[naim519]

^ I've watched a lot of Sanga's interviews, press conferences, and guest appearance videos, wow the way the man carries himself is absolutely amazing.

There's a saying that goes, you are what you eat. Our "professional'' players live in a country that isn't ready to live up to the standards you're putting up for them when you compare them against nations like USA. However, that really makes me wonder - India isn't very different from Bangladesh, yet they can birth the likes of Tendulkar and Dhoni. Sri Lanka is just as poor, if not any poor-er, yet they birth the likes of Jaya and Sanga. You are what you eat, so a third world country will likely to produce third-class players. Unless you get really lucky, a third world country just might once in a blue moon, may give you an athlete with the potential to become first class. Ever heard of the age old nature vs nurture argument? Even if we get a true pro-class player, the environment in which he lives, eats, and breathes will always end up turning him into another what-the-hell-is-he-doing type of cricketer.

And you guys know plenty of players when they first came out to the pitch, showed you the twinkle in their eyes, and you thought, "Masha'Allah! This boy will be our flag bearer and carry our nation to the top of the mountain!" And you were right at thinking that at first. They proved that they were made of gold. But what happened next? The toxins of our nation got the best of them. And that was the end of their legacy. Short lived, like the lifespan of a mayfly.

Confidence and arrogance are two separate things. It's good to have the first, not the latter. If you have both, then good luck to you.

Should an athlete wield the talent to make a name for him/her self, they have no reason to bark at the tree. Let your skill speak for itself.

You point your finger at the player, he shouldn't come and point it back, nor should he accost you. He should rather show you at the end of the TV show, during the game, why you should take your dirty finger and point it back, YOURSELF. He knows he's better than to waste his energy to walk up to you anyway. :-)

(Disclaimer: the analogies are not to be taken personally.)

(And those ads campaigns are... yes.. gay, not just gay, really really gay. I think saying they sold their soul for easy money is making a big assumption. Let's be positive here and give them benefit of the doubt. We don't know if one of their family members have a terminal illness and need to pay for medical care. There are lot of unknown variables here, and if anything, its a personal matter we shouldn't get involved with.)