Live India, Love Football

A few months ago I was in the India On Track office and the team was discussing the upcoming LaLiga screening of El Clasico that was planned to take place in Delhi on December 23.   India On Track organized El Clasico screenings for LaLiga in the past with great success.   About 12,000 people showed up to the one in Delhi and 3,000 in Mumbai as it was a smaller facility.   During that meeting I was told that this year’s target was 15,000 and I was secretly wondering if that many Delhites would show up to an open ground in Okhla on cold December evening to watch a match that they could watch on TV in the comforts of their own homes. Fast forward a few months, it’s 7:30am, I’m sitting in trailer parked in the middle of massive ground in Okhla, a part of Delhi I rarely ever visit.   It’s early, cold, slightly dark and there is still so much work to be done to get the place set up for the screening later in the day.   As the whole IOT team works diligently ...

Thanks to the fact that I’ve been around the industry for awhile and have built a decent network, I’ve had some unique experiences that fall somewhat outside of what I imagined I would be doing when I first came over to this country to support the growth of football. One of these unique experiences took place a few days ago when I had the opportunity to spend time with NBA Legend A.C. Green in Mumbai discussing the development of basketball in India.   A.C. Green won three NBA Championships and was a staple on the Lakers from 1985 – 1993. A.C. Green was also a staple in my home growing up, well at least through the TV screen, as my family spent a lot of time watching the LA Lakers especially during the late 80s and early 90s.   It never crossed my mind that I would have the opportunity to spend time interacting with A.C. and certainly never thought that an interaction would take place in an office in Mumbai, India of all places.     But life continues to amaz...