There was an alarm in the morning as I opened our site, which said that we were all prone to a virus attack from Malware or something like that. Later I got some information from several FmXt that they had experienced similar interruptions. I have informed the concerned people in the bigadda server and steps are on the way in resolving it.

Alright everybody .. breathe easy !!

In the absence of another rocking football game and evenings being vacant, switching to another sporting event was but natural. So Wimbledon and tennis and Nadal and celebrity in the stands, and at home, pop corn and cranberry juice and a fruit cocktail deliciously made by the wife. Nadal won, Berdych gave some anxious moments to his opponent, Nadal’s girlfriend wiped a tear under her RayBans, Royalty spoke to the ball boys and girls, Berdych moved about with a silver plate and 500,000 pounds sterling, the winner moved about with a Gold Cup which he kept biting and a million pounds sterling. Game over !

On ESPN the startling replays of the WC games played out yesterday - Germany kicking and heading goals into Argentina, Maradonna holding his own head. Spain pushing past Uruguay, and that unbelievable Ghana game - they’ll be watching rewinds of that penalty miss for years, as will the England team on the disallowed Lampard goal against Germany. The rivalry between these two giants of the game will never end. In fact it spilled over to tennis the other day, when Tim Henman and Boris Becker were jointly commentating at one of the games on centre court for Wimbledon, where Tim a Britisher pulled his partner in the commentary box Boris a German’s leg, about the Lampard goal in the WC. It is surprising just how the Brits never let you forget the ‘hand of God’ goal in one of their past WC encounters with Argentina and Maradonna or now, will they ever let you forget the Lampard goal against Germany ??

Its the passion of sport. Its what I believe is the most important representation that any country makes in its desire to be heard or seen or talked about. One of the most integrated PR machinery in the world is the country’s standing in a game or sporting event. Irrespective of their respective cultural and geographic and political standings , countrys’ are recognised by their excellence in sporting events.

Brazil , football. USA, basketball… and so on !

But above all this is the remarkable process of identification that has emerged in almost all parts of the world in the representation of the personnel in teams from different countries. There is such a vast introduction of the excelling immigrant in almost all facilities. Look at the teams of UK and France and Germany or any other, and you shall discover that most of the players are immigrants now having taken position in their country of acquired citizenship, and because they have excelled in a game or sport, form and become a part of their national team. We are coming closer and closer to reality and accepting it by demonstrating that merit does not stand in the way of the color of our skin or our particular belief. And that has been the most striking feature of all these International events - the desire and commitments  to remain together and fight for the common ails of society.

SAY NO TO RACISM screams a banner at the beginning of each WC game and each team before punching the ball into the opponents face, stands behind it in symbolic gesture of a unified thought. This message at this location is more important and effective than any other. We love the game, but we also love what it stands for .. !!

Right now I stand for horizontality …

GN and GB

Amitabh Bachchan