National Anthem before Cricket games - is it Jingoism? Not at all, i say.

Sidharth Monga, one of the cricket commentators/writers for the cricket website http://www.espncricinfo.com/, says here that "Not playing national anthems before cricket games is not such a bad thing anyway." I wonder what makes him say that and what cricket aficionados and players think about it. This comment of his raises an interesting question actually. Will people (the fans in the stadia, the TV audience, the players, the umpires and refs, the TV production teams) have issues with the time it takes for the teams to attend to their respective national anthems and to the other teams’? or Is it that singing of each team's national anthem will somehow be considered jingoistic?

I think teams should pay respects to their own as well the opponent's national anthem. Here is why - Cricket (and most other sports) these days are being run more as businesses. These days different Cricket boards are in effect private enterprises, being run as limited companies. Such management of sports governing bodies does bring a measure of professionalism to everything as it should, but at the same time everything ends up revolving around the money. In effect, the players end up selling their skill for money (they get paid for every game they play, isn't it) - in effect they are like mercenaries, so are most of us eking out a living working in private sector. There is no 'country' in a country's cricket team anymore. If a sense of pride in ones’ country's team has to be maintained, if a bond, a brotherhood amongst players has to be established, a national anthem really acts as a fight song. Moreover, a rendition of national anthem right before a game raises a team's fans' level of enthusiasm and their spirits too. I love the feeling of goosebumps, the shivers that run down my spine when i recite my national anthem. I am sure most of my fellow Indians do too. Then why is it that we can't be open to singing our national anthem or national song before a cricket game where our team participates?

To any sports fan who is knowledgeable of sports other than cricket (especially the ones like American Football - referred to as Football hereon out 'cos that is how it is know in this part of the world, Baseball, Basketball, NASCAR even) will certainly know about the fervor with which American national anthem (The Star Spangled Banner - equivalent of our Jana Gana Mana) and patriotic song (God Bless America - equivalent of our Vande' Mataram) are attended with ones' hats off and everyones' right hand on their hearts, and enjoyed by everyone who is in attendance watching a game. And it does not stop just at the singing of the anthem either - invariably, armed forces personnel are felicitated as well as thanked for their service before as well as during a sporting event. Not only that, an outdoors sporting event such as a Football game, a Baseball game, a NASCAR race, even a once in a blue moon event like NHL's Winter Classic is preceded by a low high speed fly-past of fighter jets such as F-22 Raptors. Such fly-pasts really charge everyone present. Kids go home with memories of the loud shock wave from the fly-past and the rattling stands, with memories of the national anthem being sung by their favorite singer/celebrity/band, with memories of the game that was played in the true spirit camaraderie as well as competition amongst human beings. My question to Mr. Monga and cricket fans all over is, isn't singing ones national anthem before a Cricket match worth that kids' memories alone?

Most of our population in India is crazy about Cricket as well as with everything else that goes with it, so much so that the game's survival* itself depends upon the eyeballs it gets from India. "The Game of Cricket" can at least let us sing our national anthem before we play it. Not only that, we Indians can actually use a dose of nationalistic pride every now and then. In the upcoming Cricket World Cup, the games that Indian team plays on Indian pitches, should all be preceded by such show of nationalistic fervor and sense of unity and purpose. In fact, each world cup game should be preceded by singing of the national anthems of the two competing teams.

We need to (re)inculcate a sense of belonging to a great country, a sense of being brothers and sisters in arms, a feeling of oneness, and our National Anthem is the cheapest (low cost - is singable without elaborate musical arrangements), the easiest (everyone knows how to sing the national anthem), and the ever relevant (everything said in our national anthem has been true, is true and will be true) way to do it. And we have Sukhois too!

Jai Hind.



*I wish (and hope) we were half as passionate about various societal issues that we face this century as we are for cricket - once that begins to happen, i promise you that we'll be able to knock all our problems in less time than it takes a test match.