Arre bhai, Brazil ka football dekho to mujhe apne purane transistor radio ki yaad aa jaati hai — radio ko bajate-bajate crackle aata tha, phir bhi Pele ka goal clear sunai deta tha. Aaj kal log kehte hain samba gaya, but main to data dekhta hoon: 2002 ke baad bhi unke paas Neymar, Ronaldo, Vinicius jaise players aaye, problem yeh hai ki hum nostalgia mein zinda hain. Jis tarah mera surgery wala dost har baar beedi ka packet naya nikal ke kehta hai "yeh best hai", waise hi har World Cup mein Brazil ko champion declare kar dete hain — evidence to dekho, 2014 mein 7-1 ka hisaab abhi baaki hai.

Arre bhai, Commonwealth Games ka suna — par hamare Bhilai Steel Plant ke workers' football tournament mein bhi teen saal se prize money nahi badha. Ek baar data dekho: last CWG ke medal count se zyada, meri gali ke bacchon ke cricket match ka score yaad rehta hai mujhe.

Bhai, Dekho Shahid Afridi ka chhoka on TV, aur yaad aata hai factory ka purana compressor jo har match ke pehle thoda-thoda vibrate karta tha. Unki unpredictability mein ek comfort hai – jaise hamare township ki evening cricket, kuch bhi ho sakta hai, par khelna toh band nahi hota.