My Journey becoming a Sports Fanatic

Cricket World Cup 1999 was the first proper cricket tournament I followed in which Pakistan were the team to beat, although they lost in the final against Australia.

For as long as I could remember, cricket was the only sport I followed. It was May 21, 1997, when Saeed Anwar scored 194 against India during the Independence Cup at Chennai when I fell in love with it, and there was no way back.

This love was not just watching and playing the sport, but it went a few miles deeper as I used to not only keep a record of all the matches played by Pakistan but also player statistics, year-end standings and newspaper pictures of cricket players. Wait for it…there was a time back in 2002 when I devised my own world ranking system… All this in different notebooks without any internet. Writing down everything ignoring my homework, staying awake all night, staying alone at home watching Pakistan play was all I knew.

I always used to wonder how can people like any other sport, and I used to believe that while everyone has their own preferences, at least I cannot watch any other sport, let alone fall in love with them. It wasn’t as if I did not try; trying to keep track of all the hockey matches played by Pakistan; another notebook on the World Cup matches of Football but it just didn’t work. Then life got real, and studies took their toll and preferences changed. There wasn’t a cricket match I missed in which Pakistan played, no, not at all. Cricket was still high on my priorities. But then, it was the 2009-2010 era when terrorism was at its peak in Pakistan, and our cricket team didn’t get to play many matches that season and I really needed another sport to follow.

Indian Premier League has been a revelation for Cricket that has not only changed the way game is played but also given it importance in a global perspective.

Thankfully the 2007 WT20 took place, and sadly Pakistan lost to India in the final, but that totally changed the landscape of cricket around the world. The concept of T20 leagues was introduced by ICL, Indian Cricket League which was quickly banned by the Indian cricket board but after the success of India in the tournament, Indian Premier League was launched by BCCI that gained fame instantly. For one reason or the other I have never followed IPL that includes its ban on Pakistani players, but there were other leagues to quench my thirst.

There is no doubt that Indian Premier League has completely changed the way Cricket as a sport is played and viewed around the world. Players have now more opportunities to apply their trade and earn money although that's at a big cost of International cricket suffering.

Pakistan Super League is new among the bunch of private leagues but has quickly established itself as one of the most prominent ones in the world of Cricket.

Pakistan Super League is one of the newest leagues in the cabinet of world leagues but how can you not love PSL being a Pakistani. It did not have the best of qualities in the beginning, but just because of the thirst of Pakistani fans who are deprived of cricket in their home grounds it was a welcome dose. The first edition only included five teams, yes, just five teams but it was a success. Not quality-wise but with the attention it gained across the country. The Lahore v Karachi match was watched by 80% of the TV audience in Pakistan, even more than Pakistan v India. There was no team from my hometown so like most of the neutrals I followed Quetta Gladiators and they have been the most successful team in the history of PSL, but thankfully after the third season Multan Sultans were added in the league, and I had my own team to follow. By now Pakistan Super League is the third most famous league in the world behind IPL and BBL, and it will only go upwards and forward.

Caribbean Premier League was perhaps the in its own right one of the top leagues but the time differences across the cricketing world is something that goes against it. Although most of the matches are played at night time to make sure that other countries can see some of the action, but it is still challenging. They call it the festival of cricket and that may be true, but the standard of cricket is petty low. But when you are a true cricket fan, and when you see many Pakistani players playing in the CPL you have to pick and choose a team, and my selection was St Lucia Zooks who are captained by Darren Sammy, the most beloved cricketer in Pakistan if not the world.

Hockey was a sport with so much potential, sadly national game of Pakistan has been totally ignored by the government and Hockey itself has been destroyed by so many rule changes.

Hockey was always there, Field Hockey I mean. Pakistan’s National sport and for me, still, easily, by far, the most exciting and fastest game in the World. Pakistan didn’t do that well and was a team in decline, but there were still many things to keep you interested. The greatest goal scorer and penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas were one of them. I used to watch hockey as much as I can, and there were some great tournaments to enjoy. Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, Asian Games, Olympics and their qualifying rounds, World Cup, World Series and Pakistan vs India bilateral series it was a dream.

