Addiction syndromes

It's been just seven days since the IPL ended and I am already experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Suddenly, there are no live scores to follow, no match previews or reports to read, no anticipation of yet another thriller of a match. Thirty seven days of non-stop T20 cricket; and now the mornings just aren't the same again. Heck, I have even started having lunch before 1. But then, there just seems to be no fun in it.

Phew, what is it that makes us addicted to something so badly?

Every morning, I walk the 10-odd minutes to the Path station, take the train to WTC, walk a further 10 minutes to office, and still am practically half-asleep. There's nothing that refreshes me more than the ritual of sipping my morning cappuccino; and until I have had my cuppa, I seem pretty cranky to myself.

And then, there is the addiction to work...

...well, addictions do have their problems. The ones like substance abuse of course, are much serious. Even relatively less harmless ones like smoking and gambling can have vast repercussions over the long run. But they sure do give you the momentary 'high'. And that is what most people live for, I suppose.

So, what does a cricket addict like me do when you are just off a month-long 'high'? Oh well, the World T20 starts this weekend; and I am all excited. :)

And as far as the caffeine is concerned, hey, how does it harm anyone if all it takes to stir someone up is a cup of hot coffee? Or tea? Or even T, for that matter? (There I go again...:))

Crazy cricket connoisseur?

As the Indian Premier League 2 enters the final week of its league matches, die-hard cricket fans like me are obviously excited. Since most of these matches are scheduled at 8 pm India time (10-30 am EDT), it's pretty easy to follow them 'live'. And that is a scarcity for cricket fans in the US.

So, everyday, I am all set on Cricinfo following ball-by-ball commentary of practically all of these matches. The thrill of watching T20 live on television has been conveniently replaced by the 'excitement' of reading text commentary live. Well, not just the commentary. I devour practically every single word published on Cricinfo's IPL site - all the articles, anecdotes, observations, interviews, quotes, statistics, caricatures and of course, match bulletins and reports. 

It has reached to such an extent that even when I get to see a match live, I make sure that I am logged on to Cricinfo so that I do not miss any of their educated observations. And I suspect there are many others like me. :)  

Gotta admit that the love for sports makes a man do weird things in life. :)