New found love

I have been in the US for over 6 years now. Spent the first 2 years in a school that was (and still is) one of the top college football teams in the nation. Every saturday in those 2 falls, I used to hear about the exciting college football games but spent most (if not all) of those Saturdays playing cricket at the Harris park (I know, the name sounds very professional but it was a very small park where even Geoff Boycott's mom could hit a six. Almost)..and never had enough interest to even try to see what the fuss was all about. I used to wonder how could a regular college-level game be so sophisticated as to generate such buzz. I had little knowledge about the game. All I knew was that everyone looked the same - tall, broad and muscular and ran after the guy who had the ball in his hand. My interest level remained undeterred even in the 2005 season when Longhorns won the championship. This year though, things changed. All it took was one casual Monday night NFL. The game was a nail-biter and decided literally in the last minute. Luckily, the next 2 games that I watched also had close finishes as well. That's it. Enough to make me want more. Big time.

And the business model is unique too.  Now I know where did IPL (NFL's cricket equivalent) get its inspiration from. Good food, casual evening, scantily clad cheer-girls and of course, a high-energy football game. I am quite sure the shortest version of cricket, if introduced to the american crowd, will be a big hit. They would find it much more exciting and nail-biting than a baseball game, which imho is overrated. Heck, even if only Indian crowds show up, they will make good revenues. But I digress. Long story short, American football is my latest love. Cricket, of course, is numero uno.

And yes, OU still sucks! (for the uninitiated, you need to be a Longhorns fan to know what I mean).