http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/02/roger-federer-india-pakistan-cricket-world-cup-jersey
I have read a bunch of the responses on the thread. I'm writing this post in response to those few people who managed to make some interesting points without being openly hostile and insulting. Thanks for that. I will try and address some of the issues raised.
I recognize that writing this post is almost by definition a futile exercise. Arguing with the internet is no more effective than a lone wolf howling at the ocean trying to get the tides to recede.
(The rest of you. Feel free to carry on with the insults and the ad hominem attacks. Every now and then some vindictive *****hole comes up with a hilarious gem!)
Anyway:
1) First, a clarification. My issue with federer is not that he "held up the India shirt" as the USA today article suggests. Rather, that he made a public show of support for India over Pakistan in a high voltage match.
The USA today article says Federer creates issue by "wearing Indian shirt" This was just lazy journalism.
I quote from my letter:
"it’s completely understandable that you would want to root for India. They are an incredible side. You’ve personally met the legend Sachin Tendulkar. It’s a very welcoming country and you were given an adoring welcome there....no, I’m not upset that you chose to support India over Pakistan. I’m upset that you chose to support India over Pakistan, publicly."
So the issue was not that he held the India shirt. It was that he basically came out and said "I support India over Pakistan" during the most high profile high voltage game they will play for the next 4 years.
a lot of people may not see the difference. but there is a difference. and this difference matters to people who are crazy about sports. which brings us to the next question...
2. Why, in the first place, am I or other people upset that Federer decided to support India openly?
This is a fair question.
One of the things I left out of the letter, and in retrospect, this was a mistake, was how much of a cricket fan I am. On balance I would say I am probably a bigger fan of cricket than I am of tennis.
Roger is the single sportsman I have loved more than any other. More than any individual cricket player to have represented Pakistan. Much more. But the sporting entity that I have supported from time I was 6 and will support to the exclusion of all other sporting entities till I die, is the Pakistan cricket team.
I would probably have agreed to live on bread and water for the next 6 months if it meant Roger would win another channel slam. But I would have taken a Pakistan world cup win over Roger winning the next 5 slams, Rome, Monte Carlo and Olympic singles Gold. If you toss in a couple of dominant wins over Rafa at Roland Garros it starts to get close.
Between 1996 and 2007 I attended each and every world cup final, in the hopes that I would watch Pakistan win. (Back in the days when Pakistan had a better side.) 1996: in lahore 1999: in London 2003: in Joburg 2007: in Barbados
why each final? i figured if there's one experience I should have in my life it's to watch Pakistan win the world cup. going to the final would give a shot, however small. going to any other match would give me no chance.
And I'm not even close to the biggest cricket fan I know. I mean there are people out there who are
seriously crazy.
You have crazy sportsfans in all parts of the world. But in Pakistan, supporting cricket means something else as well. For the last 15 years we have watched our image in the world slowly deteriorate. No point having the discussion why - it's a combination of internal ineptitude and foreign circumstances. All that matters is that it isn't directly the fault of joe citizen. But joe citizen still has to live with the consequences. Our cricket team therefore, is not just a sporting unit, but our chance to show the world we are the best at something. And we don't get those chances often.
This is a great quote. As a Pakistani, the national cricket team is much more to you than, say, the Boston Red Sox are to a New Englander. You can feel free to judge this. And call it pathetic. And condescend to it. And liken it to religion. But the reality is what it is. For a lot of people, our very sense of national identity and pride is inextricably linked to the cricket teams fortunes.
So when Roger said, on the day of our biggest game in 4 years, that he would support our biggest rivals against us, THERE WERE ALWAYS GOING TO BE PEOPLE IT DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH.
and then there was the additional logic about china that I laid out in my letter, which just throws salt on the wounds. I mean let's be clear. I GET THAT NIKE MADE HIM DO IT. But as I argued in my letter: would Nike make him do this against china? not a chance
implication: pakistan is small enough not to worry about. And the sad part is that this is conclusion is
totally, completely, 100% true! As I say in the letter:
And the truth is, in tennis economic terms, compared to Indian fans, we Pakistani fans are indeed expendable. But hearing that truth spelled out publicly, and almost directly, by you, hurts like hell.
Why does it hurt do you ask? Well it's back to the point about national identity. Look it's really hard for someone from a first world economy, or even golden-boy-of-western-world-India to understand where we are coming from. Pakistan is insulted enough in the world media for such an implication to hurt.
(Queue dozens of poasters from the US, UK, India, Australia, who have no idea what this feels like, fire off howls of reductive, simplistic condescension. Bring it on trolls!)
3. Why am I singling out India?
people keep asking why I am so obsessed with India. And would I have reacted this way if he were holding an England jersey.
Simple. They are our sporting rivals. Look around you. At this place I mean. Why are Fed fans obsessed with Nadal and vice versa? It's a sporting rivalry!! I've been to India - and loved it! I have tons of close indian friends. And that's not just lip service. Like really close friends, who came to Pakistan for my wedding, and whose weddings I attended in India. And I appreciate India's genius batsmen!
But. India. Are. Our. Sporting. Rivals.
it has nothing to do with war. And nukes. And stupid political stuff like that. I couldn't care less about who did what to whom when. I am a sports fan, and I know whom my guys HAVE TO BEAT, or I'll get depressed for days.
There is a spectrum of actions Federer could have taken, which would upset a Pakistani person to varying degrees. Merely holding an Indian shirt would not be as upsetting. Holding an England shirt and pledging his undying support would not be as upsetting. But holding an Indian shirt and pledging his support was the most upsetting of the three.
4. Why would I stop being a fan, instead of just getting over it? why such an extreme reaction
I get that it is extremely difficult to be a international sports star. You have to somehow manage being the best or second best at what you do, along with all the ridiculous commitments about marketing media branding etc. I mean, one of the reasons I loved Federer was the effortless way he did all of this perfectly.
If I were to apply the rational part of my mind, I can totally see how he would make a small slip up and offend a niche of cricket crazy pakistanis. And how one of them who is also crazy about him might not be able to love him the same way any more.
But that's the cost of doing business in the modern world. I get that. I have no hard feelings about it.
The rational parts of our minds can decide to do things like control hate or vitriolic speech. Give people respect. Let go of anger. But sporting love comes from a part of the mind, or soul, or whatever, which is completely irrational and impervious to reason.
Why should the fortunes of a tennis player, who shares neither country nor race with me, and who doesn't know I exist, make such a difference to my life that I would be willing to give up all food but bread for 6 months for him to succeed? It's just not rational.
People keep asking me how I can choose to stop supporting Federer. IT'S NOT A CHOICE. I can choose to respect him, and hold him in high esteem and say nice things about him. AND I'VE DONE ALL OF THE ABOVE IN MY LETTER. But I cannot CHOOSE to love him to AN IRRATIONAL DEGREE!
At the end of the day, I can no longer support Federer the way I did because he supports the biggest rival of the Pakistan cricket team, and he indirectly implied that Pakistani fans don't matter to him. And I wrote a letter. Fans do far worse things for sport. It's not that big a deal.
So, dear internet, get over yourself.
And I'm sorry that you have to deal with the fallout of your opinions, it's never easy because online opinions come fast and hard, you've been brave putting yourself out there, and I wouldn't take things too personally.
