by Bushra Khan

Created on: January 20, 2007   Last Updated: April 23, 2007

I had always wondered, but I had never really understood why people were so crazy about sports, why they were so obsessed with the players, the results, the whole shebang. Only a few years ago did I myself discover the thrill, the excitement, the throbbing of the heart And it's all thanks to cricket!

What a shame it is that so many today in the North America know nothing about this prodigious sport. I am not demeaning the other sports; baseball, basketball, soccer I am sure they each have their own great points. Nevertheless, I will assure my readers that those who have not experienced the pure raw thrill of watching an exciting cricket match, have experienced close to naught. It's an adventure, a fantasy, a trip to Disney Land The rollercoaster ride of a match is beyond anything else I've ever known. Not knowing whether the next ball will demolish the batsman's stumps, or fly up, up and away The happiness one feels when the team we support has won is just plain pleasure. To see our favorite player achieve a landmark is also an experience that no mortal should miss.

And when it comes to players Cricket is a game of stars. Shining, brilliant, scintillating stars. With Andrew Flintoff, Shoaib Akhtar, Sachin Tendulkar, Brain Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, and countless other players with no comparison, there is only one conclusion I can come to, cricket is very much above the level of just sports.

With a single match having the potential to be a roller-coaster, an angry rally, a jubilation, a despairing moment, and a final cry of triumph, cricket offers the viewer much more than what a regular sport does. I implore all you humans with a heart and a soul out there, watch a cricket match. Watch an old one for starters. A famous legendary match that has been remembered over the years. If you don't feel the rush of blood in your pounding heart at the crucial moments, if you don't want to catch a player by the collar and shake him into his senses when he drops a catch or throws away his wicket, if you don't beam with pride and admiration at a wonderful fielding display, if you don't rejoice madly when victory is secured Then No, indeed, there is no then. You are bound to feel the mad rush of emotions. If you don't believe me, just watch a match and see.

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