The Unpopular Opinion

Sunday, 24th October 2021 . I wake up crusty eyed from the previous night's clubbing escapades, living my university life to the “fullest”. With a spinning head and aching body, I had no energy to actually get out of bed. I see the time is roughly 1pm and I have to be at a pub in an hour. Not for a drink, oh god no. But I had to go for the sake of my reputation. India was playing Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup, with my university's Indian society organising a viewing at the pub. As the man who "knows a lot about cricket" and for choosing the venue, I had to at least show my face. I dragged my feet to the pub, reaching roughly over an hour late, with the hangover making cricket the least of my concerns. As the Indian team came out onto the field in the second innings, the blue sea in the pub cheered at deafening volumes, as if nails were being shoved into my eardrums. I looked around the pub and saw the audience present. Individuals whose levels of patriotism surge ...

I might as well save this article as a template and use it four years later after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as the present and past of India at the Olympics has barely any differences to show and I am certain that similar points will be made regarding the nation’s performance even after nearly half a decade. Before getting too ahead of myself, lets see what makes me think this way. As of course everyone knows, India is the most populous country in the world with nearly 1.5 billion people, with many ranging from hundreds of different backgrounds culturally and historically. Surely such a rich and diverse pool of people would produce hundreds of world class talents in multitudes of different fields, especially such as in sports, given its anciently practiced history and many roots in India. But no, despite there being over a billion people in the country, India sends roughly just over a hundred athletes regularly to the summer Olympics, with the Paris 2024 edition having 110 athlete...

 The Premier League in England has an extensive history spanning over three decades and while being relatively younger compared to some of the other major European leagues such as La Liga in Spain or Serie A in Italy, it has built a reputation as one of the most popular leagues in the world with some of the most recognizable players and clubs in the world as well. Many of these players have etched their names in the history books as some of not just greats in the league but also in football, such as the likes of Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, just to name a few who have made an iconic impact for their clubs and for the league as a whole. And with its rich history the amount of individuals who have made their careers in the Premier League and have gone down as heroes are too many to count, be it as a significant game changer for football or even as a cult hero for their club or even as players that “the streets will never forget” that may have had a world class run even...

July 14 2024- Spain finish the coveted UEFA European Championship in Germany as winners with an absolutely flawless run, capped off by a 2-1 win over England in the final in Berlin, securing their fourth European championship. And on the day, 17 year old Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal won the best young player of the tournament, and deservingly so as he finished the competition with four assists and one goal, which he scored against massive favourites France in the semifinal and also subsequently went on to win goal of the tournament. Yamal's performances could have argued that he deserved to win the main player of the tournament award as well, which was won by fellow Spaniard and Manchester City powerhouse, Rodri, but I digress as regardless Yamal returned from the competition as a national icon and that too at the tender age of 17, as since the likes of the great Pele at the 1958 World Cup the footballing world has not seen a 17 year old absolutely shine on one of the biggest in...