Cricket
I'm not the biggest fan of cricket, if you asked me about all the great players of recent history of cricket I really wouldn't know. I don't even know how to properly play the game but that doesn't stop me from watching my home team playing in the different world cups.
But beyond the joy of watching your national team win, cricket has a magic of its own, a magic that simply seems to amaze me every time there is a major match. Cricket has the power to bring people together, it allows people to forget their cast, creed, problems and allow people to be together, to be known as one country supporting their national team.
It heals the wounds that are let to fester and this is exactly what needs to happen in a country which has undergone a 3 decade civil war. It is absolutely heartening to watch a tiny nation in the Indian ocean erupt into jubilation when a world cup is won. The cheers that follow when we get a wicket or a six and also the sadness that follows when one of the favorite batsman gets out. I'd even find old ladies who you would think to be lazy to be dancing to the papare music when a wicket is scored. There are prayers that are made during the match of all fates and religions praying for the team to win and then when we do win crackers go off making your ears ring for a while.
Watching a Sri Lankan match as a Sri Lankan is a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout the 3-4 hours of the match but by god, no one would trade it for anything else because at the end of it we are proud, whether we win or lose, to be Sri Lankan
Being a Sri Lankan is not as simple as having your birth certificate saying so, it entails so much more. I define being a Sri lankan as when you feel the happiness and sadness, the disspointment and frustration that follow a match in which Sri Lanka is playing, the unrelenting support we extend to our team when we become runners up for matches 5 consecutive years. If you go through all of this, then you are a Sri Lankan.
It is good to know that there is still hope for humanity, through all the hate and violence we can all still come together for one purpose, even if it is to win a match. Cricket may not be the national sport of our country but it is by far the most celebrated. Whoever said that sports cannot heal wounds? Because I've seen it all happen.
But beyond the joy of watching your national team win, cricket has a magic of its own, a magic that simply seems to amaze me every time there is a major match. Cricket has the power to bring people together, it allows people to forget their cast, creed, problems and allow people to be together, to be known as one country supporting their national team.
It heals the wounds that are let to fester and this is exactly what needs to happen in a country which has undergone a 3 decade civil war. It is absolutely heartening to watch a tiny nation in the Indian ocean erupt into jubilation when a world cup is won. The cheers that follow when we get a wicket or a six and also the sadness that follows when one of the favorite batsman gets out. I'd even find old ladies who you would think to be lazy to be dancing to the papare music when a wicket is scored. There are prayers that are made during the match of all fates and religions praying for the team to win and then when we do win crackers go off making your ears ring for a while.
Watching a Sri Lankan match as a Sri Lankan is a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout the 3-4 hours of the match but by god, no one would trade it for anything else because at the end of it we are proud, whether we win or lose, to be Sri Lankan
Being a Sri Lankan is not as simple as having your birth certificate saying so, it entails so much more. I define being a Sri lankan as when you feel the happiness and sadness, the disspointment and frustration that follow a match in which Sri Lanka is playing, the unrelenting support we extend to our team when we become runners up for matches 5 consecutive years. If you go through all of this, then you are a Sri Lankan.
It is good to know that there is still hope for humanity, through all the hate and violence we can all still come together for one purpose, even if it is to win a match. Cricket may not be the national sport of our country but it is by far the most celebrated. Whoever said that sports cannot heal wounds? Because I've seen it all happen.
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