Having grown up playing Badminton, I was extremely excited about the Indian Badminton League.
For many years now, I have been following World Badminton - online, on NEO Sports and many other channels on which the various tournaments get shown.
At home, there have been multiple times that I have watched the World's Top Badminton players - like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei - play a fantastic game - and my family did not really bother to watch. No questions. Just the usual "Dad and his sports". :)
Not even my sports crazy 7 yr old boy - or my 9 yr old daughter who - unfortunately - likes to watch sports more than play them.
And now, with the IBL, both of them are really excited about the teams, they are tracking the points table, they know who the players are, they've made posters supporting "Banga Beats" etc etc.
Recently, my cricket-football crazy boy asked if we can play Badminton. Twice in a week.
And the last time, as we were heading to the court, he stated, "I am Lee Chong Wei. Who are you?"
Now, when I watch IBL on TV, my kids snuggle up and start asking me details of who is playing, who is winning, about the mysterious and dynamic out line in doubles, why there are so many "referees" etc etc.
Of course, the Indian player gets all the support at home - never mind if they have never heard of the player or after multiple days of trying, they are still having a tough time remembering the name "Kashyap" (Banga Beat's Icon Player)
Many other folks I know are following the IBL closely. Folks that have never played or watched Badminton on TV - except when Saina was playing. And some of them have not even done that.
Before IBL, there was much better quality Badminton on TV.
Before IBL, the world's best players and much better players than the current IBL players were playing LIVE on TV.
Before IBL, the matches were shown round the clock. Multiple times.
Before IBL, hardly anybody in India knew who "Lee Chong Wei" was. Most of them did not even know who PV Sindhu was.
But nobody watched Badminton. Nobody talked about it.
Clearly, just having access to good quality sport was not enough to get folks to follow it.
So, why is IBL getting popular? I do not have TRP rating data - but relative to the earlier status of Badminton, more people are definitely following it.
Same sport. Lesser quality players. Poorer quality matches. And now people are watching IBL? Buying tickets for matches? Why? What changed?
In one word: Familiarity.
I think IBL has presented the magical combination of familiarity and sport.
Sport is an extremely emotional, magical, intense and often polarizing force. But in an unfamiliar context, people just shrug their shoulders and move on. The same sport is impotent. The magic is not working.
IBL - with it's city-based franchisee system & Indian players - brought in the familiarity component. The game suddenly became something personal.
The feeling that if someone, however foreign her name and looks, is part of something I can relate to, I can root for her.
And by making the Lee Chong Wei's of the world part of the Mumbai Masters, Pune Pistons, Banga Beats, Awadhe Warriors, Delhi Smashers, Hyderabad Hotshots, one important gap - of familiarity - was bridged.
Names like Taufik Hidayat, Tine Baun, Mark Zweibler, Juliane Schenk, Liew Darren, Carolina Marin.....world-class players, but unknown in India. Even some of the Indian players - like Kashyap, Sindhu, Bhat, Sai etc were unknown till recently.
Unknown players. Known cities.
And so, however foreign your looks or your name, if you play for "my city", I will cheer for you. IMO, this is not an "Indian" trait. This is a fundamentally human trait - and represents the real unifying power of sport.
What IBL has done is to connect that power of good quality sports with the power of familiarity - of the city and of other Indian players.
Yes, IPL has done it earlier and at a much larger scale. But IPL had the leverage of a cricket-crazy nation, media & sponsors.
IBL did not.
And hence the IBL way might be the solution for other sports that are in a similar situation.
Create good quality sports competitions. That is a prerequisite.
As are good venues, easy tickets access, on-time starts, family-friendly facilities, clean toilets, food for kids, some entertainment, good quality refereeing etc etc. Those are all "hygiene factors". Necessary but not sufficient for success.
The sufficiency comes from making world class sport personal. Making it familiar. Making fans relate to the players, to the team - and be able to connect with other fans on a common platform.
That said, IBL also had the advantage of most fans being able to relate to the sport of Badminton. Most folks had played it in the open, in parks or at school. Unlike, say, car-racing or adventure sport or golf - where large fan bases are unable to relate to the sport.
