EPL and IPL

Let us begin with the english football- Manchester United won EPL for the second consecutive year and have the CL final coming up with Chelsea.

GO United Go!!!
CHAMPIONS for the second season in a row. An this one was even more satisfying as the run went down to the last day of the season and Chelsea on the receiving end. I guess that is what we love to see in football and for that matter in any other sport; the shear tension, pulsating nerves and the joy of celebrating the triumph of our favorites. With Ronaldo in RED hot form, the seniors showing emmense resilience at the dawn of their careers and even more exicting youths in the line-up, United are on a golden run. And with Sir Alex as the boss United would certainly like to make it a double this season.
The season has turned out to be a classic in all respects with Arsenal running the show in the first half of the season, United surviving a tough middle phase to reach the top spot just before the final stage and Chelsea handing a defeat to United to set the stage for a really exciting season FINALE. But the story is yet not over with the CL final coming up. What more would the fans want?- a deciding final day of season and now United vs Chelsea in the CL final.
Way to go United!!!

Cricket going the football way
First twenty20 and now IPL, cricket is certainly en route to Europe. Twenty20 has brought the one thing needed to make it a global sport - PACE. Its not that cricket does not pump adrenaline but those moments are quite widely spread on a time line. So its a huge step towards making cricket a global brand. And what has IPL bought?....fierce competition. The teams are well matched both in terms of star power and young guns. Not that this kind of structure was not there in cricket (courtesy County Cricket). But why IPL is different is because of its GRAND APPEAL to the most enthusiastic cricket fans of the world (yes I am talking about Indian spectators). The promoters have done a great job in brining together the best bets from the cricket world and to bring every possible medium of marketing communication into picture- Ads on TV and Radio, Celebrity appeal and so on. Its looks like cricket-business has become more professional with its new product-T20 and IPL becoming its most coveted brand.
So cricket is going the football way. The IPL format will bring in more support with time with elements like fan following, club rivarly etc. shaping it into more of a culture than a sport. This is the case with club football in Europe. If this revolution can be sustained then there's nothing stopping cricket from becoming a global sport. But we Indians have to be prepared enough so that cricket does not go the Hockey way, where we lost our domination (even existence) on the world stage as it became popular in Europe.