But as I said, it was a game in decline in Pakistan, but I still watched. The green field, white ball along with the flow and pace, it had it all. But then they changed it altogether; the green area became blue, ball colour changed, two half times divided into four quarters. There was no flow anymore, and there was no interest as well. There is a reason it has been left behind as a sport not only in Pakistan but in the world as well.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal shake hands after Wimbledon 2008 final on July 8, 2008 in what is considered to be the greatest ever tennis match.

Switching from one channel to the other in the summer of 2009 I stumbled upon the highlights of a tennis match; Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal Wimbledon final the previous year. Although the actual game was 4 hours 50 minutes long, these highlights of an hour kept me glued to the television. Oh my God, I thought. Roger Federer. The way he played, so effortlessly and easy on the eye. By the end of this pulsating encounter in which Nadal defeated Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7 which is regarded as the greatest match in Tennis’s history. That was my introduction to tennis. A few days later, Wimbledon 2010 started and I followed it throughout, well actually I followed Roger Federer throughout and the tournament ended with another significant encounter in the Final when Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick in the final, 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14, Oh my God, I thought. Roger Federer. There was no going back, Tennis (Roger Federer) was the first sport other than Cricket that made me fall in love with it.

It was a hurdle crossed, a barrier broken! I was able to watch another sport. But Tennis wasn’t a sport much-watched in Pakistan so accessing it wasn’t that easy, plus only the Grant Slams get much attention anyway. Few years went by, and I needed something more. Where should I turn my attention to, I thought.

The day still is fresh in my memory; 21st April 2013 when a Premier League football match between Liverpool and Chelsea was on television. I told myself, this is the most famous sport in the world, there must be something good about it, watch it. Watch I did. This red team (as my brain told me) was losing 1-2 when one of their player Luis Suarez did something astonishing; he bit the blue team’s player. The commentators went crazy, the crowd was involved, and players were confronting each other; it was madness. Then Liverpool scored a few minutes later; the crowd went mad, the noise was so loud, I had to decrease the volume. The match ended 2-2, but it was exhilarating. 

Liverpool became Champions of Europe when they won the most recent Champions League in 2019 but missed out on a Premier League title by just 1 point.

A few days later the season ended, and I started searching about Football, it was very complicated for a person like me, which team is from which league, so many leagues, okay so there are different leagues but what is this champions league, all the leagues are a mixture it was so confusing.

I downloaded this application ESPN FC to get a better understanding, started reading any and every news there was without much know-how. Consulted some of my friends who told me Premier League is the most prestigious competition and Manchester United are the best team. Wow, I thought, Manchester United. But something didn’t click; I started reading the history of the most successful teams in England, turns out there were two of them (both red sides in my mind). The history of Liverpool FC was much more interesting, happening and emotional than Manchester United.

Even before I started watching football Steven Gerrard was a name that I had heard a lot, he will always be my most favourite player, sadly he could not win any Premier League title at Liverpool, he came so close but then slipped.

I had a choice to make, Red or Red Devils. Well, Liverpool wore full red, Manchester United half. Red Devils does not sound good, but Red seems better. But that wasn’t it. Watching the videos of Steven Gerrard scoring those crazy long-range goals, reading about the Hillsborough Tragedy and of course, Luis Suarez’ bite made my mind up.

Next season was crazy, Liverpool almost won the Premier League. My first season watching football turned out to nearly be the most glorious one. Luis Suarez scoring those goals in every match, especially four against Norwich. I used to download BBC Match of the Day every week to see the highlights. Then the emotional victory vs Manchester City and the passionate speech by Steven Gerrard, his infamous slip that cost us the league, it was a tumultuous season but worth everything.  Football was my companion now, Liverpool was my love. You’ll Never Walk Alone, they sang, I haven’t ever since. Before I move forward, I will state it. Clearly, Liverpool is the team I love the most, everything else (football-wise) is just my interest.

