I've been reflecting on my recent experiences after talking to my therapist over the past few weeks, and I've come to realize that I may have gone a bit overboard with following sports. I wanted to share this to raise a bit of awareness about the impact it can have.
Between September and February, I was fully immersed in American Football. During that same period, the 2023 World Cup was happening. When football ended in February, I jumped straight into following the NBA, especially rooting for the NY Knicks. Then, the IPL began and seemed to go on forever, followed immediately by the Cricket World Cup!
I really pushed myself too hard by trying to keep up with so much sports, and after India won the World Cup, I felt completely drained. I tried to watch the first game of MLC, but I was just so exhausted. Sports depression is real, especially as a fan, and I’ve come to terms with the fact that I overdid it.
Right now, I have no motivation left for cricket, and that’s been tough to accept. I even tried watching a game or two, but it just didn’t feel the same. I think I was scared to admit it to myself because I worried that if I lost interest in cricket, I’d lose motivation to even come to my PC—the one constant in my life since 2008 when I first joined, more than any home I've had in India or the USA.
I do know what to do and that is take myself away from cricket, atleast for a while. I never thought I would say this ever in life because being born in India, all I ever knew was cricket. I am hoping in future I can get into it, but for now I am here to talk anything as obviously one cannot stay away too long from home and family and PC has been one.
Unfortunately that would mean, I will not be able to fulfil my promise of releasing a cricket simulator. Another thing I was afraid to say out loud. Sorry and love to all who supported.
I haven’t watched a game live since the WC final. The only cricket I’ve even consumed after that has been a couple of scorecards from the West Indies tests and the most recent Indian games and none of them even made me stay for more than half a minute. It’s perfectly fine IMO.
I’d even add that a large reason why so many feel fatigued with sport is because of how disconnected we are from these folk in reality. A few decades ago most sportspeople would be relatable individuals on either a personal level or a professional level. Andy Cole who was one of the leading strikers in the 90s once said that he couldn’t respond to Fergie’s call about his eventual transfer to United because he had to wash his jersey for the next game. Seems like an almost unthinkable instance today and if someone does end up being that way they get hoisted to lofty standards like Kante until they get demolished again. Whilst I’m happy that people at the top and increasingly at mid levels can now afford to live off a sports career these days… somedays I do wonder if the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
It doesn’t help that every sport organisation wants to cram in as much as possible in their calendar so that you’re constantly tuning into their content and this ramping up comes at the cost of many a viewer’s sanity, money and passion.