A Tragic Loss

It may be a sign of the times, but sports journalists tend use the term tragic loss so casually that when a real tragedy does occur, there are no words to describe the feeling anymore. Just a bagful of cliches.

Pakistan cricket has, in the recent months, been a constant source of entertainment. No matter what the circumstance, what inconceivably sticky mess the team found itself in, they somehow found a way to sink further into the mire. But through it all, they managed to plod along. Like a stumbling juggernaut on uneven wheels. A travelling circus of bumbling captains, drug scandals, ball tamperings and face slappings, to mention but a few.

The media and fans lapped it all up, of course. And why wouldn't they? There were enough scandals here, erupting at such a furious rate, to put a soap opera to shame. And every episode had with it a tinge of the ludicrous. It was tragic, yes. But in a comical sense.

It all reached a cresendo (or nadir) with the incredible loss to Ireland that scripted Pakistan's early exit from the World Cup. "The saddest day for Pakistani cricket", newspapers claimed. Surely, one reckoned, it couldn't get any worse than this. But then it did. Infinitely so. And this time, it isn't funny anymore.

No, no one's laughing this time. The juggernaut may keep rolling, but the wheels have come off. Even the world cup, with all its glitter, and years of anticipation, seems nothing more than a trifle now. It is, after all, but a game.