Commonwealth Games Part II – the good & the great


 Last week I discussed the good, the bad & the ugly of my 2010 Commonwealth Games experience. This week was a 180 degree turnaround. I attended diving, field hockey, athletics and the closing ceremonies. In addition, I had the treat of going on a private tour of the Athletes Village which culminated in an entertaining concert by Punjabi musician, Daler Mehendi. It was truly one of the best spectator sports weeks I’ve ever had AND one of the best cultural weeks I’ve ever had. I genuinely believe that whether you are a fan of sports or not, watching sporting events in the countries you travel to provide an entertaining and interesting look at the culture of that specific area.


This week I will focus on the positives of my 2010 Commonwealth Games experience with the Good & the Great.

The Good

1. Getting into Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in 15 minutes for athletics opposed to the 45 minutes it took to get into the opening ceremonies last week

2. Watching the Indian 4x100 men’s relay team get first place in their heat; never thought Indians were that fast

3. The Sunday morning walk through the beautiful Talkatora Gardens to get to the Aquatics stadium

4. Watching the Australian men’s field hockey team salute the Indian fans after their match against Malaysia

5. Avoiding Fast Trax chicken burgers the entire week which meant avoiding stomach pain and too many trips to the bathroom

6. Realizing that our seats for the closing ceremonies were in the 3rd row and that food and drinks were free

The Great

1. The passion of the fans, the electric atmosphere and the result of the India v Pakistan men’s field hockey match

2. Knowing that I was one of 15K people at a major event in Indian sports history

3. The hospitality of a new friend who took me around the Athletes Village to get a behind the scenes look at how the athletes and officials live during the games

4. Dancing Bhangra with the CWG athletes and volunteers during a live concert at the Games Village

5. Entering Jawaharlal Nehru stadium just in time to see India win gold, silver and bronze in women’s discuss

6. The CWG volunteers and their energy throughout the entire closing ceremonies; a perfect example of the beauty of volunteering

So the Commonwealth Games have come and gone. I’m sad they are finished, however it will be nice to get on a regular living and sleeping schedule again. In the end, the whole experience was a clear reflection on my life in India this past year: a non-stop spin cycle that has tossed me around in many directions and spit me out a stronger, more fulfilled person.

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 Cities, 3 Football Academies

Image
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few of the top youth football Academies in India.  It’s always interesting to see first-hand some of the blood, sweat and tears football administrators are investing into the future of the sport in the country.  Not to mention, I love experiencing different cultures, norms and idiosyncrasies in each place I visit (there are many).  I won't get too deep into my personal adventures and challenges of traveling through West Bengal and Punjab in the insanely hot month of May.  I'll need to save those for another blog.   I've included the places I’ve visited with some pictures. Pailan World School (Kolkata) http://www.pailanworldschool.com/ Workers putting in artificial turf for the new FIFA Youth Academy Chandigarh Football Academy http://chandigarh.gov.in/dept_sports7.htm The hostel where the CFA players live YFC Rurka Kalan (Rurka Kalan, Punjab...
Read more

Liverpool International Football Academy Coaches – Ray Curtis and Michael Rice

Image
The last half of 2013 was one ongoing conversation about the proposed partnership between Liverpool Football Club and our client DSK Group.  We all knew that only good could come out of this relationship, however we also knew that the level of good would be contingent on the coaches which Liverpool FC selected to represent the Academy in India.  This point couldn’t be hammered home any harder as I’ve seen countless projects fail in India due to the international club’s inability to identify the right type of coaches to make the trip to India. It’s not that these coaches lacked technical expertise or coaching ability, actually that’s never the case, it’s that they lacked a positive attitude and patience.  I actually wrote a post about this which can be found a few months back.  The coaches selected to run the Liverpool International Football Academy DSK Shivajians, Ray and Michael, were handpicked by a trusted member of the Liverpool FC international programming...
Read more

Barcelona

Image
A few months ago my client at Conscient Football and I were discussing options for an "Exposure Trip" we were planning for a group of Delhi based youth footballers.  The obvious locations came up; Manchester, London, Milan, Madrid, Munich, etc... But then Barcelona was mentioned and it was obvious that the meeting was over right then and there. There were no other options.  Barcelona is located in the country that just won the most recent FIFA World Cup, is home to the best football club in the world and home to the best football player in the world.  Why would we take the players anywhere else??? So fast forward to May 12th.  I'm at Indira Gandhi airport in Delhi with 3 other staff members meeting with 27 sets of parents and assuring them that their little princes will be fine.  I'm holding passports, collecting forms, smiling widely, shaking hands and doing my best to exude confidence and responsibility.  Somehow we get the 27 players thr...
Read more