Why are we triggered by Mitchel Marsh’s feet on the Trophy?

I wanted to write about this and felt intrigued by the response this picture generated in South Asian communities. I saw many Pakistani handles taking offense from this picture and Mitchel Marsh’s attitude.

Why is this outpouring of emotions? I am inquisitive because we’re very close to nailing down why we may falter at these events’ last steps. This is close to many Indians’ hearts, so I am sure some of this sensitivity is in our players, too. Why do we think that the Trophy is sacred?

First things first, South Asia runs on Emotions. Anything that gets us supercharged can quickly drive our engagement levels and desires. This also means we’re easy to manipulate. Any comment or gesture can trigger a response, which can be used against us if the other party knows how to drive that response in their favor.

Back in 1983, when Kapil Paaji won the World Cup in England, the Indian media and Indira Gandhi used that emotion to term the World Cup victory as a symbol of India breaking the shackles of mental blocks against the world and winning it in the country of our past rulers was poetic. Instead, she intended to take the focus away from what she was doing in Punjab, and the Indian public gleefully followed the tune like mice followed the pied piper.

Since then, the Trophy has symbolized India’s resurgence as a world power. We have started to take that Trophy as something sacred in that zest. We Indians, when beginning to desire something too much, make that thing godly or holy, which means we have forgotten the basic message of Gita. We’re focusing on results more than our effort, which creates pressure.

Dhoni rightly mentioned in one of the TV interviews that we need to maintain radio silence about the Trophy, World Cup, victory against Pakistan, and even against Australia, unlit the trophy is in the bag. This shows the clear difference between why, in the modern era, Dhoni had a mindset that made him different from our general Indian mindset. How professional and transparent he was regarding what soft signals a team has to give to maintain a balanced approach that will take you to the goal and not fall into the trap of your expectations.

For Australians, that Trophy signifies their domination. They don’t care about that Trophy because they are more focused on proving they were the best, and the Trophy is just a piece of metal they won out of that challenge.

It’s the same reason why many tennis stars bite their medals or grand slam trophies. For them, that’s their pound of flesh, a primate animal’s reaction after beating everyone in the jungle. This is precisely where our team erred, and our people always fell for the same emotional rollercoaster.