Welcome to The Jerky Loudspeaker - an independent sports and culture newsletter, I’m super excited to have you here! Before you dive in, let me quickly break down how the newsletter is structured. Think of it like a mini newspaper, with three sections:
Deep Dive - Each piece/series in this section will be an in-depth analysis of the thoughts and emotions that arise from my interactions and experiences with the arts
Consumption Corner - A weekly review of what I’m watching, reading and listening to.
Balls, Bats & Baskets - As always, sports on the back page. In this section I’ll geek out about the happenings in this world of balls, bats and baskets.
Passion Projects -Â Once a month, I feature Q&As with creatives from different professional and personal backgrounds.
Balls, Bats & Baskets
Selection Gaffes
Back in school, I used to attend this cricket academy near my place called IACA. I joined the academy when I was ten years-old and for the next three years it consumed my weekends. Saturdays from 2:30-6:30 & Sundays from 8-11:30. Those seven hours in the nets each weekend were a formative part of my childhood.Â
IACA summers were special. There was an abundance of everything - kids, matches, net sessions, fun. At the end of each summer, the academy would host its flagship tournament, Pepsi Cup, in which academies from all over the city would participate. Teams from Chennai, Hyderabad and even Sri Lanka would come down for the tournament. It was a big deal.
Two IACA teams competed at each age-group level in the Pepsi Cup. Parents and local business owners would bid for the academy's teams. Some would bid so that their son could be captain, some would bid to promote their business.Â
In my first ever Pepsi Cup, one of the teams at the U-13 level was purchased by the owner of Zero G, a popular nightclub at the time on Residency Road. In a display of astute marketing acumen, he decided to name the team Zero G.Â
The second U-13 team was purchased by friend Suraj's dad. Now, Suraj was a Sachin Tendulkar devotee and as a mark of deference, decided to name his team Bangalore Indians. He photoshopped the Mumbai Indians logo and had stickers made for the team to put on its helmets. Both teams should have been disqualified.Â
I can still picture the scene on the day of selection so vividly. The two captains standing face-to-face, with the rest of us from the U13s facing them, tingling with anticipation. Our coach tossed a coin and the winning captain picked first. The Zero G owner's son was on the team but he sportingly decided against making him captain and chose my best friend Adi instead. But, the flag of nepotism still managed to flutter over Zero G, as Adi made me one of his first picks.Â
But, this wasn't even his most disastrous decision that day.
The U13s gradually broke into two burgeoning camps behind their respective captains. Emotions were running high as selections progressed. For one of their picks, the Bangalore Indians captain Suraj chose a boy called Divit. He was a fun guy to hang out with, but was a bang average cricketer. An all-rounder who could barely bat and hardly bowl. But when he walked over to join Suraj and gang, he was given a reception undeserving of his talent. No other player that afternoon received a cheer as loud as Divit did. The BI players were behaving as though they'd already won the cup.Â
Their joy was short-lived. Our coach realized that the teams weren't numerically balanced and told Adi to pick any player of his choice from the Bangalore Indians. It was a big decision. A golden opportunity to debilitate the opposition and pick a player who could lead Zero G to crowning glory.Â
But before any of us could whisper our suggestion in Adi's ear, he picked Divit! The best players in the age-group to pick from and he picked Divit!Â
Zero G lost every game that year in the Pepsi Cup. We all shat the bed, but no one's droppings were magnified in the way Divit's was. Given his fielding, it is an apt description of his performances. While Divit remained blissfully unaware of the talk behind his back, Adi copped a lot of flak from the team. We were churlish but then again, we were kids.Â
I don’t remember too much about the games and can barely recall the players from the team. But I can never forget Divit.Â
" The name is cursed. Who the fuck names a team Zero G?", our wicket keeper grumbled as we walked off the field after losing our last game. Â
Man City took a leaf out of Bangalore Indians’ book, when they went in for Cristiano in the transfer window a couple of months ago. Have Man United been played the way Zero G were?
Consumption Corner:
What I’m reading: This LinkedIn post by a Creative Director at Ogilvy on a comical piece of copywriting.
What I’m watching: Easily one of the best music videos I’ve watched. Be sure to read the description before watching the video and going through the comments section after you do.
Tweet of the week:
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In last week’s edition:
The Facebook of Old: Reminiscing the times when it was still a social network