The soap called IPL

On Saturday I went to watch IPL cricket match to see Bangalore battle Kolkata. This is my first IPL match at the stadium. My friends did warn me about the commercialization but I was (impressively) taken back by how commercial it was. Most people who came there were looking for pure fun - they cheer no matter who played. The energy was definitely electric. The crowd control was not bad so it was less stressful.

But the catch is its not cricket - its circus. You wouldn't be surprised if you saw an elephant or tiger appear out of the pavilion! I pity the players because cricket out there is just incidental. Most times I was wondering what happened at the field. My father-in-law who was there to see the match was disappointed - there was so much distraction even between balls that you could hardly see what's going on, who is playing or who is winning. Between the eye candy cheerleaders, the tiger mascots dancing and a MC cheering people with RCB shouts or doing the Mexican wave, or the glittering celebrities, it is the biggest soap stage in Bangalore. The number of brands being promoted all around the stadium is dizzying - including the irritating ever changing LCD boundary display boards, blimps, the flags, head gears, hoots, hand signs..

I am sure the players probably curse this too - but for obvious overall financial "good" that IPL is doing for them, they grin and bear it.

We had to come back home and watch the highlights to understand really what happened there ;-)

Will I go back again? - maybe not - but with a bunch of close friends, it sure beats watching it on TV.