has gone through the spot-fixing case, the ensuing talks of banishing Pakistan from world cricket, the semi-final losses in the World T20 and World Cup 2011, clearly not. And what if that victory is against the number one side in the world? It just makes it all the more sweet. It might take a couple of days for this to settle in. Consider this- in 2010, the cricketing world was so irritated with a particular team and the board’s chairman that there were talks of throwing them ...
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Video Blog: Dog fights…culture and cruelty
Dog fighting is a blood sport that has been practised for centuries around the world. In Pakistan dog fighting is also a popular sport; a fighter dog takes two years to get ready for fighting. It’s a knockout game, once a dog loses a fight, it cannot qualify in any tournament in Pakistan ever again. This film is on a dog fight tournament held in Sargodha. This video was originally posted on Maati.tv ________________________________________________ [poll ...
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Why cricket is better than football
I read Azeem Abbas’s blog, “Ten reasons why football is better than cricket”, and felt compelled to write a lighthearted response. So, here are ten reasons why I feel cricket is better than football: 1) The Pakistan factor: I grew up as a fan of the Albicelestes (Argentina National Football team), and love following Inter Milan, Barcelona, and the English Premier League in general. But no matter how many Barcelona jerseys I buy, or how many Argentina flags I stick on my car whilst struck with Football World Cup fever, there is just something about cheering for your own country in a sporting event, ...
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I read so you don’t have to: A week free of cliches
It is a truth universally understood that there is now only one sport in Pakistan. Sure, when the Olympics rolls around we suddenly recall that hockey is our national sport. But on the average day, Shahid Afridi’s latest shenanigans will always get top billing above whatever other sport we might happen to be excelling in. Let this be the week when our success in cards and the spirited display of our special Olympians changed all that. Let this also be the week that the rest of the world stops writing about Pakistan as if it were a cliché. Sure, there’s ...
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Aftermath of Sepp Blatter’s (s)election
Sepp Blatter might have been re-elected as Fifa’s president for his fourth term but many question the prospect of whether his victory makes the world’s most powerful sports body any stronger. Not only were the elections held under the shadow of fierce criticism and corruption allegations, but to be honest, Sepp Blatter won the presidency not because the member associations had faith in him, but because he was the sole candidate left to elect after Mohamed Bin Hammam withdrew from the two-man contest. However, the allegations that surfaced during the elections have stained the integrity and unity of Fifa and it ...
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Land of confusion: Riddles in the sand
The view from the bunker is perhaps, one of the most worrying sights for the amateur golfer. The dual impact of a poor stroke and bad luck usually strikes a nerve that will further hinder the player’s already disadvantageous position. Chances are, at least one poor shot will follow. But that’s OK, because even the worst round of golf can be erased by another famed Scottish export. Ah, the golf courses of Islamabad. If there were ever a place in this city to forget poverty, illiteracy and disease, and everyone’s favourite – terrorism – these are the places to be. ...
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Afridi, retirement is not the answer
I share the sentiments of all those people who fanatically worship Shahid Afridi for the performer he is in the world of cricket. I, being an avid follower of the sport, have always believed that Afridi is a match-winning player who could give a pounding to the best bowlers of the world and baffle the most stringent batting line-up with his variation of spin, arm-balls and googlies. Afridi honestly earned every ounce of our respect after he steered the Pakistan cricket team to propel them into the semi-final of the World Cup with India. Much to our distaste, he did ...
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You think cricket isn’t sexy?
My lack of exposure to “American” sports while growing up is never more apparent than when I’m at work. I’m surrounded by hardcore football, baseball, and basketball fans. Now, to be clear, I’m a sports fan. I no longer call it “American football”, and have had my heart broken by the Bears offensive line time and time again. I’ve cheered on the Bulls since I was a kid (D Rose for MVP!), but my sports of choice have always been soccer and cricket. So, while my colleagues are all about their brackets for March Madness, I’m streaming the cricket World Cup on my ...
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