The Appeal of IPL

The fifth edition of the IPL is underway, and surprisingly it still has a lot of appeal.  One would have thought with the dismal performance of the Indian team in Tests and even ODIs following their triumph in the World Cup, the IPL would have lost some of its lustre.  But actually the opposite is true.

The IPL is a brand of cricket which is blissfully free of the jingoistic nationalism that the national team, the so called "Men In Blue" arouse.  It is of no consequence in the IPL whether you are Indian or not, at least in terms of which team a fan supports.  Afterall the national Star players all play for different teams.  Dhoni, Raina, and Jadeja (though I wouldn't call him a real star despite his $2 million contract) play for CSK, Sachin and Bhajji for MI, Veeru and Pathan for DD, Yuvraj and Ganguly for PWI, and Gambhir for KKR, etc. 

Of course it makes a difference in terms of who the fans identify with most, whether you are Indian or not, and hence in general Indian players, and Indian star players in particular can earn more, but even that is not a hard and fast rule.  The IPL is much more like the Indian epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.  It is more about individuals both good and evil (but never without some redeeming qualities) and which side you support.  So Gayle can be seen like Ravan, if you are not a BRC fan or like Bhim you are a BRC fan.  Similarly Sachin can be likened to Arjun (what was that about a child is the father of the man?) if you are a MI fan, or to Karan if you are not.

Also like the regular Saas bahu soaps and Bollywood movies against which the IPL is really competing, the IPL kind of grows on you.  You wake up in the morning (at least on the West Coast of the US) and you switch your TV on during breakfast to the channel showing the IPL and watch it just because... no particular reason.  Later you can discuss it at work if you happen to work in the IT field or with fellow Desis on the Internet, if you do something else.  Who won, and who lost is important and interesting, but just not in a deep emotionally scarring way that the 0-4 whitewashes to England and Australia in back to back Test series was. 

It is more like how American baseball fans follow their team.  Of course they can get passionate about winning or losing, but it is more about rituals of the season, and the rhythms of the game.  Otherwise the hapless Chicago Cubs would have long ceased to exist instead of still having a huge fan base not just in the Windy City, but everywhere that the Chicago diaspora ends up, probably even in Mumbai or Kolkata.

The IPL is like that.  It is has become a rite of passage of kids after school is out for the summer.  Maybe some even mug up for their exams with the carrot of tension and study free days to follow where they can watch the game on TV in the evenings while they play it themselves in the noon day sun like the proverbial Englishmen and mad dogs.  

For office folk it is like catching a movie or hanging out with friends after work.  The IPL is a nice way to unwind, down a few cold ones at a pub and enjoy the company of friends, colleagues and even like minded strangers, while the video and audio soundtrack of sixes and fours, plays in the background. 

In other words the IPL is fast becoming a "tradition" just like the one that is also starting up a continent away, in places like London and Birmingham, except with a lot more color, noise, excitement and of course a LOT MORE money.