The Sporting Consumer

The first thing that came into my mind, when I started to write this was; what in the world does the consumer have to do with sports. To me they seemed like two totally unrelated entities. I mean, after all what are sports to the consumer? Of course, almost all of us are passionate about some or other form of sport, but we definitely don’t see it as something essential for our survival. I, for my life couldn’t comprehend any kind of link between the two. But as they say, God Provides. Just as I was about to give up, in comes the common wealth games scam. All of us by now know about the corruption, the amount of money spent on toilet paper and treadmills, the leaking roofs, the missed deadlines, and all other fiascos that have been happening. But I am not going to write just another piece lambasting the Organising Committee, or how deep corruption has seeped into our system, that it threatens to wash away any traces of national pride or moral ethics (if there was any, in the first place).
My concerns lie more with the athletes. After all, they are the fulcrum of these games. All these stadiums, these training facilities, are being built with the idea of providing them with a platform to showcase their skills to the world. I have no trouble in placing them as the consumers in this equation. And there is no doubt that this time, their rights have been grossly compromised. One would presume that holding the games in our country, would give our athletes a home advantage, but instead of getting all that training space and head starts, all they get are ‘world class’ stadiums, some of that are still under construction and with added ‘capabilities’ like a floor ridden with seepage, or a leaking roof. But our sportspersons are not new to these adversities and despite all these handicaps; I have no doubt that they will do the nation proud as they have always done before.
Over the years, most of us have formed the impression that sports, with the exception of cricket, has been ridden with poverty. Lack of infrastructure in the country, players not getting their dues, are only some of the many factors that lead us to believe this. But if the government can spend Rs.1500 crore for a sporting event lasting for 10 days, ‘insufficient funds’ is clearly not the reason for such a deficient sporting system. In my view it is high time that our sportspersons take inspiration from the consumer movement and stand up and be counted. Powerful autonomous bodies should be formed that fight for their interests at the highest levels. They themselves must keep themselves abreast with the latest news and must also be aware of their rights. They must realize that they themselves must be the change they want to see in the structure. There is no need for them, to lie down and take such kind of exploitation from corrupt heads and officials, who are only interested in filling their own pockets. I think that sports should be run by people who are, first and foremost passionate about it. People who make it their priority to alleviate the state of sports in the country, and not let it marinate in stagnation, just because it suits their interests.
Apart from individuals within the sporting system, ordinary people like you and me also have a role to play. The main reason why athletes feel uncared for and poorly treated, is because we actually don’t care about what happens to any sportsperson, other than a cricketer. Generation of positive public interest is therefore a prerequisite if the situation is to be improved somewhat. The situation is not that bleak though, people like Saina Nehwal, Abhinav Bindra and Sunil Chettri have to some extent aroused curiosity and garnered admiration for other sports through their accomplishments. Slowly and steadily we are starting to take notice of other sports around us and it should not be long before we start feeling the same enthusiasm and zeal that we feel when we watch India play cricket.