Photos by: Ryan Remiorz, Deshakalyan Chowdhury, Mark Kolby, Eranga Jayawardena & Tauseef Mustafa
Sports
Where Are The Commonwealth Games Fans?
by RANDY STARKMAN
New Delhi, India
You get the idea India's Commonwealth Games chairman Suresh Kalmadi is heading for a job with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment after his gig's finished here. [The Maple Leafs - MLSE - story is universally considered Canada's ongoing sports debacle of historic proportions!]
The guy has botched so many things around these Games while never owning up to any mistakes. At an event, that's been dogged by crumbling infrastucture and so many other issues, there was a dark joke making the rounds recently that Kalmadi tried to hang himself but the ceiling collapsed.
But at a news conference on Tuesday (October 5, 2010) where he once again played the fool - his gaffes included welcoming Princess Diana to the opening ceremonies! -- Kalmadi actually said something that made great sense. He said they're considering giving away tickets free to school children and the underprivileged.
That might actually cost him that job at MLSE, but it would certainly help the atmosphere at so many sparsely attended events here. Whether it's a case of not being able to afford to attend or just not being interested - it's probably both - the lack of fans is becoming a big story early in the Games.
But is it really going to be that much different at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto?
You might want to check out the attendance figures during the 1993 world indoor track and field championships at the SkyDome or the world wrestling championships at Varsity Arena that same year.
There's a reason Toronto hasn't staged many international events of that calibre since. And the Pan Ams aren't a world championships. They're a B-list event, as are the Commonwealth Games.
Do you really think Torontonians are going to show up in big numbers to watch badminton, field hockey, wrestling and other such sports? Not unless the people running the show have some brilliant marketing plan that somebody in Canadian amateur sports hasn't dreamt up yet. It's possible, but not likely.
Giving tickets away is the best thing they can do in Toronto. Maybe they can find a sponsor to subsidize it. But give the tickets away to school kids, Boys and Girls clubs, the Brownies and Boy Scouts, Big Brothers and Sisters, the underprivileged, the mentally disabled and any other group who might benefit from the experience .
Not only that, how about staging clinics for the kids around the event where they get a chance to try their hand at the sport?
They're going to have to be very creative for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
They weren't creative here. Heck, they were hanging on by their fingernails just to get it off.
But there's time still to improve the atmosphere at these Games. It can't be fun for athletes to be looking up into the stands at the sea of empty seats. Hopefully, they can mobilize some transportation in time to give kids and others a chance to experience the Games.
Just don't let this Kalmadi guy drive the bus.
[Courtesy: The Toronto Star]
Conversation about this article
1: Harinder (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India), October 05, 2010, 12:43 PM.
The only people who genuinely loved sports in India are the Sikhs - and they have either left India for more civilized lands because of the 1984 pogroms, or simply stayed at home.
2: Gur Singh (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.), October 05, 2010, 3:34 PM.
I would never miss any field hockey match when I was in India.
3: Bhupinder Singh Liddar (Ottawa, Canada), October 05, 2010, 3:48 PM.
I went to see Canada play South Africa today at the CWG ... only about 20 spectators, 10 each for both teams. Pathetic!
4: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), October 05, 2010, 5:42 PM.
Once Kalmadi was invited to deliver a speech in connection with the CWG. There was no one in the hall to listen except one person. Kalmadi said: "At least there is one to listen to me." "No, I am the next speaker."
5: Khalsa Lakhvir Singh (Nairobi, Kenya), October 07, 2010, 1:56 AM.
Why honor past colonials who still live in a rotten history of colonial crimes and expect their ex-colonies to come together under their banner? CWG should be scrapped. It's a waste of time and resources.
6: Joe Singh (London, United Kingdom), October 07, 2010, 1:35 PM.
Nobody's 'honouring' anybody, Lakhvir Singh ji. Nobody in the U.K. cares about the Commonwealth but, judging by the way countries enthusiasticaly clamour to join (including countries whose only claim to membership is their close proximity to former British colonies, such as Angola), you're either having a dig at the intelligence of those countries or perhaps your criticism is directed towards countries like Canada. And, remember, they regularly attend the Francophone Games, the way all the former French colonies of the world get together as friends for a sports fest. So let's get this straight: When the French do it, it's really quite a good thing, but when the British do it that old chip on your shoulder gets more and more heavier?
7: Khalsa Lakhvir Singh (Nairobi, Kenya), October 08, 2010, 1:09 PM.
Joe Singh ji: this was just my own personal dislike for the British monarchy. But I just feel that the Commonwealth is an outdated idea and I don't know what the games are trying to achieve, if not for bringing out the best in the athletes. I still prefer the Olympics which is devoid of a monarchic affair that I still feel reeks of arrogance.
8: Joe Singh (London, United Kingdom), October 09, 2010, 6:37 PM.
I understand where you're coming from, Lakhvir, but I do feel it's important to have an understanding of what modern Britain is like and how the idea of these 'Commonwealth Games' fits into all of this. For a start, there's probably more support for the Queen in Canada than there is in Britain. Most of the fellow English men and women I know would like to hang the queen and her family and turn the country into a republic. I'm pretty sure we'll get rid of her before the Canadians do. And the Australians will probably do so within the next couple of years. Also, don't forget that we in Britain only read about 'empire' and 'commonwealth' in our history books at school. As far as real life is concerned, we are part of a united Europe and have even given away our sovereignty, legal mechanism, etc. to Brussels. So you see, Lakhvir, that's the reason these Commonwealth Games are called the 'friendly' games. It's got nothing to do with politics, empire, colonials, etc. It's just a chance to promote friendship between nations on an equal footing ... nations that have something in common. It's best feature, of course, (in theory) is that it gives lesser athletes from so-called lesser countries the once in a lifetime chance to compete on the big stage with the big players. From their point of view! And that point of view, you really can't knock it. Anyway, look on the bright side: India won't be given it again. Next time, it will be held somewhere else ... and no other country ever has or ever will mess it up like the Indians have.
9: Harish Bandhu (Kenya ), October 09, 2010, 6:53 PM.
True. And neither will India get another chance - for a long, long time, I guarantee you - to mess up things again. Also, this is the one chance India has - it has manipulated all its stupidities to this end, it appears - to "shine" on the medal front. With most of the top athletes missing, and others laboring under Delhi Belly, the Dengue fever, the New Delhi Flu, or any one of the other 'delights' India has to offer the civilized world, it will indeed garner a harvest of medals. And they'll cheer and self-congratulate themselves silly over their self-perceived performance, totally oblivious of the fact that they have proved themselves to be incorrigible idiots to the big, wide world. Once again!