CRUNCH - All things crunched.

  Three days into this world cup and it is turning out to be quite a unique one. From the stadias, to the weather and the tech being deployed during the matches the experience of consuming these games are truly unique. With sell out crowds and full-blown fan parks football is well and truly gaining the attention that the most popular sport in the world deserves.  Apart from the innovation,  there is an added extra sensationalism at play as well. Englands arm band, Germany's covered mouth, BBC's coverage of this world cup and then Saudi and Japan. Sport is powerful and athletes are adored but when players are forced to comply with social issues, the paradigm of hero worship shifts. Heroes fall and results gain precedence. Just because this world cup is being played in 2 spheres - the game and the game of the game, iconic players tend to lose fandom. Hence the fans who once waited for glimpse of Messi are now mocking with the line .... Where is messi ?  Bottom line dont mess with

  Recently there is a new wave of realizations. Info-leaks, confessions, lay-offs, resignations, protests and disclosures are revealing the hidden workings of previously sacrosanct establishments. Notions once held  as privilege now seem less robust and more fragile. Powerhouses are being razed to ground by lesser popular Davids.  A new world order is emerging. From the field of sports to leading stock markets there is movement. The song 'winds of change' are blowing again. This time Asia is in focus. Asians are in focus. More so, the change is about Asians are dealing with reality and making the most of opportunity. On all fronts Asia is in the game and Asia is now taking the shots. In many areas Asia is calling the shots.  What does this mean for brands?  Now that the cages have been broken and the tigers are out, is it time to pursue humanistic ideals than historical ones. Do brands now have to reconfigure their world view around current affairs than history. Is geography th

People love sports because they produce outcomes. Agree, the semifinal didn't follow the script most Indians wished to witness. As usual there is an outpouring of anger directed towards the players. This is a colossal disappointment, more so because it denies Indian crowds the mouth-watering prospect of witnessing another contest with the neighbors. There is an obvious outcry. Our neighbors are in the final and we are not. This is the gully cricket mentality that drives Indian viewers into a stadium. Obviously, the disappointment must be vented.   If not the players and who's to be blamed … is it the captain, coach, the wisdom of the selection committee or is it the system?  Over the years Indian cricket has assumed industrial proportions and the stakes have been raised by a few billion dollars. Indian cricket has seen capital inflow from all kinds of investors. From highly illegal to the blindly ambitious. Everyone from the biggest sports betting platforms to a humble edtec