Taking Guard

Right, so this is it.
I know that most of you might not be able to read this space. But this is a little message that I'd like to give to anyone out there who might be listening.

The day that we have waited upon with a great deal of apprehension and anticipation is finally upon us. I’m not going to lie to you. It has not been easy. People have been dropping in and out of our "team" like the Americans drop bombs and warheads. At the end of all of that, we are still good one or two players short, and our team still looks very scratchy. Having had hardly any practice over the last few days (nay, weeks) on an already suspect "wicket" with hardly any protection on has of course worked against us. We have never had a full unit playing a practice session at any point of time. We're still short of a good few batsmen. But enough whining. We’re as ready as we could have been under the circumstances.

There arrives a point of time when one has to look at a situation from all angles. I have been known as a very pessimistic negative person who doesn’t really kick back and relax often enough. That's a fair enough judgement call I'd say. I've probably been taking this whole thing a whole lot more seriously than the rest of you guys. For that, I apologize. Maybe at some point of time, I lost control completely, and I went full on into it, forgetting all my responsibilities towards the people that mattered and the projects that piled up around me. I am guilty of that, I know. But I need to explain what it is that's going through me. This...itch that I need to scratch that's turned up between my shoulder blades, the spot where I just can't reach.
This game has gone past the sport of cricket. It’s no longer about winning or losing, about recognition, about winning glory. It’s not about you, or me, the eleven other total strangers that we shall meet up tomorrow afternoon. It’s about life. My Life for the most part but also about other’s who may share the same belief system that empowers me. I’ve always been a strong believer of the fact that things happen to people for a reason. Call it fate, karma, or anything else; I think that things happen to people because those things are meant to happen to those people. We were meant to come together as a hapless band of no talent poseurs as the FY BMM. We’ve had bad luck going our way from the day we’ve started because we’ve meant to. Win or lose whatever the result tomorrow might hold for us, I say it’s supposed to happen. And I shall be the first one to acknowledge that.

But that is no reason to lie down and wait for things to happen. No reasons why we can’t take our lives into our own hands and play dice with it. Einstein once said that God plays dice with the Universe, and we just make up a few rolls on the entire board. No reason we can’t. In the eloquent words of The Punisher comic books, “God’s going to sit this one out!”

When we take the field, or the crease, whatever the toss might hold for us tomorrow, I don’t expect you guys or me to be splendidly good, or to blast away those TY guys. I don’t expect miracles from you. Miracles are an act of God, and belong in feel good Uncle Sam Hollywood movies…and we’re naught but humble humans out there. But what I do expect is that each and every one of you goes out there and gives your heart into it. Give it all you’ve got fellas, and that’s more than enough for me. Coz then like I’ve probably mentioned, we’ve already won.

Now I could sit here typing away to all glory about some philosophical and feel good shit that a coach or a captain might tell his troops. But you know as well as I do that wouldn’t be our style. I’ll leave that to the masters down below…

I will tell you this much though…that if you put forward the effort and hold your end up, then we can withstand anything those pussies might throw at us. We’re BMM after all, thinking out of the box and all that. We’ll play by untouchable rules. They take a knife, we get a gun. They send one of ours to the hospital; we send one of them to the morgue!

True as it is in my nature, I leave you all with some of the more memorable quotes from some feel good sports movies! Enjoy them. And feel the emotions.

Gentlemen cues in Triple H music

“It’s time to play the game…”

“This is where they fought the battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the same fight that we are still fighting among ourselves today. This green field right here, painted red, bubbling' with the blood of young boys. Smoke and hot lead pouring right through their bodies. Listen to their souls, men. I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed my family. You listen, and you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don't care if you like each other of not, but you will respect each other. And maybe... I don't know, maybe we'll learn to play this game like men.”

Denzel Washington: Remember the Titans

When the Washington Sentinels left the stadium that date, there was no tickertape parade, no endorsement deals for sneakers or soda pop, or breakfast cereal. Just a locker to be cleaned out, and a ride home to catch. But what they didn't know was that their lives had been changed forever because they had been part of something great. And greatness, no matter how brief stays with a man. Every athlete dreams of a second chance, these men lived it.

Gene Hackman: The Replacements

You find out life's this game of inches, so is football (think cricket guys - Darius). Because in either game - life or football - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I'll tell you this, in any fight it's the guy whose willing to die whose gonna win that inch. And I know, if I'm gonna have any life any more it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch, because that's what living is, the six inches in front of your face. Now I can't make you do it. You've got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think ya going to see a guy who will go that inch with you. Your gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it your gonna do the same for him. That's team gentlemen and either, we heal as a team, or we will die as individuals. That’s football guys, that's all it is. Now what are you going to do?

Al Pacino – Any Given Sunday

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And my personal favourite…

“Kickassh!”

Eric Cartman – Southpark

-Darius Mistry