Part 1

https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=21165

The Calm before the Norm - Part 2

For Fall is truly a magical season, with the long hot humid New England summer finally winding down, the arrival of cooler days and even cooler nights, and the start of the football season on both continents (US and Europe).  The first two decades of the 21^st century were truly magical. Fall brought in Brady and his wizardry on the Football Gridiron, Big Papi and his thunderous big bat on the Baseball diamond and between the two of them and their talented teammates, they delivered 10 championships and countless memorable moments. It was always an immense joy to take my kids, Alekh and Serena as they were growing up to adulthood, to friendly Fenway and raucous Gillette Stadium, watch the action unfold before our own eyes. Sadly, our kids after graduating from college, have left their little nest, and so have all the championship winning Red Sox and Patriot teams, leaving behind just fond memories.

The 2020’s have not been very kind to baseball and football fans in New England, neither the Red Sox nor the Patriots were championship contenders for the past few years and likely would not be for the next few either. I am however okay with that (albeit for only a few more seasons), for it eliminates any anxiety over your team’s performance and the anguish that follows every defeat. There is a certain solace in knowing that a win or defeat is not going to change the eventual outcome, and I am sure that both teams are going to contend in future.

My slumber was shattered when in quick succession there were a plethora of good news over the last few days. The Indian Men’s Hockey team followed up their Olympics bronze medal winning performance with a scintillating performance in lifting the Asian Hockey Championship. The Indian Cricket team beat Bangladesh by 280 runs, an expected result but more importantly after this match, India’s overall Test record now stands above 0.500 mark, with one more victory than defeat. To top it all, at the World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, the Indian contingent outdid itself, winning both the Men’s and Women’s team championship and four individual gold medals.    

Now I am back to my old self, eagerly looking forward to the upcoming events, of which there are many, but the ones I am looking forward to are the English Premier League and UEFA Championship (Soccer), the Baseball playoffs and the biggest, India vs Australia in a 5 match Cricket Test series down under.

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