“Messi is Matrix. He’s able to stop the time and do whatever he wants." - Luis Enrique

If you are following Football and the Premier League, it is almost impossible to ignore other leagues and players. Obviously you cannot overlook Lionel Messi who is everyone’s favourite player (secretly, even of Ronaldo fans) and the next season Luis Suarez, my first favourite football player moved to Barcelona, so it was a natural choice for me to follow FC Barcelona. Plus Cristiano Ronaldo was from Manchester United so for me it was easy-peasy. It isn’t a difficult choice in La Liga, to be honest; it is either Real Madrid or Barcelona for people around the world. There is no doubt in my mind that if you watch Lionel Messi play there is 100% chance that you will be mesmerised by what you see. Thousands of people at Camp Nou bow to him whenever he scores a brilliant goal and that happens like in every match. The man scores 50 goals every season which is just remarkable and it has become such as norm that if he scores 40 goals a season people start talking that Messi is out of form without even realising that no other player in the world hasn't scored even 30 goals a season.

German giants Borussia Dortmund attract a crowd that is more than 80,000 per home game which is more than any other sporting stadium in the world.

You move towards Germany, and it is even easier as Bayern Munich is the only top team in the Bundesliga and it just didn’t attract me at all. It was the final of 2013 Champions League, and I decided to support the team that played against them, and it turns out, Dortmund was their name, and Jurgen Klopp was their manager. You see, how things turn out sometimes it is just meant to be. Jurgen Klopp will go on to manage Liverpool in future and Dortmund have the same song You’ll Never Walk Alone they sing in their stadium, so it was a match made in heaven for me.

I must confess until recently I had never watched a single football match from the Serie-A, the Italian league. There is no doubt that it is a league with many European giants, but in the days I fell in love with Football, Italian league was in decline and to be honest, it is still the case. But if you are a real Football fan, you must follow Italian league because it sure is the most technical and tough league and has more attention-grabbing matches than at least the Spanish Laliga. For me personally, Juventus was a name that attracted me the most, and I was very close to choosing them as my favourite team, but then the unthinkable happened. They bought Cristiano Ronaldo. Being a Liverpool fan, following a club with Manchester United legend and being a Barcelona fan following a team with Real Madrid giant was just not morally and mentally correct. I really wanted to follow one of the Milan giants, AC Milan and Inter Milan but for one reason or the other, I just couldn’t have an affectionate feeling towards them. Roma was a natural fit for me and had some outstanding players as well, oh, and they were based in Rome, one of my favourite cities in the world, but then I watched Napoli play.

Diego Maradona was the greatest player to ever play for Napoli and it was during his era when they won their two Serie A titles in 1986-87 and 1989-90.

A good team with young players, playing attacking football and a multiple Champions League winning manager, Carlo Ancelotti. Juventus have been winning the league for so long now, and there wasn’t much competition, but it looks like Napoli will be the team that will give them a run for their money, well they might not, but they will at least be the up there that’s for sure. I cannot say I chose them for their history, because every club in Serie A has a great history, but I will say their history is the one that I liked the best, rising from the ruins. 

Apparently French League 1 is included in top leagues of the world, and I just don’t understand why that’s the case. So apparently I had to pick a team to follow in the league knowing very well that Paris Saint Germain will win all the leagues or most of them in the coming decade. Lyon was my preference for the sole purpose. They are one of the oldest teams in the league and always punch above their weight now.

With a total of 8 European Cups and 34 league titles Ajax Amsterdam are one of the European Giants who have unfortunately become a selling club now.

People do not give it much importance, but Dutch Eredivisie is much more interesting than most leagues although they also have two main rivals and Ajax Amsterdam are the dominant force in Holland, but the reason I support them is that they compete in Europe fighting the big-dogs with their restricted resources and budget.

Next year I moved to the United Kingdom, and for a sports lover, it was a dream. Going to Wimbledon watching Roger Federer, visiting Anfield and not getting to see your favourite players, attending the Test match at Mecca of Cricket, Lords Cricket Ground. But there was something more as well, a Rugby World Cup in 2015 and I can’t remember seeing any other sport mentioned during the days of the tournament. There was so much hype, so much interest and so much crowd in bars and even on streets following the matches and cheering their teams that I was amazed. Rugby, really? I thought. 

