Passion for Sports

Date:  October 25, 2016 Author:  sporttalk180 0  Comments —  Edit I’m not a baseball fan, I barely know the game, but I have heard about the Cubs’ ‘Billy Goat Curse’ and the Red Sox ‘Curse of the Bambino’ among others. These curses are/were blamed for title droughts for their respective teams (stretching to 107 years for the Cubs.) Could the refusal to allow a goat into the field be the reason for a 71 year title drought? What’s the reason for the previous 36 years of failure? A curse is defined as “a solemn utterance intended to invoke a  supernatural power  to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.” Now, just to explain, I BELIEVE in curses. I come from a society where a bird pooping on you has a much deeper meaning than just saying you were standing under it. There are set guidelines and rituals that need to be performed to eradicate a curse. They vary among different communities and are bizarre in varying degrees but ...

G.O.A.T – Does it exist? Date:  October 22, 2016 Author:  sporttalk180 0  Comments —  Edit Is there such a thing as a Greatest of All Time in sports? Who determines it and what parameters do they use to come up with their conclusions. Every time we have a once in a generation player win, the question  of who is the greatest of all time comes up. When Lebron James won the NBA title and Serena won Wimbledon, the question came up; are they the G.O.A.T.  This discussions are driven by our desire to be witnessing history unfold, our desire to tell the story of having witnessed the greatest ever perform at their very best. Our need to be witness is what generates the arguments and discussions. But the main question is, are our arguments based on solid facts or just emotionally charged? The main parameter for comparison used is championships. We always hear people say, Jordan went 6 for 6 while Lebron has lost 3, or Montana was 4 for 4 w...

Date:  October 18, 2016 Author:  sporttalk180 0  Comments —  Edit Last night I was part of one of Europe’s greatest rivalry; Liverpool vs Manchester United. The match was a rather flat contest lacking intensity and quality especially if you consider the pre-match hype. This is nothing new if you look at how Jose Mourinho has played big clubs away over the past 12 years. The most entertaining part of it was watching the fans where I was. Now, I know both Jose Mourinho an Jurgen Klopp have advisers and assistants, I just didn’t realise how many they were and how widespread their reach is. Two hours before the game, different groups had formed discussing the starting line-ups for both squads. The main argument among Manchester United fans was whether Wayne Rooney should start or come of the bench. As debates reached fever pitch, an argument ensued and a fight stated; the fight was about who was better Rooney or Ruud Van Nielsterooy. The warring parties only c...

Everybody plays sports when they’re young. As we grow older size, talent and luck separates us. Some are blessed to go to the field while the rest of us are tasked with talking about them and telling them what to do (even though we would not have a clue how to do it if tasked to do it!). Sports allows us to escape reality and for a brief moment to celebrate being the best. There is a line in the  Desiderata  that says “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for  always there will  be  greater and lesser persons than yourself…”  Sports debunks that and allows us to proclaim “I’m the greatest!” even if it is for just a fleeting second. During the 1990 football World cup, my favourite player was Andreas Brehme. I admired him for his cool demeanour on the pitch and his ability to play with both feet. Around me everyone was either a Diego Maradona or Lothar Mattheus fan. Being from Africa, we also had a special love for Roger...