Manav Visite l'equipe du foot!

I am a wussie. A big one.

Those who know me will testify to the fact that I have a strange antipathy towards any form of sporting contests or events. At tense times in the hostel, at key 20-20 matches, I am often the lone person not sitting gazing exitedly at the TV screen in hostel, and sometimes (Sacrilege!) have been known to demand the remote to watch the News!

However, miracles happen. Yesterday, I went to the Sports Bar in Hyderabad to watch a match! A football match, no less!! One between Manchester United and Arsenal!!!

Uncharitable friends of mine have suggested that the reason I went for the match was for the food or the alcohol. Some have even suggested that I got confused, substituting the word "bra" for "bar"- something I have often been told I need. Fie on such people.

I went for the experience. Five days short of turning 22, I realised I was the only person who had never watched a football match for more than five minutes. If one were to start, then one should start with a bang, I believe. What better than the Extreme Bar? Good food, Congenial company, lots of beer, and a nice big screen.

I also distinguished myself on the occasion through loudly demanding the score, asking how many overs were over, and on one occasion shouting "Six" when a goal was scored. I excitedly cheered both Manchester United and Arsenal, and after a point when everyone was booing Arsenal, in the spirit of "A pox o' both your houses" shouted "F*** Football!". I also made statements of a derogatory nature with regard to certain intimate parts of the teams' managers. Oddly, I enjoyed the match.

And maybe it has had an effect. Infected by the spirit of mens sana in corpore sano and all that jazz, I have taken to jogging! You may witness this sight in the evening, on the Shameerpet road, c. 6.00-7.00 PM.

I guarantee entertainment. Of the sort that people gained while watching Nanny Ogg eat a pickle.