I read a lot about the sport and saw a few highlights on the television here and there and wasn’t too impressed with what I had seen. But the curious mind and the enticement of following another sport was too much to handle. So I turned towards the internet and tried getting information about Rugby…or Rugby League… or Rugby Union or American Football, or Australian Footy. They say Cricket is confusing with multiple formats but what about Rugby? Is it even Rugby? Is it Football? Why is Football called soccer and rugby called football. It was so confusing even before beginning to get any information about how the sport is played.

London Irish aren't the most successful team in the Premiership Rugby back in the United Kingdom, with just one title back in 2008-09 but the love for London and Ireland made me choose London Irish as my team.

It was interesting for me as well; I started watching Rugby in England, a country that is mad about Football and has cricket as their national sport. Although I shifted to Middlesbrough most of my time in the country was spent in London, a city that I love the most. After doing a little bit of research I was able to understand that Premiership Rugby was the premier tournament in the country and thankfully there was a team located in London, with the interesting name of London Irish. They aren’t a successful team at all, but you cannot betray London when you are in London, it just not makes any sense at all.

England did not have a proper T20 Franchise tournament, and their version of it will be launched in the coming months with the name of The Hundred which is even shorter than a T20 match. They have been the innovator in Cricket but haven’t really grabbed the advantages of being an innovator. Hopefully, through this tournament they will be able to make a market for their product. London Spirit is the team that I will be following, and I am sure it is going to be an excellent tournament.

An image of my team New England Patriots who are lead by the Great Tom Brady. American sports are a league of their own and among them, the National Football League is the richest, most viewed and famous tournament.

American sport is a world of its own. Rich, powerful, unique in their own right. American Football is the most famous and the tournament National Football League is the most famous and posh league in the world. So there it was…. Getting to know how it is played was an easy task but choosing a team to follow was very difficult.

I took an easy route here since I was in England and there was a team New England Patriots playing the NFL so I started following them and it turned out to be a master stroke. Since I have followed them, they have participated in all the five Super Bowl finals winning four of them. Tom Brady, the most famous American Football player in the world also plays for them, so it was a win-win for a person who doesn’t usually want to follow the most successful teams. Their famous chant ‘Get up, let’s go Pats’ doesn’t make me emotional at all but I have been a loyal supporter, just like a true Patriot.

Boston Red Sox won the 2004 World Series Championship breaking a drought of 84 years and lifting the infamous 'Curse of Bambino'.

Reading about Liverpool also introduced me to Fenway Sports Group, who own the club. During the summer break when most teams are preparing for the next season and one of these pre-season Liverpool visited the United States and played a football match at the famous Fenway Park, the home of Boston Red Sox, which was also owned by Fenway Sports Group. So for me, it was natural to have some sort of unexplained attachment with Boston Red Sox. Liverpool had their Miracle of Istanbul in 2005 when they came back from 3-0 down to become European Champions, while Boston Red Sox have their miracle of 2004 where they came from 3-0 down in the series to win the next four matches to end a title drought of 84 years. This natural association with Red Sox has made me a true fan, and although I do not wear Red socks at all, I do follow their progress throughout the year with pride.

Boston Celtics have won 29% of the total NBA Championships since the league started among which 8 were in a row during an era when they won 11 Championships in 13 years.

Some things are just meant to be, that is true for sports for sure. I am sure most of you have heard about LeBron James, the most famous Basketball player of all time and one day I got to know that he holds a small percentage of ownership in Liverpool football club and passionately follows their progress. What more do I need, I thought? I have to get an idea about Basketball and develop interest in the sport as well. The whole process started again; natural instinct would have been to follow the same team Lebron James played for, but another natural instinct of not following the most famous sports team took over. After doing a little more research, I was still confused between Miami Heats, the city of my favourite state Florida. Houston Rockets were in the mix because Texas is perhaps the most talked-about state in the United States and Boston Celtics just because Celtics had a connection with United Kingdom. Finally for me after reading the history of Boston Celtics and the name of the city ‘Boston’ made my mind up since I was following Boston Red Sox already and recently I got to know New England Patriots are also based in Boston. I mean, how many coincidences can there be, it was always going to be Boston Celtics.

