From A CSK Fan

It was a treasured Saturday morning. I woke up at Eleven Thirty, only because the heat from sun outside my air-conditioned room made the 1.5 tonne LG split AC useless. Welcome to life in Chennai. It's hot nearly at all times of the year. The heat can sap even the last drop of fluid from a perfect black body. For those not living in Chennai, here is a quick briefing. Chennai is super hot (climate, please - no pun intended), has a lot of unwritten rules for social behaviour (a.k.a boy-girl interaction) with hardly anyone transgressing these, making moral policing obsolete. Cheer leaders are planning to wear Kanchipuram silk sarees from the next season. Actor Vijay is the best we could manage for our IPL team's brand ambassador, and our definition of fun during a match starts and ends with Sivamani banging on the snare drum for everything from the toss to the presentation ceremony. For a guy from Delhi or Mumbai, living in Chennai would seem like God's ways of punishing him. Chennai is not the easiest of cities to live in - nothing much for the teenagers to boast off, or cause envy to their cousins living in other parts of India, except for the board exam marks in Class XII.

About me - I work for an IT company. And they do a good job of sucking out the juices from a man's life (almost making the sun irrelevant). Weekends are the only time I get to take off and relish myself in some indulgences. Anyway, as I finished brunch, I recollected the most important work I had for the day - an IPL match at 4PM, Chennai Vs Rajasthan. The very thought of the match got me up and kicking. God, I love the IPL.

I knew that the excitement in the stadium would build up from 3 PM onwards and so rushed to get ready. What work did I have for me to start rushing 3 hours before time? Well, IT life leaves little room for niceties like a hair-cut or a shave. Weekend is the only time, a man dare dream of such a thing. And I had to beat the Saturday crowd at the salon. It took me a couple of hours to get out of the salon, and needless to say, the pain of getting a shave while sweating (despite the AC) left me looking forward to almost nothing but more sleep. But the thought of seeing Dhoni and team put up a show helped me beat that thought. I rushed home and stuffed a banner and a bandana in my bag and left for the ground.

As I walked into the stadium at 3.30 P.M. Ravi Shastri was finishing the pitch report and Dhoni and Warne were walking to the center for toss. The crowd went berserk. The atmosphere around us was charged up instantly by a few thousand volts. Captain Dhoni won the toss and had decided to bat first. Sitting from the stands it’s not possible to find out what happened at the toss. But when Dhoni walked up to talk first, Chennai fans screamed their lungs out. The good thing about the Chennai crowd is that we know our Cricket (We have the unique distinction of awarding a Pakistani player with a standing ovation!). If Dhoni talked first, he must have won the toss. No guessing what CSK would do first. In a few minutes, Murali Vijay and Mathew Hayden charged into the ground. The sight of seeing them charging in like that gave me goose bumps. Sweet lord, new realms of pleasure!

As the start neared, I gathered my breath and looked around the ground. It was almost painted in yellow. The TNCA's over-swelled coffers were finally making a difference. The stands and the electronic score-boards looked sparkling new. The old electronic big screen near the pavilion stand had given way to a new one with bright lights. And it no more carried a Poompuhar Banian ad on it. The IPL was giving the stadium a long-due make over. Fans were pulling out banners and charts with crazy things on them. I pulled out mine and found the words to be as stupid as the ones on the banner next to mine. It felt great to be watching a match like this. Forget the heat, forget the moribund IT life, and forget the crass sounds from Sivamani's drums. Let's not even look at the cheer girls. (Oops, I just did and found a guy dancing now!) It’s time to let yourself loose and scream louder than anyone around you.

  

It was then that I realized that it's an awesome feeling to be a CSK fan. Finally Chennai has an identity that is no more idly sambar. Finally we have something to boast off to our cousins and relatives in other cities. We have an awesome team that plays with zest. Dhoni exemplifies this spirit and has made sure that the entire team plays that way. It's great to see the captain backing domestic payers and giving them the opportunity to make a difference. And it's even greater to see the domestic players rise up to the challenge.

As I post this article, CSK have leaped into second position. They may qualify or may not; it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not a CSK fan because of the points table. I’m a fan because they play good cricket and play it with great spirit. Cricket, as in life is not about winning or losing. It's only an honest attempt that matters. CSK is truly substance over style, something that is true of everything that Chennai is all about.