15-year-old nephew posted on social media – ‘Been waiting for 41 years for this bronze!’ went a tweet on India’s Olympics hockey win.
‘Bigger than all 3 cricket World Cups !’ Gushed Gautam Gambhir.
Is it the revival of India’s love with hockey? Sadly – no. But, it is interesting to understand our excitement around sports we otherwise barely pay attention to – weightlifting, wrestling, archery and yes… hockey.
Think of the youth blaring the latest hit song on their car music systems, housewives excitedly chatting about developments in a TV serial, gossip around the latest political news at tea shops, sharing an already over shared WhatsApp video… what do they all have in common? Our desire to participate in a party everyone is going to. A cultural moment. If you aren’t going, you feel left out, not just from that party but from society itself.
On the face of it, media consumption is driven by our need for entertainment or knowledge. What is rarely understood is our need to get fodder for social participation. Today it is hockey, tomorrow it will be a celeb scandal … if it’s a party people are going to, we will not just go, but tell the world about it. That’s why brands jump in on such cultural moments, to be friends with us. But yes, well done Indian hockey … for now 😊