NHL team Boston Bruins are the oldest team in the National Hockey League from the United Kingdom and have won 5 Conference Championships and 6 Stanley Cups.

If you have any idea about American sport you would know that there are four great leagues in the country and they all have their place in the hearts of fans. Three of them had my attention and favourite teams. So now it was time for me to select favourites from other leagues and to do that, there was a catch. National Hockey League is the least prominent of the four top leagues in the country but still the 4th most profitable league in the world. Since Field Hockey was changed way too much for my liking, so I was intrigued by the prospect of following an Ice Hockey team. The first thing I did was to watch few highlights of famous Ice Hockey matches, and it was a fantastic experience. It had everything that I needed; pace, aggression, goals and flow. When it came to selecting the teams, it only made sense to choose a team of Boston, as it wouldn’t have made sense to follow a team from any other city since I was already a Bostonian. It turns out they are one of the most successful teams in the league and have a strong history, something that I always preferred while selecting a favourite team. Hence, Boston Bruins fulfilled all the criteria that I wanted in a team.

Atlanta United FC Joined the Major League Soccer in 2018 and already hold the titles of MLS Cup, US Open Cup and the Campeones Cup.

The monopoly of top 4 American leagues is difficult to be broken anytime soon. But a league that tries to act as if it is a prominent one in the country is the Major League Soccer. The top Football (European) tournament in the country. It is by no means a top tournament, a place for European footballers to spend their last years earning easy money and a step-up (financially) for South American football players it has teams that are at the same level, so you do get a few interesting matches here and there. The year I started following MLS was the year Atlanta United FC were the team to join the league, so I began to follow their journey and have been supporting them ever since, they were able to win the MLS in just their second season last year to bring Atlanta only their second sports trophy since 1995 when Atlanta Braves won the Major League Baseball so I can say it was a lucky pick.

Until the beginning of 2019, I was sure that I know about and follow all the sports in the world, but then I moved to Australia. A country with totally different landscape when it comes to games. In the beginning it was difficult for me to understand if this was a Rugby loving country or a cricket-loving country or a football-loving country. While America calls football soccer and rugby football, Australia has their own version of Football (rugby) which they call Australian footy or Australian Rules football, which is a mixture of Football and Rugby and Handball. Thankfully they call Rugby as Rugby, and I am not so sure what they call European Football? Football? Soccer? None of these? I guess it is soccer. It took me 5 months to wrap my head around the complexities and differences in the sports that are played here.

A match between my team Sydney Swans and Richmond Football Club. Australia is a football crazy country; it is Australian footy, a mixture of Football, Rugby and Handball.

Australian Footy is the most famous and prominent sports league in the country without a doubt. It was a totally different experience watching it, but thankfully it was less complicated than Rugby, so I liked it. It is fast-paced as compared to rugby, and you can quickly tell it is more happening. The final, which takes place in Melbourne Cricket Ground every year is the Australian version of Super Bowl when 90,000 plus people are present to watch the two finalists play. Australian Football League has the 4th highest attendance among the top world leagues, and it was easier to choose my favourite. Thankfully the teams are city-based instead of club-based, and I was living in Sydney, so my natural affiliation was with the city. Sydney Swans are my team in the AFL although I’m yet to see them play but going to work and coming back it is clear that the citizens follow their team madly and it is more like a festival when they play.

Based in the suburb of Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney the Bulldogs are one of the most famous and followed team in the National Rugby League and have won 8 titles.

