Excessive!

It was sickening to see the mania created by media and other vested interests before the current World T20 tournament started. Wherever you go, you were likely to see signs of this mania with people wishing good luck to the players and praying that India brings the cup back home. It was there on TV channels (not just on sports channels) and it was there on bill boards.

Now it is equally sickening to see the reaction to the loss. I made this point here before, and it bears repeating. The India cricket team does not represent the people of India. If they fail to do well, there is no justification in feeling that they wronged the people of India. Moreover, we seem to forget the almost self-evident point that victory or defeat in sports is a function of various factors and to draw a line straight from defeat to incompetence/internal rifts/lack of motivation is quite uncalled for. What is needed is a measured reaction, which seems frankly in short supply. It is very disheartening that reactions like this are no longer on the fringes, though that particular form of expression may be still rare.