MARCH 22, 2020
KARO-NA! We will Sportify you
Till last week, watching any kind of sporting event, be it football, tennis, basketball, F1 racing or cricket, was like a birthright to me. We all had taken it for granted to an extent that we recorded live events to be viewed at an hour of our choice. We were spoilt for choice in terms of kinds of sport and time when we wanted to watch.
Being an athlete myself, it is so disheartening to see empty stadiums, football fields, tennis courts and especially fitness videos of our favourite stars. On the contrary, all of them have started advising us to stay indoors and isolate ourselves.
This disease has taken a toll on the biggest and most invincible, like Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert, Lewis Hamilton, and Cristiano Ronaldo, and forced them into quarantine. Even big egos got bruises – having mocked the situation, Rudy tested positive. The 23 time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams is getting anxious as life turns turtle. This monster or newly coined SnollyGoster - is not leaving any arena unaffected. When things as basic as being in the park have been forbidden, then where to begin with big events. The NBA has suspended their season and theChampions League and Europa League have been postponed and left fanatics heartbroken. The snooty French Open and stylish Wimbledon have also fallen prey to this evil of our lives.
India’s biggest religion, cricket is also not unscathed. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is struggling to hold its 40-day annual jamboree. Our cricket captain and his film star wife are advising us to stay indoors to fight this battle. The F1 race is also losing pace with cancellations of Grand Prixs (GP) all over, including Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Holland, Spain, and Monaco.
Like many others, we the sport addicts are also changing gears and have shifted the battlefield to the virtual world. And this is only until we can reclaim our territory. Although, gamers may not agree with me. Now there are virtual world championships and All Time Greats are backing players in this arena. Federations, Sponsors, and Investors do not mind as long as they are raking in the moolah. To all of them Corona is still just a Mexican beer.
Leyton Orient has shot out a tweet, asking clubs to sign up for a 64 team invitational tournament on the FIFA 20 videogame. Within 48 hours, they had to increase the entry number to 128, as Clubs in Europe, Oceania, North America, and Africa wanted to participate including Manchester City, Ajax, and AS Roma. And so the Ultimate Quaran Team tournament was born. GP is not far behind! Formula 1 recently announced an Esports Virtual GP Series, where virtual Bahrain drivers will join gamers to take the wheel on the official F1 2019 videogame. The “race” will take place on the corresponding dates of the postponed GPs.
And no– COVID-19 cannot delay these “races”. Until we can return to parks, we Sportify!