GOAT tour: the new normal of toxic selfie culture and zero returns?

It finally took someone with the spine of Abhinav Bindra to voice his discomfort about the millions spent by the country for ‘’moments of proximity photographs and fleeting access’’ with Lionel Messi for the past three days.

Yes, he is spot-on about the bigger picture and I cannot help but mention my experience of being trolled for questioning whether the footballing god’s visit will enrich Indian football.

Now, not many can dare question the wisdom of the man who gave India their first-ever individual Olympic gold in Beijing 2008.

The immediate reaction to what transpired over the weekend would be to name and shame those who were responsible for the PR disaster at Kolkata—comparing it with the smooth conduct of the event in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi—but how does it benefit the sporting ecosystem of the country? Ask this, and you will be branded as a spoilsport.

As we speak, the Argentine icon and his entourage are enjoying the hospitality of a leading industrial family of India at Jamnagar in Gujarat— marvelling at the wild life and the flora and fauna.

A conservative estimate says that Messi & Co stand to pocket a king’s ransom of around Rs 100 crore after the extended visit and it’s hardly a surprise that Messi made the right noise about ‘coming back’ to India for a match or otherwise. After all, India is a huge market with the right spending power these days.

No wonder that the blame-game among the political parties has reached a crescendo, but it’s actually much more than trying to score these brownie points by trying to establish how everything was a joyride during the visits of Diego Maradona, Messi’s friendly against Venezuela in 2011 or the appearances of Ronaldinho or Emilio Martinez.

It’s about the display of access, entitlement and institutional arrogance and now the obsessive selfie culture—which makes it increasingly difficult to keep a lid on things.

Aroop Biswas, the under-fire state sports minister of Bengal who has tendered his resignation, stepped out of line for his selfie moments with Messi—but the sense of entitlement in the body language of Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister who got her selfie right after a number of times, was also hard to miss.

The fans, as usual, get shortchanged but then spectator experience is last on the list of priorities in India with cricket being the worst offender.

What has added to the angst during Messi’s latest visit is the free run in pricing for a dekko of the magician for tickets of upto Rs 20,000 and the series of human interest stories coming out of Kolkata of common people stepping beyond their means for a fleeting glimpse of Messi.

While their sentiments are understandable as a number of fans that this writer spoke to confided that they wanted to make their dreams of a Messi-darshan come true as a trip to see him in action is untenable, but what about the privileged audience ready to fork out Rs one million (10 lakhs) for a family portrait?

The root of the problem lies in the fact that we are a star-struck nation. We can never find out if Messi cared to ask about whether India has a professional league or not—while the ISL (Indian Super League) is still in a limbo with no takers for it as well as the I-League.

The Blue Tigers, meanwhile, have slid to an all time low in the FIFA rankings but then, that’s not the problem of the event promoter nor the other stakeholders.

This is where Bindra’s words sound almost poignant: ‘’But admiration (for Messi) must also invite introspection. As a society, are we building a culture of sport or are we simply celebrating individuals from afar. Millions were spent for moments of proximity photographs and fleeting access to a legend. And yes it is people’s money earned honestly and theirs to spend as they choose. Still I can’t help but feel a quiet sadness wondering what might have been possible if even a fraction of that energy and investment had been directed toward the foundations of sport in our country. Playgrounds where children can run freely. Coaches who can guide young talent.’’

Point taken Abhinav, but who’s listening?