The Calamity Called the IPL

Every calamity amasses a massive amount of destruction after it abates. This man made disaster is none different, the cricketing mega event has had severe repercussions on other sports in India but the most affected is none other than the most beautiful game football.
The game in our country had never really come up in modern times, but the revamped I-league had injected a fresh belief that there would be resurgence.
Now that the season has unwinded,cricket has taken centre stage once again as it always has with the people regardless of other achievements by Indians in auxiliary sports, yes that is what cricket has done to other sports.
The survey taken in the football mad city of Kolkata is astonishing. Looks like it was a ploy to form probably the most hep team in the IPL the Kolkata Knight Riders under the stewardship of Shah Rukh Khan. He has demi god like status and it is no surprise that the people of Kolkata surrendered under his magical charm. The team has the backing of the entire city and here comes the dangerous fact.
The attendance of the AFC Cup game of East Bengal was squat compared to the crowds that pushed in for the cricket game at Eden Gardens.Whats happening here? A club with a history of 80 plus years and such a strong base has fallen prey to something that has been established only yesterday?
It just shows the monster of cricket in its latest avatar is eating up football even where football is the top most sport.
It looks like a planned gimmick, because if not for SRK would the team become as popular as it is today?
People from other cities are supporting Kolkata just because of SRK that shows the credibility of the man.
Football is on the verge of becoming a perennial shadow of cricket in our country. It always has been, but the IPL has widened the gulf to an alarming extent.
The blame has to be put partly to the people and organizers.
Most I-League matches are held on weekdays at times around 3.30 pm,the first kick off is an unattractive time for the people who are stuck at work.
The schedule of the season should be changed some what, if the I-league is moved in the months of the monsoon then it would attract a greater following since people somehow associate rains with football, hence the massive following of the world cup and European championships. But moving the time span would affect the AFC scheduling since most leagues around Asia begin during last months of the year.
The people, the major cause of the failure of football to deliver. Yes we have inadequate facilities, ancient stadia; more of quality coming from foreign players, low money etc but it’s the people who are to be blamed for a major chunk of the failure. It’s in our tradition to follow cricket, our parents push us in the direction of total cricket barring few of us that is.
So when you’re brought up only under the influence of cricket you don’t give a damn to other sports.
Now back to the Kolkata survey, parents are pushing their kids into playing cricket professionally since there is a huge lump sum of money for the asking. Kids who play other sports are forced to change their direction which blows off the chances of obtaining young players.
And this has been happening since a long time, but the amount of money that is spinning around the IPL, it has hallucinated the people and the belief in cricket has just become stronger.
Sad to see the community of Mumbai FC in a social networking site has only 900 odd members but Mumbai Indians has over 20,000.
It’s a shame that the people in most parts of India don’t get to see the I-League since the pay channel isn’t available in some regions, but those who get it don’t even bother.
We also don’t get to see the AFC cup, whilst soporific cricket matches are relayed from time to time.
Is the IPL the final nail in the coffin for football and even other sports? Can football ever recover back and reach the pinnacle of glory or will it slowly rust and perish?
Goal.com wants to know what you think.