Some more pics and a great vid of the end of the match:
This one from Neil Nitin Mukesh's Twitter feed of the celebrations outside his house:
Abhishek and Big B celebrating India's win:
And for those of you who, like me, had to rely on dodgy internet streams to see the match, and who might have thrown things at the wall when those streams failed in the final minutes, here's the end of the match and a bit of the post-match celebrations:
I was going about my normal Friday night routine, i.e. staying home like a loser and Google-stalking Priyanka Chopra like it's my job (and let's be honest, it probably is someone's job somewhere, especially with all the recent gossip about her and Gerard Butler) and I came across a little news blurb about her support of the Indian field hockey team. "Phir dil do hockey ko!" says Priyanka, and why not? India's hosting the World Cup, so absolutely, let's support the home team.
"Phir dil do hockey ko (give your heart to hockey again)" is more than just Priyanka's personal cheer. It's the catchphrase of a set of ads by Hero Honda (yes, that Honda) designed to a) support the Indian field hockey team and b) to ensure an entire generation of young Indians come as close as possible to killing themselves on dangerous (but elegant!) motorcycles. Two birds, as they say. Anyways bare with me, there's a point here somewhere.
I consider myself an average to above-average sports fan, and I'm pretty sure if this phenomenon were going on in the States I would have noticed. In India, it seems, there's a song for everything. Got a big sporting event? Write a song, toss in some Bollywood stars, tug on some heartstrings, and voila! Two years ago we had "Aaya India" in celebration of India's cricket team, and now we have the "Dakh Dakh Hero Honda" commercials for the hockey team. (There's a "Dakh Dakh Hero Honda" music video as well, though it seems to feature the cricket team, so who knows what's going on there.)
Maybe someone more familiar with "Bolly-Patriotism" can fill me in--is this a common occurance in India? Do all major sporting events come with a music video in support of the home team? I'm not sure that I've really seen this anywhere else (outside of some gag-worthy Olympic numbers). "Aaya India" is a damn catchy song, but that not withstanding this all seems pretty cheesy.
Aaya India*:
*Eternal thanks to anyone who can identify the guy at 1:35. He's beautiful and I want him. That is all.
