Champions Trophy Final: Were fans, players & ex-players from other teams supporting Pakistan?

[Yossarian]

I get the impression that the vast majority of neutral cricket fans (ie other than Pakistanis and Indians), plus players and former players of other nations, were all rooting for a Pakistan win in the final (with the possible exception of Bangladeshi and Afghan cricket fans?). In fact they would have been happy to see the Indian team crushed in the manner it was.

Do you agree/disagree?

And why do you think that was so?

Note: I'm referring to cricket fans, and not the public in general.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

I'd root for Pakistan if I were a neutral We have seen how brilliant this team is to watch when they play well. I wouldn't blame people for supporting India against us between 2011 and 2015

 

[Madplayer]

Everyone roots for the underdog. Especially when the big dog is a bully.

 

[Yossarian]

Everyone roots for the underdog. Especially when the big dog is a bully.

That's partly true.

However, even during the times when Pakistan were dominant and India had poor teams, neutral fans and players always preferred to see a Pakistan win as opposed to India winning. So it's not just a case of 'supporting the underdog'.

It may be due to the brand of cricket Pakistan has played during most of it's cricketing history, ie unpredictable! Brilliant one day, hopeless the next. At times performing miracles when defeat seemed certain, whilst snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as the finishing line came into view on a regular basis. Keeping you on edge all the time. Like a good thriller with unexpected twists and turns.

 

[Enigma_]

People hate India for what they've done to Cricket. And the cricket world feels sympathy for Pakistan and its fans who've had to endure some pretty hard times. A result like the one in CT was a really feel good result for everyone involved (except the cricket destroyer - India).

 

[kingusama92]

This year it was the "underdog" tag that swayed people towards PAK.

During PAK's dominant years, it had more to do with its unpredictable nature. Even a team full of legends was capable of collapsing in a heap.

Australia was more clinical and that can get boring.

 

[bujhee kom]

I rooted for Pk in the final against India - well, it is India.

 

[Saj]

In the media centre all the non-Indian media were supporting Pakistan.

In fact there were huge groans when Azhar Ali dropped Kohli.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Atherton and Nasser definitely were

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Everyone loves the underdog

But, this one right here, my brethren, was a Hollywood-feel-good movie kinda tourney for Pakistan.

(Too much dopamine for such a short period of time tho )

 

[PakLFC]

Most whites in the crowd seemed to be cheering for Pak. With no Cricket in Pak there does seem to be a lot mutual support for us. We are like the Rocky Balboa of Cricket who takes a beating but wins in the end coz of heart and spirit.

 

[Pakistanian]

Everybody loves an underdog, if were the dominant team then everybody would've been rooting for the other team. Considering how loud and patriotic we can get after we win something, I'm surprised neutrals still support us lol.

 

[shaz619]

Bangla's were rooting for India? [MENTION=45836]Ashraful_Rox[/MENTION] was supporting Pakistan am sure of it

It is only the non cool BD fans/Uncle-Toms that were rooting for India

 

[Square Drive]

Everyone loves us.

We are the best in the world.

Hopefully people like [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] don't think I'm being "delusional" anymore.

 

[Pakistanian]

Everyone loves us.

We are the best in the world.

Hopefully people like [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] don't think I'm being "delusional" anymore.

Dude with that attitude nobody would root for us. Stay humble and let the cricket speak for itself.

 

[Square Drive]

Dude with that attitude nobody would root for us. Stay humble and let the cricket speak for itself.

?

Purely stating facts. We are the Champions no matter which way you put it.

 

[Pakistanian]

?

Purely stating facts. We are the Champions no matter which way you put it.

"Everyone loves us" isn't a fact, that's an opinion. We're the champions trophy champions and among the best in the world, but we're not the world champs which are Australia, and neither are we the #1 team, which is South Africa. So no we're not THE best, we're up there tho.

 

[ExplicitAI]

When the 2015 WC was going on everyone was rooting for NZ because I usually find people being fed up of teams like Australia, India and England in tournaments, if a team like WI, Pak or NZ start winning games then people would start cheering for them. From my social circle, people from Black African/ Caribbean backgrounds (did not like cricket or watched it) supported Pakistan in the final against India for no reason. Majority of them said they supported Pak because of our women ) But yeah the same social circle went nuts when WI won the T20 WC and I was very happy that they won it too.

 

[Adil_94]

people were rooting for Pak because we were underdogs. Playing an infinitely richer neighbour with better resources infrastructure n who sat on top of world cricket from a financial p.o.v.

 

[Adil_94]

@ExplicitAl ive found a lot of WI fans love Pakistan because their natural talent raw aggression style reminds them most of windies teams of the past n even current players in t20s especially who play an entertaining brand of.cricket.

 

[shaz619]

people were rooting for Pak because we were underdogs. Playing an infinitely richer neighbour with better resources infrastructure n who sat on top of world cricket from a financial p.o.v.

And we also had not so naturally gifted ODI opener in Azhar Ali, yet he played a game changing knock unlike the chosen one

 

[IAJ]

You have a team ranked 8th coming into tournament, they are crushed in first match, they have lost good players coz of fixings, they don't play cricket at home, they are underdogs in final and on the other side you have rich players who have won alot previously and they have a board not many like, well not tough choice for neutrals...

 

[Blitz]

I felt here in England, it was very very pro Pakistan. They even took their own defeat at our hands quite well as opposed to in the past.

