STADIUM ETIQUETTE

PHOTO: STAR

We Bengalis have always held a special place in our hearts for sports. This is the land where people were once crazy enough to gather in numbers to watch a game of nouka baich, a game where people row a longboat, and other people watch them rowing. Even today, if you care to go find out what all those people in the corner of the street are huddled around, you're likely to find them staring at a bout of chicken fight (yes, this is a sport).
During the '80s, local football was trending on the mainstream, unlike nowadays. Thousands attended the Mohammedan-Abahani derby and went on absolutely haywire. Those days are long gone now, and today, the masses love cricket just the same if not more. Not one international match goes where there isn't a full house in the stands, and the place is buzzing right until the players decide to disappoint you. But sure enough, on the day of the next match, it's sold out yet again, and the place is buzzing. In that regard, we Bengalis are the best crowd anyone could ever dream of. But when it comes to well behaved crowds, where is it that we find ourselves?
This piece isn't being written for you if you find yourself in the VIP lounge on match day. If you want to watch the game from an air conditioned room sitting on a comfortable couch, STAY HOME; the VIP tickets aren't cheap anyway. If you can't do the Mexican wave or start dancing like no one's watching when the DJ plays Mumtaz's Nantu Ghotok, there's little left of the stadium experience. Then there's that guy who sits in the open stands and still fails to do any of the fun stuff. Well, sir, you not having the money to buy one of the expensive tickets is understandable, such lifeless behaviour is not.
Imagine this scenario, Sangakkara's on 99, and the crowd would like nothing better than to see the clingy Sri Lankan's back. Shakib comes in to bowl, and that's when the opulent guy in front of you decides to stretch his limbs. The crowd goes wild, but you don't know why. By the time you can stretch your neck far enough to see what's going on, Sangakkara's halfway back to the pavilion, and you are the only idiot in the place to miss out on the action. Trust me; this is a feeling you don't want to have.
 What about crowd behaviour outside? You're not really a fan if you've never fought for tickets, or almost killed people doing so. If there ever was a hell on earth, it's the queue for tickets to a Bangladesh versus <insertcountryhere> match. Of course, once you've been blessed with a ticket, now you need to fight the guards to bring some food with you into the stadium. What's watching the game without some of the all-time favourites -- polao with shiddho dim and a bottle of 'boiled' water? We've had to buy a ticket, respecting the organisers' agreement with the food sponsor is just too much. People try to sneak in food by putting them in places I don't like to mention, and to think that they bring that stuff out later on and eat it, ugh!
With the uprising of one or two sports in our country, we now have some of the world's best sporting facilities in our reach. We've never failed to provide support for our team; we've always filled the stadium in numbers. But while doing that, we, the spectators, don't make life easier for us. The next time you find an annoying stranger staring at you in the stands, or a couple being cheesy; think about how that could be you on another day. Make sure it's not.