Check-in with kick-off

Hello. It's been a while now and I've been back and forth many times about starting my own blog. I always knew I would, it was just a matter of time. The main question in my mind was, 'should I reveal my identity or no?' I still don't have the answer to that question, which is why I'll try and mix things up in here. I don't think I should be writing anything personal, so people won't throw eggs and tomatoes at me on the street. My posts will be more of a general nature, stuff that people speculate about, stuff that goes on everywhere, from football to dating, from shopping to leisure, from travel to psychology.

Final Approach is an unsual title, most would think. Not to me though. Aviation is, and will always be, something close to my heart.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank one of my very good friends, Pragni, who is also a blogger. Check out http://pragsdreamz.blogspot.com/
She's been an inspiration to me from the start and this blog wouldn't exist if she wouldn't have believed that I could do it.

Being a football fan isn't easy. But then, it isn't difficult as well. I've been a childhood England fan. That's mainly because my favourite club, Manchester United FC, hails from England. Yesterday, England visited Moscow, a place not too far from where I am at the moment, to play Russia. The game was a qualifier for the European Championships in 2008, what everybody calls EURO 2008. I can't imagine how homo sapiens can play in temperature close to 0 C. According to me, they are nuts. They even played on an artificial surface, as the sub-zero temperatures affect grassy pitches. So, as a result, if you fall awkwardly, that could be it for your career. I remember playing football a year ago when it was +15 C outside. I had to wear a jacket over my jersey and two sets of gloves and still wasn't comfortable. But I guess this is what playing for your country does to you. England scored in the 29th minute, but in the second half, Russia came back to score twice in four minutes. Russia 2 England 1. My russian friends really got me. It was like ten against one. I guess that's what you get when you dare to support the away team. My frustration was building up, and ultimately I decided to take it out here, in writing.

The thought of international football always makes me wonder if India will ever make an impact ever. I don't think it will happen in my lifetime. It isn't that we don't have talent. The problem lies within. No academies. No big tournaments. No promotions. I would like to see my country in the World Cup someday, I would. But it's hard to keep your hopes alive when they can't even qualify for the Asian Cup most of the time. Even today, I would love to play for India, but honestly, would rather play for a lowly third-division football club in England. Not because of the salary, but because of the conditions and facilities the club will provide you and more importantly, because of the place football holds in that country. Indians are bound to choose cricket over football any day of the week. Being the second largest population in the world, I think India should realize that priority can't be given to one sport all the time. For the people who don't follow Indian football, India were trounced 7-0 in Japan by the Japanese during the world cup qualifications for 2006. I thought India might at least salvage a draw on home soil. Yes, that's what it is soil, not grass, on football pitches in India. But a few months later, when Japan visited, they won 4-0. That tells you the whole story. But, if compared, the scene in Indian football is much better than it was five or ten years ago. There is improvement, but there isn't enough. Maybe one or two million rupees can be used to rebuild the infrastructure, instead of using billions for cricket. Agian, just a personal opinion, always open for speculation.