There are few things that words cannot describe, one of them is the phenomena that’s taken over the city of Chennai in the last few weeks. Chennai Super Kings, after serving a two-year ban from the IPL for being involved in a betting scandal has made a return to the League, which has led to Chennai social media go bonkers. Over the last two years, there has been a widespread feeling of being wronged among CSK fans. Maybe it is because we feel that the ones who run the IPL are jealous of CSK’s success as a top team.
Chennaiites are a proud lot, we are proud of our rich culture, our generosity, our language, the state’s HDI (which is better than its northern counterparts), a national icon by the name of Rajnikanth, Oscar winner AR Rahman, and most importantly, our cricket. There are several moments in India’s cricketing glory that have been defined by its icons, yet, one of its finest moments had to be starring the city itself.
I enjoy IPL because I don’t share an allegiance with any team. Staying disassociated helps me sleep better at night. But that’s not the way a sport is to be watched. Where there is passion, there will be heartbreaks, and in heartbreaks, there will be wisdom. And you will find enough wisdom being circulated in memes, of which Chennai meme-makers do a damn fine job.
Scroll through your social media channels today and you might find your timeline in a sea of yellow. CSK is probably the one team that has been able to retain its core players; the ones the public identify with. Sure they may have lost local lad Ashwin to Punjab, but they still have the old ringmaster in MS Dhoni, and as far as Chennai goes, CSK begins and ends with the man from Ranchi.
Over the last couple of years, Dhoni may have been on the wane as a batsman, but that hasn’t stopped the fans to worship him any less, for there is still a belief that the old fox can conjure up some magic as a captain. Winning will probably be the last thing on the fans’ minds. For now, they just want to see the yellow jersey back on the field again with the familiar face of Dhoni marshaling his troops from behind the stumps, and Gurunath Meiyappan nowhere near the team.
As much as I’d prefer to watch the IPL as a mute spectator, it is nigh impossible to not be infected by the yellow fever. The team has the name of my home after all.
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