| The problems remain the same. Only scales change according to the game's popularity. This is a "socio-physical" law: when a sporting fan of one affiliation meets a fan of another affiliation, there will be an altercation. |
| I've seen chess fans indulging in fisticuffs over the burning issue of Nigel Short's (England) right to wear a surgical mask to prevent infection while playing Gata Kamsky (then of the USSR), while Kamsky had a cold. And, no prizes for guessing the nationalities of the people involved. |
| When a team travels across borders, the fun really starts. Die-hards will travel to the venue. They will arrive chanting their absurd chants and displaying the flags, badges and T-shirts of their affiliation. They will brave the slings and arrows of outraged law enforcement officials, hostile locals, unfamiliar cuisine and overbooked hotels. |
| The coppers have a right to get hassled. A chilling little statistic puts things in proportion. Since 1975, more people have died in soccer-related violence across the European Union (with the single largest incident being the Heysel tragedy) than in train accidents. |
| Catering for sports fans is a very lucrative niche. Sports tour operators hire experts to travel ahead of schedule to venues, check out stadia and facilities, lay on hotel and ticket bookings, liaison with local guides and check out the law-and-order situation. Then they charter flights, offer discounts and so on. |
| Hosting a big sporting event is a socio-economic booster. An Olympics or a World Cup has a huge pump-priming effect. Sporting success is also an easy way to showcase a nation's achievements. |
| It's every dictator's favourite form of hospitality. Remember Hitler and Leni Reifenstahl in 1936? Videla and Argentina Campeone in 1978? Or the late, unlamented general and his dramatic visit to Jaipur? |
| Playing host is also an unsubtle way to say that a nation has come of age. The 1982 Asiad was seen that way on Raisina Hill. So were the Seoul Olympics and the RoK Fifa Cup. So were the South African Rugby and Cricket World Cups (WCs). The upcoming Beijing Olympics is the future of a resurgent nation showcasing itself. |
| In terms of emotive content, cricket is marginally less volatile than soccer. Fans don't usually racially abuse players of the other team. But they do chuck things onto the field, aiming at fielders on the boundary line and, once in a while, there are riots. |
| And, there is aggro versus other fans. I would hate to have been a Pakistani supporter sitting in the Bangalore grandstand during that famous WC quarterfinal in 1996. Or, a West Indian at the Wanderers when the Caribbeans beat the Proteas in the 2003 WC Opener. |
| The aggression always gets worse when the visitors are winning. On the previous tour of Oz, Indian fans had a peaceful time. The country was nice and everyone was friendly; if only they could stomach the humiliation of seeing their team thrashed. |
| This time round, the Swami Army has got inured to being called "coolies" and having stuff (usually beer-cans) chucked at them. It's a backhanded compliment, if you want to see it that way. The visitors are winning; the locals are disgruntled. |
| If the Indian XI maintains its form, there will be more taunts in store for the Swami Army. Next year will see a sterner test, regardless of the high-security blanket surrounding teams that tour Pakistan. The blanket won't extend to random fans. |
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