Live India, Love Football

The experience of meeting the football fraternity in Kolkata is like nowhere else in the country. These individuals have a deep rooted passion for the sport which usually goes back many generations in their families.  They love discussing football, thinking about football and they especially love recounting historical football moments. Many of them will do anything to be on the football pitch analyzing how they can improve their current squad, sign better players for cheap or crush their rival club. Even senior members of the West Bengal football circuit, who have the dual responsibility of being a non-football related company director or government official, have no problem ignoring the piles of work on their desk and people lined up outside their office to engage in long conversations about Indian football.  I had a number of meetings in Kolkata this past week and, in addition to being thoroughly entertained, I learned something new from each meeting. Mainly I ...

It’s easy to love someone or something during the good times, but the true test of love is seen during the more challenging moments. The first time I set foot in the mad city of Kolkata, I fell in love. Since then, I’ve been falling deeper and deeper in love with the former Indian capital each time I return to the city or meet a Bengali.  My love was tested this past week. I had to travel to Kolkata for a few meetings and initially I was over the moon. Given that I was in love with everything Kolkata and it is a "football heaven  http://liveindia-lovesoccer.blogspot.in/2010/01/calcutta-football-heaven.html , there was no reason for me not to be excited.  Then a few days before I picked up a nice fever with runny nose, headache and body pains all included.  Although I was unwell, it wasn't going to stop me from being with my love. I arrived in the city in the morning and, as soon as I got off the plane, the May Kolkata heat hit me hard. Real...

The other night my colleagues and I went out to celebrate my completion of 1 year working with Libero Sports India.  The night was full of the usual: good food, drinks, banter, gossip, reminiscing and emotional speeches. However, this was no ordinary anniversary for me; it was the celebration of my heart’s victory over my mind.  I look back to a little over a year ago and what was going through my mind when deciding life after Dentsu.  My heart wanted to join Libero Sports India, but my head was pulling me in a whole different direction.  Since I spent my entire 20s with Major League Soccer and Dentsu, 2 globally renowned organizations within the sports marketing industry, I encountered much fear and angst at the thought of joining an organization which wasn’t a household industry name.  My ego wanted me to attach myself to another big name and my insecurity wanted to hide myself inside the comforts of its corporate blanket. Mainly I was too worried about...

I’m clear that properly taking care of your mind, body and soul has a profound impact on your experience of life and feel blessed that I’ve had the opportunity to really explore the validity of this statement while living in India.  When I lived in the US I used to dabble in spirituality through the random yoga class, infrequent spiritual discourse I was invited to or the few times I would find myself in a church or temple. Deep in my heart I knew that I wanted to dive deeper into spirituality, however my head would always distract me with a host of superficial activities. Now that I live in India thousands of miles away from the social distractions which I continually fall victim to in New York City, I’ve had the opportunity to transform my lifestyle and engage in activities which create energy rather than deplete it.  Daily yoga, meditation, prayer, teaching, writing, reading and just generally being aware has significantly enhanced my experience of life among multitu...

India has a population of 1.2 billion people and football is the country's #2 sport so one would safely assume that the Indian football fraternity is quite extensive. This is surprisingly and unfortunately not the case. The fraternity is quite small and everyone knows everyone. Beyond that, you probably don't need much more than both hands and both feet to count the number of people within the fraternity who are passionate, genuine and ready to take big risks to support the industry's growth.  I guess the only positive to these small numbers is that someone like me, who just recently moved to the country, can easily meet and form lasting relationships with other members of this fraternity. I wanted to use this blog to highlight 3 people who fit into the last category I described.  These are individuals who have become close friends over the past few months and have truly inspired me with their vision, passion and nerves of steel.  These are individuals who ...