Every four years, the Test cricket fan in me gets a reality check. The FIFA World Cup, with its massive scale and magnificent scope, exposes cricket as a niche sport. This sobering reality comes with a silver lining. We non-fans may not really understand the offside rule, nor do we claim to get the club-driven sub-text of an attachment to a national side. But there's still plenty of fun to be had for the faithless.
On-field drama
Butter-smooth limbs. Operatic overreactions. Style fixations. The paragons of masculinity seem to be feminine stereotypes! Twenty-two grown men chasing a ball is a laughably simple premise for my sporting brain, used to myriad cricketing rules of varying complexity and absurdity. But there's something so cathartic about football-flavored drama, where there isn't even any pretence of controlling one's emotions or behaving in a gentlemanly fashion. I'm forever fascinated by greying managers yelling passionately from the sidelines in well-cut suits; what an incongruous sight they make to the occasional viewer. It's impossible not to get anthropological when witnessing the overall display of pride and aggression. So quaint.
Emotional supporters
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