The policy response to deal with this public health crisis requires coordinated action at both Central and state levels.
Sports fans, these days, live in the past. They are in a time-warp, sating their craving with replays of old matches. The stadiums are locked and that gnawing match-day anticipation is a forgotten emotion. Catering to the needs of those forced behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic are websites, television channels and social media posts that generate a steady stream of nostalgia-tinted content. The keyboard, or the remote control, is a time machine.
Though nothing can replace the suspense and thrill of live sports, in these times of economic slump and mounting death, sporting expectations too have been downsized. Edge-of-the-seat excitement is no longer part of the sporting experience. For the sports watcher, the couch isn’t a hot seat, it’s an easy chair now. The fear of Messi wasting a free kick in injury time or Roger Federer missing his first serve in a fifth set tie-breaker no longer grips the mind. Compensating for this unmatched rush are the less intoxicating options available in the archives. The web has footage of matches that even pre-date videography. There’s Ferenc Puskas scoring goals in the 1954 World Cup, Angelo Schiavio netting an injury-time winner to help Italy win the 1934 World Cup final, Jesse Owens’s magical runs and Donald Bradman’s unputdownable innings.
Revisiting the classics can be akin to rereading a mystery novel. One might discover a quirk that evaded the eye back then. You might end up discovering some unsung heroes or suddenly begin to appreciate a player previously disliked. It could be perception-altering, image-changing, even pacifying in these troubled times. While the sporting weekend would never be as intoxicating as it used to be, it’s not that colourless either.