National Rugby League is the Australian premier rugby tournament and another vastly followed league in the country. While NRL follows a club based system where the teams are based in Suburbs instead of cities or random clubs, you will get to see many teams in one city, Sydney for example. They aren’t usually known by their location but their nicknames. This tournament divides Sydneysiders unlike the AFL, and although I initially I chose a team with the name Sydney in it, I soon realised that there was a separate team in the NRL from the suburb I was living in, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. I recently visited the Sydney Olympic Stadium to watch them play in the last match of the season, and it was a pleasant experience. They were out of the playoffs race, so the atmosphere was subdued, but still the ground was almost full. It will be from next season when I will start following them properly, and I am really looking forward to it.

The thing that I love about Australia is that they haven’t ignored Cricket like most of the other countries, especially England. The Big Bash League is the top franchise cricket tournament in Australia and attracts a large crowd. Living in Pakistan, it was always fun to follow BBL, waking up early morning and watching exciting cricket. For me, personally, there is no doubt that it is the most competitive cricket league in the world even better than IPL. Interestingly there are two BBL teams based in Sydney, so it was a tough choice for me to pick the team that I wanted to follow. My early days in Australia were the ending days of BBL so for me it was a chance to see how the teams stacked up. Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunders are both quality teams, and there isn’t much to separate them. I went for Sydney Sixers just because they have a more significant fan base in the city and are based in the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.

Among all the sports being played in Australia, Soccer is the most underrated. When you go outside, you will usually see people playing soccer, especially kids. But there isn’t a proper footballing culture in the country, and their A-league is just like the MLS in the United States. But we can give it some benefit of doubt because it is a developing league and is competitive in its own right because all the teams are well-balanced. My choice for the league has been Sydney FC as I am a Sydneysider.

It is easy to say that being a sports lover is one of best thing that has happened to me. I love cricket more than anything, and I loved writing about it, but now there is a lot more for me to read, follow, know and write about. Sports teaches you an excellent lesson that no matter how tough things get, no matter how hard it is, you have to keep fighting, you have to stay strong, and success will come. This is not just true about sports but in life as well, where people can give up so easily. But that’s what you learn from games, and there is always something to fight for, there is still a reward for hard work.

If you are a Liverpool fan, who were the most successful domestic team winning titles like it was a formality to striving to win their first Premier League title for almost 30 years and coming within one point of finishing the drought but still winning the most prestigious tournament in Europe, the Champions League. Be it a Red Sox fan who saw their team lifting the curse of Bambino when they won their first MLB title in 84 years. Be it a Roger Federer fan who keeps on beating the odds at such an age competing at the top and still winning the finals when everyone thought he was finished. You know that there is something to fight for, that you cannot give up even if you are finishing so close, the destination is always near. There are more memories to make, more trophies to win. 

A Cricket miracle took place when 8th ranked Pakistan totally outclassed top ranked India in the final of Champions Trophy 2017 in England.

Even if you are down the ladder-like Napoli who have never seen much success in their history, or Dortmund who saw two successful years and have been taken over by Bayern Munich who has more money and power. But you fight, you keep on trying your best even if you have limited resources because you know sports is the best leveller. It does not matter if you have more money or you are better than the other it all comes down to who wants it more.

It can also be Pakistan, a country that has been troubled by terrorism for years now. Where a generation of people haven’t seen their sports teams play at home. A place where the culture of sports, especially cricket was so strong that you could see thousands of kids playing in the streets every evening but now, because of the troubled situation, parents don’t let their children play outside. But because it is sports, they keep on surprising the world.

Winning the 2009 World T20, Winning the Champions Trophy 2017 when no one took them seriously, but they did because they believed. Because there was a whole nation praying for them, hoping that they will bring success, a trophy back home. There cannot be a better example of sports uniting a country other than Pakistan, a place that is so divided religiously, racially, locally and individually that you cannot imagine. But that one day, when cricket is on television the whole country is united.

There is no Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Christian everyone is a Pakistani. There are no Shias and Sunnis. There are no Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi and Pashtun; they are just Pakistani. That’s the power of sports for me, a team may win a trophy, it may just be a trophy for others, but for the people who have association with a team, it is the most important thing. The power of sports; for me, sports makes the world a better place. That’s what makes my journey becoming a sports addict, worth every minute.