There is a definite hate towards India, but this was more about the underdog doing it in great style too.

 

[sshakir411]

As Shane Warne said "We neutrals love what Pakistan bring to this tournament"

 

[Hasan123]

We know that Australia don't like India and also English commies were saying before the last Indian tour that India is there biggest series after Australia. So Australian and English fans were probably behind us. A lot of Lankans supporters were also behind Pakistan.

The fact we were the underdogs got us a lot of fans. So yes we had a lot of temporary Pakistan fans last Sunday.

 

[shaz619]

The neutrals were supporting Pakistan while big portions of Pak fans were supporting the failure of player a or b so their premature or vindictive opinions would come to fruition brother [MENTION=4930]Yossarian[/MENTION] ! this may even extend to wanting Pakistan to in fact lose at times ! these shameless people know who they are , that way they'd not need to go into hiding but there's always a way to spin the rhetoric in favour of ignoramuses

 

[shaz619]

We know that Australia don't like India and also English commies were saying before the last Indian tour that India is there biggest series after Australia. So Australian and English fans were probably behind us. A lot of Lankans supporters were also behind Pakistan.

The fact we were the underdogs got us a lot of fans. So yes we had a lot of temporary Pakistan fans last Sunday.

Pakistan's support from neutrals extends beyond their underdog status or dislike for the opposition they are playing, no team is more entertaining to follow and their mercurial nature, enchanting/charismatic characters, the drama, the politics and flamboyance adds to their aura; quiet simply no team will ever command the same ecstasy or euphoria when it comes to a Pakistani defeat or triumph. Most neutral enthusiasts who follow the game very closely support them as much as their home team, [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is one of those fans and for him a big part of cricket would die if Pakistan vanished into a black hole.

If you have played club cricket in England many of the older folk whom are England fans especially would have great tales to tell with regards to Pakistani conquests during the golden age of county cricket in England when the likes of Imran, Waqar, Wasim and Javed were around; this may also have orchestrated their fandom given how these players were instrumental in the success of their domestic team. This would stay with them through all the ups and downs when it comes to Pakistan cricket and their support would never die thanks to Pakistan's knack for exhilaration on the cricket pitch irrespective of the odds they need to overcome.

 

[Junaids]

Pakistan's support from neutrals extends beyond their underdog status or dislike for the opposition they are playing, no team is more entertaining to follow and their mercurial nature, enchanting/charismatic characters, the drama, the politics and flamboyance adds to their aura; quiet simply no team will ever command the same ecstasy or euphoria when it comes to a Pakistani defeat or triumph. Most neutral enthusiasts who follow the game very closely support them as much as their home team, [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is one of those fans and for him a big part of cricket would die if Pakistan vanished into a black hole.

If you have played club cricket in England many of the older folk whom are England fans especially would have great tales to tell with regards to Pakistani conquests during the golden age of county cricket in England when the likes of Imran, Waqar, Wasim and Javed were around; this may also have orchestrated their fandom given how these players were instrumental in the success of their domestic team. This would stay with them through all the ups and downs when it comes to Pakistan cricket and their support would never die thanks to Pakistan's knack for exhilaration on the cricket pitch irrespective of the odds they need to overcome.

Absolutely!

In the days - long before danger from terror attacks - that Ian Botham made his comment about sending his mother-in-law to Pakistan, public opinion was very antagonistic towards HIM.

Then again, the last couple of England tours to Pakistan really harmed Pakistan's standing as a country. The players and media found it to be a much more conservative and male-dominated place than thirty years earlier. Before the worst things western cricketers thought of it was that it was "boring". But by around 2000 the feedback was that it seemed like a Middle Eastern country, and that was really destructive.

Pakistan's reputation and status elsewhere in the cricket world seems to be a balance between charismatic/unpredictable players balanced by glimpses of social conservatism which frighten westerners.

 

[Hasan123]

Pakistan's support from neutrals extends beyond their underdog status or dislike for the opposition they are playing, no team is more entertaining to follow and their mercurial nature, enchanting/charismatic characters, the drama, the politics and flamboyance adds to their aura; quiet simply no team will ever command the same ecstasy or euphoria when it comes to a Pakistani defeat or triumph. Most neutral enthusiasts who follow the game very closely support them as much as their home team, [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is one of those fans and for him a big part of cricket would die if Pakistan vanished into a black hole.

If you have played club cricket in England many of the older folk whom are England fans especially would have great tales to tell with regards to Pakistani conquests during the golden age of county cricket in England when the likes of Imran, Waqar, Wasim and Javed were around; this may also have orchestrated their fandom given how these players were instrumental in the success of their domestic team. This would stay with them through all the ups and downs when it comes to Pakistan cricket and their support would never die thanks to Pakistan's knack for exhilaration on the cricket pitch irrespective of the odds they need to overcome.

Yes I agree with this. Nas and Atherton were definitely supporting Pakistan for this reason. Also Warne was giving these reasons as to why he wanted Pakistan to win. Even though I don't like England team they do respect Pakistan cricket for the most part.

 

[Syed1]

Any team that has the best bowling attack in the world will have a large segment of neutral fans rooting for it.

 

[joly]

Everyone roots for the underdog. Especially when the big dog is a bully.

Great Point, at one time AUS also got similar hatred from most Fans across the globe.By the way in BD 95% people are against India,it has always been like this