Live India, Love Football

I have finally accepted the fact that I'm in India and not in South Africa right now. Now that I've accepted that, I've decided to write about my experiences watching the tournament in this country. Last night I went to the home of the South African High Commissioner to watch the South Africa v. Mexico match.  Tonight is a hotel in South Delhi to watch England v USA.  I have trips to Mumbai, Kerala and possibly Calcutta and Bangalore planned over the next month.  I will have pictures and anecdotes available for my 8 followers of this blog.  I love you guys!

When I was young I was really good at soccer. Well, really good compared to the average kid.  Given the amount of money my parents invested into soccer leagues, camps, clinics, etc... I was able to jump into any team and pretty much my hold my own. I used to love just showing up to my local park with my cleats, finding a game and kicking ass.  I knew I would do well and I knew that I would be immediately accepted by my new friends.  As I moved into my 20s and started working at MLS I became pretty good at soccer.  I no longer played in high competitive matches, but would play in adult league matches with a team of MLS staff.  I usually took on captaining the team which meant that I was also actually on the team and knew everyone else who played. Even though I wasn't the best player on the team I always felt comfortable on and off the field. Now I'm 30, I'm in India, I don't know many people and I am only kinda good at soccer.  People...

May 27, 2010 was a significant date in my life. A day I will never forget. Through random circumstances I was invited to present "MLS as a Case Study for Building a Sustainable I-League" at the Indian Football Forum hosted by SportzPower. Anyone who has met me for more than 5 minutes knows that one of my dreams in life is to integrate the MLS business model into Indian football. The presentation was the ideal opportunity for me to begin introducing people in the Indian football community to who I am and what I'm committed to accomplishing in this wonderful country. I put together a presentation that provided an accurate look at the current issues plaguing the 3 year old I-League and how MLS overcame those same issues. The most important part of the presentation was that there were some clear action items on how the I-League can move forward. What I've learned is that during conferences in India, the presenters, panelists, keynotes, moderators, chaiwallahs, etc... lik...

This has nothing to do with soccer, but it's pretty awesome so I've decided to blog about it. It's no surprise to anyone that I'm smitten with Goa's charm and relaxing qualities. Both Vanita and I have wanted to go back since our last trip and fortunately our Goa based friends Matt and Deepti invited us down there to stay in a Villa with them at Anjuna beach. Better yet the the trip was going to be paid for by Outlook Traveler magazine for a story in their June edition. The 8 page story came out yesterday and here are a few pictures from the magazine. I love life!!!!

Hello friends. So much to update. Feel like my professional life has been turned upside down and by upside down I mean right side up. Well if you are still reading after that confusing sentence, what I'm trying to say is that my dream of contributing to the growth of football in this country is becomming more and more realized each day. Nothing feels better than doing what you love and loving what you do. You don't have to strive to be the smartest in the room, but you should always strive to be the most committed to the cause. Really makes a difference. Kolkatafootball.com recently interviewed me about my thoughts on the I-League, MLS, etc... The exposure was nice, but more importantly I enjoyed the opportunity to compare football in the US and football in India. There are so many similarities and differences and this interview allowed me to take a detailed look at the comparision 5.5 months into my time in India. Here is a link to the interview http://www.kolkatafootball...

The KC Wizards wrote an article about how Sunil Chhetri landed at MLS. I'm flattered that they mentioned Dentsu Sports India and my efforts during this process. My involvement was a combination of right timing, right relationships, right country and a genuine desire to see more Indians make it to the highest levels of soccer in this world. Here is a link to the article: http://www.kcwizards.com/news/2010/04/take-inside-look-chhetris-mls-move

Another trip...another great sporting experience. I went down to Mumbai these past few days to attend the India International Sports Summit hosted by Transstadia. Fortunately, Vanita's company sent her to the summit as well so we got a mini holiday out of it. The objective was to discuss ways to grow the sporting landscape in India.  There were about 500 attendees made up of government officials, marketers, NGO heads, club admin staff and sports legends.  Overall, it was a great networking event for Vanita and I and an excellent opportunity for us to learn more about the stregnths and areas of opportunity within the Indian sporting landscape. Also, growing football in India took up about 60% of the summit content which was reassuring given what my objective in coming to this country is. The lowlights were many pompous speakers who loved listening to the sound of their own voice, moderators only looking to create controversy, point...