Cricket and the Multiplication (Doubling) of Place — Global Media Seminar
“From broken hearts to broken TV sets, fans react to Pakistan’s defeat” (1).
These were only a glimpse of the reactions that Pakistanis expressed when they witnessed their county’s defeat in a cricket match to their rival India in 2016. Even though people were sitting hundreds of miles away from the actual cricket match, the noteworthy point is that television was able to transfer them from the peace of their homes to the cricket stadium where emotions were flaring, hence leading to a multiplication of place. When Pakistan lost the match to India, though far away from the action, this caused many people to lose tempers which were expressed in terms of violence on streets and outbursts of emotions. This essay explores the idea of doubling of time and space and how this multiplication of place can lead to a negative impact on the lives of cricket lovers and the overall society in Pakistan.
The concept of Multiplication of Place explains how we can get so involved in social media, media broadcasting, telephonic conversations, and other virtual worlds that we sometimes forget our real presence in the physical world. Thus, we experience two worlds at the same time. In Moore’s “The Doubling of Place” reading an example was given as to how millions of individuals around the world cried at Princess Diana’s funeral. Although none of the individuals had any personal affiliation with her or were physically present at the location of the funeral, they all grieved, showing the powerful impact media has on people’s lives allowing them to be in places at one time.
Moores also talks about how technology has changed our social life geography. These new tools of exchanging information have both recreated and reduced how both place and ideas were interpreted around us. Ideas and places have been pluralized through the use of the technology and due to this, there’s no distinction between both the virtual and physical world.
Cricket has one of the top ratings on both sports and news channels in Pakistan. Whenever a cricket series, or especially the world cup starts, media and news channels in Pakistan and around the world are engulfed with cricket news. Millions around the world stick in front of their televisions to enjoy the game and support their country’s team.
When people are watching cricket on television they are experiencing two worlds at the same time where they get so engrossed in the virtual world that they forget the physical world they are in. Although these people are not in the stadium, television can create the same euphoria and tension in rooms. Some people feel so connected to their teams that if they lose a match then they would sulk or go to extremes such as breaking televisions, domestic violence, street fighting, etc, displaying the negative impact of the doubling of places. Such sulkiness or violence can disrupt societal peace and could result in injury and economic losses as well. During my childhood, I witnessed a relative of mine break the television when Pakistan’s cricket team lost a match to rival India. In more recent times, this practice has become noticeable in Pakistan. Often while scrolling through the news, I have seen stories of increased aggression amongst cricket lovers due to increased access to televisions and media.
It is important to note that the duplication of place in cricket matches on televisions has enhanced gambling where people place bets on countries winning cricket matches. Thus, people would then react vehemently if a country lost the match that they hadn’t anticipated. Gambling also incentivizes the gambler to be actively involved in the game even though he may be far away but his economic gains or losses are at stake. An example of this can be seen when Pakistan lost a match to West Indies. This match was a deciding match for Pakistan’s World Cup run. Gamblers betted large amounts of money and cricket fans stuck in front of their television screen for the entire night to watch the match. However, when Pakistan lost the match then the viewers got so heartbroken that “‘Mourners’ sat around a bed of cricket bats in a mock funeral setting on MDA Road” (Dawn News). The reaction was also exacerbated because of gamblers losing their money as well. This event also showed that due to the multiplication of time and place, individuals can get frustrated to such extreme extents i.e. creating a mock funeral setting for the bats as if this sport is dead for the individuals.
In addition, I remember noting that during the 2019 World Cup matches a video of Pakistan’s cricket team became viral on social media where they were eating fast food a night before the match in a foreign country. The next day when the team lost the match, the team’s unhealthy lifestyle was blamed for the loss and this became the talk of the country on Twitter and other social media. People started indulging in heated debates on Twitter and dragging different players and sports personnelles in the talk. This shows that due to the doubling of place people became so involved in the lives of cricket players who were eating miles away from them, in a foreign country, and hence, this also impacted their emotions and feelings.
The way how cricket was consumed in the past has completely evolved now in terms of consumption. In the past times the crickets fans were only listeners and viewers but now with the help of global media, the viewers have become controllers of how cricket is consumed by them and their voice is heard by the wider public and the cricket players as well. However, this way of consuming sports media instead of creating a better experience for the cricket lovers has in turn led to a negative impact on the lives of the cricket fans because when things don’t go according to how people expect, it can frustrate them and lead to them reacting vehemently.
Works Cited
[1]DAWN.COM. 2021. Devastated Pakistan cricket fans smash TV sets after West Indies’ defeat. [online] Available at: <https://www.dawn.com/news/1165029> [Accessed 2 March 2021].
[2]From broken hearts to broken TV sets, fans react to Pakistan’s defeat | The Express Tribune [Internet]. The Express Tribune. 2021 [cited 1 March 2021]. Available from: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1069201/from-broken-hearts-to-broken-tv-sets-fans-react-to-pakistans-defeat
[3]Moores. S, ‘The Doubling of Place: Electronic Media, time-space arrangements and social relationships’ in Couldry and McCarthy. Media Space: place, Scale and Culture in a Media Age. London, Routldge, (p21–37)
