Each of us have a preference to a particular sport. And each sport requires a specialized set of skills. But there seems to be one common link across many outdoor sports. The audience, the crowd. As the gladiator thumb rule says "You win the crowd, you win your freedom". Here are a few instances that I can remember when the crowd played a significant role in the game (in no particular order). The recent Wimbledon Final triggered me to wrap this post which I actually started a few months before!
Tennis:
Fedex vs Djoko - 2012 Wimbledon Semi-Final
Not quite as epic as that (2008) Wimbledon Final, which remains one of my favorites till today. But, this 2012 Semi-Final was also epic by a lot of criteria. Unfortunately, Djokovic was then too at the receiving end of the crowd. This was a match in which a fading Federer overcame a rising Djokovic. Almost unthinkable at the time of the match. Federer showed his class and the crowd chipped in as well. Each point won by Federer drew a bigger cheer and applause than that of Djoker's. Three out of four sets of pure genius. I think Federer just took a break during the second set :P.
Fedex vs Simon - 2013 French Open
Probably an insignificant match. But consider this - Simon is French and it was a 5 setter with Federer who was perhaps not at his best in 2013. In fact, he eventually lost in the Quarters to Tsonga. Did the crowd help him get to the Quarters at least? :) Simon was left ruing the fact that the crowd was so partisan. The homeboy tag was just on paper, the home crowd wanted their own favorite to win.
Martina Hingis vs Steffi Graf - 1999 French Open final
Monica Seles perhaps bore the most severe brunt from a fan, but there was another notable one. Though I never saw/followed this match live, the reports I read years later made me feel how much the crowd can get to you! This was a match that had Hingis' name written on it. But the crowd, partly instigated by Hingis' behavior on court, decided to re-write it. Hingis never again could manage to reach a French Open finals and ended up not being able to complete a career slam!
Cricket:
When it comes to cricket, wherever India goes, the crowd is mostly behind India and in huge numbers too. There are several instances I could give, so much so that the crowd is often called the 12th man for India! 2011 World cup that happened in the Indian subcontinent definitely warrants a mention. But here is the one that will remain in my memory for quite sometime!
Ind vs SA - 2nd Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Eden Gardens is famous for the crowd's involvement (both good and bad) and it is the largest stadium in India and easily the largest in the world if you account for the extra seats on trees, roofs of nearby buildings and so on. The series had an interesting prelude. India was then ranked #1 and SA #2. India cleverly invited SA for a 2 test match series to strengthen its current position. But the plan backfired as it lost the first one by a big margin. So, the situation was like - If they fail to win the 2nd test match, the #1 tag will be gone. Just as it looked like the shutters were down on Day 1, the turn around began. The SA batsmen were facing two bowlers at the same time, the bowler and the crowd! Many batsmen walked in and were clueless like a deer in front of the headlights. It was a sensational come back in my opinion. India retained the #1 tag and Bhajji, egged by the crowd, performed too!
Boxing: Ali vs Foreman - Rumble in the Jungle
If you haven't seen the documentary, I suggest you do! The match, well known for the tactics employed by Ali more than many other things, also gave us the famous quote "I will fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee". But a less popular quote was "Ali booma ye (Ali kill him)" by Ali's fans or rather people who Ali made his fans. Foreman was clueless as to why the crowd was so partisan. Around that time, it was physically impossible for someone to hold Foreman in a match, forget winning against him. Ali did it and did it with style but not without the egging and cries of the crowd. Simply phenomenal and a story that makes you think fairytales could have been true!
The role of crowd is probably limited in F1 (or most races), golf and some other sport, in particular, where technique and concentration is more important than power. So, crowd is of little help in these sports. But where it matters, I think it matters big! The extra adrenalin, the extra energy and the boost that the crowd is capable of infusing is just so invaluable! If you consider life as a sport, we do have a big audience. But, looks like a cheer will go a long way too unless of course we rely on 'technique' and 'concentration' :)
If you have enjoyed any such event that remains memorable, please do share it in the comments! Thanks!
Trivia: Turkish fans hold the Guinness record for the loudest cheer, unfortunately for what ended up as a losing cause.