The sports that are able to make the personal connection with fans are the ones that will grow.
Maybe, just maybe, the IBL way is the formula for all sports. Fingers crossed! :)
For many years now, I have been following World Badminton - online, on NEO Sports and many other channels on which the various tournaments get shown.
At home, there have been multiple times that I have watched the World's Top Badminton players - like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei - play a fantastic game - and my family did not really bother to watch. No questions. Just the usual "Dad and his sports". :)
Not even my sports crazy 7 yr old boy - or my 9 yr old daughter who - unfortunately - likes to watch sports more than play them.
And now, with the IBL, both of them are really excited about the teams, they are tracking the points table, they know who the players are, they've made posters supporting "Banga Beats" etc etc.
Recently, my cricket-football crazy boy asked if we can play Badminton. Twice in a week.
And the last time, as we were heading to the court, he stated, "I am Lee Chong Wei. Who are you?"
Now, when I watch IBL on TV, my kids snuggle up and start asking me details of who is playing, who is winning, about the mysterious and dynamic out line in doubles, why there are so many "referees" etc etc.
Of course, the Indian player gets all the support at home - never mind if they have never heard of the player or after multiple days of trying, they are still having a tough time remembering the name "Kashyap" (Banga Beat's Icon Player)
Many other folks I know are following the IBL closely. Folks that have never played or watched Badminton on TV - except when Saina was playing. And some of them have not even done that.
Before IBL, there was much better quality Badminton on TV.
Before IBL, the world's best players and much better players than the current IBL players were playing LIVE on TV.
Before IBL, the matches were shown round the clock. Multiple times.
Before IBL, hardly anybody in India knew who "Lee Chong Wei" was. Most of them did not even know who PV Sindhu was.
Before IBL, the matches involving Saina were telecast multiple times. Only the times when she won against the Chinese and the Malaysians.
But nobody watched Badminton. Nobody talked about it.
Clearly, just having access to good quality sport was not enough to get folks to follow it.
Same sport. Lesser quality players. Poorer quality matches. And now people are watching IBL? Buying tickets for matches? Why? What changed?
In one word: Familiarity.
I think IBL has presented the magical combination of familiarity and sport.
Sport is an extremely emotional, magical, intense and often polarizing force. But in an unfamiliar context, people just shrug their shoulders and move on. The same sport is impotent. The magic is not working.
IBL - with it's city-based franchisee system & Indian players - brought in the familiarity component. The game suddenly became something personal.
The feeling that if someone, however foreign her name and looks, is part of something I can relate to, I can root for her.
And by making the Lee Chong Wei's of the world part of the Mumbai Masters, Pune Pistons, Banga Beats, Awadhe Warriors, Delhi Smashers, Hyderabad Hotshots, one important gap - of familiarity - was bridged.
Names like Taufik Hidayat, Tine Baun, Mark Zweibler, Juliane Schenk, Liew Darren, Carolina Marin.....world-class players, but unknown in India. Even some of the Indian players - like Kashyap, Sindhu, Bhat, Sai etc were unknown till recently.
Unknown players. Known cities.
And so, however foreign your looks or your name, if you play for "my city", I will cheer for you. IMO, this is not an "Indian" trait. This is a fundamentally human trait - and represents the real unifying power of sport.
Yes, IPL has done it earlier and at a much larger scale. But IPL had the leverage of a cricket-crazy nation, media & sponsors.
IBL did not.
And hence the IBL way might be the solution for other sports that are in a similar situation.
Create good quality sports competitions. That is a prerequisite.
As are good venues, easy tickets access, on-time starts, family-friendly facilities, clean toilets, food for kids, some entertainment, good quality refereeing etc etc. Those are all "hygiene factors". Necessary but not sufficient for success.
The sufficiency comes from making world class sport personal. Making it familiar. Making fans relate to the players, to the team - and be able to connect with other fans on a common platform.
That said, IBL also had the advantage of most fans being able to relate to the sport of Badminton. Most folks had played it in the open, in parks or at school. Unlike, say, car-racing or adventure sport or golf - where large fan bases are unable to relate to the sport.
Maybe, just maybe, the IBL way is the formula for all sports. Fingers crossed! :)
