Why is hockey still our national game?

You might have heard that the Hockey World Cup is being held in New Delhi thanks to the fact that the Indian team beat Pakistan 4 to 1, hereby ensuring front page coverage in national newspapers. But you could easily be forgiven for not knowing.

Here in Delhi, there is no excitement nor encouragement for people to be part of this world event. The only noticeable change for Delhites is the increased security cover around parts of town. But it certainly looks like we are almost apologetic about hosting the event because I haven't come across a single banner which welcomes the hockey teams to the city, and no single ad encouraging people to buy tickets. Restaurants and pubs think its not even worth trying to get crowds to come and watch the matches on big screens.

It's sad that we still call hockey our national game (do today's kids even know that?) and then show it no respect whatsoever. Heck, we dont even pay our players fair compensation. Then why persist in the pretense? On second thoughts, cricket cannot be our national game either - because it's our national religion!

P.S. You can do your bit by watching a match or two. Heard the arrangements are good (thanks to the low turnout). Book tickets here: http://www.ticketgenie.in/app1/Events/pEventGroupDetails.aspx?nEventGPID=17