P.S. Methodical research on a similar topic is of course available. The interested may refer to Thirer and Rampey, 1979; Courneya and Carron, 1992; Agnew & Carron, 1994; Nevill, Newell and Gale, 1996; Morley and Thomas, 2005; Polman et al 2007.
Tennis:
Fedex vs Djoko - 2012 Wimbledon Semi-Final
Not quite as epic as that (2008) Wimbledon Final, which remains one of my favorites till today. But, this 2012 Semi-Final was also epic by a lot of criteria. Unfortunately, Djokovic was then too at the receiving end of the crowd. This was a match in which a fading Federer overcame a rising Djokovic. Almost unthinkable at the time of the match. Federer showed his class and the crowd chipped in as well. Each point won by Federer drew a bigger cheer and applause than that of Djoker's. Three out of four sets of pure genius. I think Federer just took a break during the second set :P.
Fedex vs Simon - 2013 French Open
Probably an insignificant match. But consider this - Simon is French and it was a 5 setter with Federer who was perhaps not at his best in 2013. In fact, he eventually lost in the Quarters to Tsonga. Did the crowd help him get to the Quarters at least? :) Simon was left ruing the fact that the crowd was so partisan. The homeboy tag was just on paper, the home crowd wanted their own favorite to win.
Martina Hingis vs Steffi Graf - 1999 French Open final
Monica Seles perhaps bore the most severe brunt from a fan, but there was another notable one. Though I never saw/followed this match live, the reports I read years later made me feel how much the crowd can get to you! This was a match that had Hingis' name written on it. But the crowd, partly instigated by Hingis' behavior on court, decided to re-write it. Hingis never again could manage to reach a French Open finals and ended up not being able to complete a career slam!
Cricket:
When it comes to cricket, wherever India goes, the crowd is mostly behind India and in huge numbers too. There are several instances I could give, so much so that the crowd is often called the 12th man for India! 2011 World cup that happened in the Indian subcontinent definitely warrants a mention. But here is the one that will remain in my memory for quite sometime!
Ind vs SA - 2nd Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Eden Gardens is famous for the crowd's involvement (both good and bad) and it is the largest stadium in India and easily the largest in the world if you account for the extra seats on trees, roofs of nearby buildings and so on. The series had an interesting prelude. India was then ranked #1 and SA #2. India cleverly invited SA for a 2 test match series to strengthen its current position. But the plan backfired as it lost the first one by a big margin. So, the situation was like - If they fail to win the 2nd test match, the #1 tag will be gone. Just as it looked like the shutters were down on Day 1, the turn around began. The SA batsmen were facing two bowlers at the same time, the bowler and the crowd! Many batsmen walked in and were clueless like a deer in front of the headlights. It was a sensational come back in my opinion. India retained the #1 tag and Bhajji, egged by the crowd, performed too!
Boxing: Ali vs Foreman - Rumble in the Jungle
If you haven't seen the documentary, I suggest you do! The match, well known for the tactics employed by Ali more than many other things, also gave us the famous quote "I will fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee". But a less popular quote was "Ali booma ye (Ali kill him)" by Ali's fans or rather people who Ali made his fans. Foreman was clueless as to why the crowd was so partisan. Around that time, it was physically impossible for someone to hold Foreman in a match, forget winning against him. Ali did it and did it with style but not without the egging and cries of the crowd. Simply phenomenal and a story that makes you think fairytales could have been true!
The role of crowd is probably limited in F1 (or most races), golf and some other sport, in particular, where technique and concentration is more important than power. So, crowd is of little help in these sports. But where it matters, I think it matters big! The extra adrenalin, the extra energy and the boost that the crowd is capable of infusing is just so invaluable! If you consider life as a sport, we do have a big audience. But, looks like a cheer will go a long way too unless of course we rely on 'technique' and 'concentration' :)
If you have enjoyed any such event that remains memorable, please do share it in the comments! Thanks!
Trivia: Turkish fans hold the Guinness record for the loudest cheer, unfortunately for what ended up as a losing cause.
P.S. Methodical research on a similar topic is of course available. The interested may refer to Thirer and Rampey, 1979; Courneya and Carron, 1992; Agnew & Carron, 1994; Nevill, Newell and Gale, 1996; Morley and Thomas, 2005; Polman et al 2007.
