Apart from jogging my memory on stuff I used to be a TA for, this weekend was supposed THE weekend of Fall 2008 - the first football weekend. Having waited for a long while to see NE Patriots back in action, it was a pity that, Brady, that ever so clinical mean machine of a Quarterback is out with a potentially season ending injury!! This feels like those occasions when I used to bunk fridays to see India Pakistan matches in Sharjah. Pakistan would bat first. I remember India used to open the bowling with Manoj Prabhakar - that wily, poor man's Kapil Dev - who used everything in his hands - crown caps included. But then trying to get to Pakistani players with ball tampering is futile - THEY WERE THE GUYS WHO INVENTED IT, for pillayar-sake! But after two and half hours of the Indian bowlers trying to throw everything except the kitchen sink, the score board would read something like 250-odd in 50 overs with players like Basit Ali, Ijaz Ahmed and Salim Malik who have the unique talent of scoring centuries only on Fridays in Sharjah! After the usual "Allah-O-Akbar" call and lunch, the Indian batting would begin. Its interesting here to note that nobody cared about India. India, people knew, would lose - a final, friday and sharjah - even George W. Bush is not foolish to put his 2 dollars on India for the match. The commentators would hype up Tendulkar that he would be like Rajni Kanth walking with "baasha-baasha" BGM. Nobody cared for the other guy who was the non striker - on some days it would be Jadeja, Prabhakar or some kid who was able to pay the 2 lakhs to get into the Indian cricket team.The bowler, invariably was Wasim Akram, who can be credited with the exploiting ball tampering to the maximum possible extent. In fact, he said as much in this. The first ball would be pitched on leg stump and would have that little hint of swing and would beat Tendulkar's feeble prod and even the most optimistic of people would switch off the TV as did I and then would be a nice long afternoon siesta till my mom and sister came back from office and school respectively. Thats precisely the same feeling today - Brady, Out for the season!!
P.S: The only other player worth supporting - Payten Manning - is seemingly, going to end up on the losing side with a pathetic defense. Go on, knock me down with a feather or tell me that Tampa Bay Buccaneers with that lucky as hell QB (you would say this when you see this) Geff Garcia is going to win the Superbowl!
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