Appreciation: The Driver of Growth (Olympics 2024)

Hi!

This is a first of a series of post connecting three variables seemingly disconnected. They are: appreciation, growth and choice and how they affect the market. So lets begin.

All of us are inadvertently looking for appreciation. It may be in the form of medals, accolades, money, prizes, applause or verbal praise. We all want it and we feel good having it.

Speaking of medals, this year we had the Paris Olympics 2024, where India, got 1 silver medal and 5 bronze medals, 6 in total. Whereas China, scored 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze, 90 medals in total. A country India currently beats in population figures. Its quite shocking and disheartening.

"Why?"... A cry comes from every Indian.

The answer is in this article- Appreciation.

India has been a cricket country since the British era. It has celebrated and epitomised the game of cricket which is taken akin to a religion in the country and no longer as a sport. Movies such as Lagaan(2001), Dil Bole Hadippa(2009) and the recent Mr. And Mrs. Mahi (2024) to name a few have contributed to the fascination of the sport.

The Indian Premiere League Series has phenomenally bolstered the craze for cricket over the years whose brand value stands at $16.4 billion according to a study.

The irony is cricket is not even included as an Olympic sport ( The Olympic Fraternity aims to add it in the next 2028 LA Olympics). I have nothing against cricket yet when we see the contrast in various terms such as the investment in Olympics when compared to the scale of the games on one side with one sport on another side the difference is extreme.

The way the players are welcomed, celebrated after winning Olympic medals v/s winning the World Cup is something one can observe. Also the way the Olympic sports, be it badminton, table-tennis, the athletic events and stadiums stand currently when compared to Cricket, the difference is immediate.

Why? The answer lies in three reasons are per my analysis:

1. Mass Momentum: Like physics gravity, the whole mass and scale of cricket has reached to such an extent that everyone wants to be part of the sport. It is popular to such an extent now that who are not a part of it are taken as outsiders even in their own country. The entire culture is centered around going for things that are already appreciated and cherished in this case, cricket. Masses may not always have the options to engage in other sports such as having an Olympic Size Swimming Pool.
2. Give up for cricket: There is a choice here that is made where other sports haven't been that big and therefore they have not been appreciated enough and chances are that people who were suited for other games in a better way might have dropped their natural sport inclination and talent and taken up cricket merely for lack of opportunities in other sports. This leads us to under-appreciate other sports.
3. Refusal to change the status quo: Inspite of the above two factors it is entirely possible to shift the forces in direction of other Olympic sports. Yet anyone trying to do so will have to face the upstream struggle of changing things and thereby succeed or die trying!

This phenomenon can be summarized as appreciating selectively, appreciating conditionally and appreciating without choice. These factors determine the flow of resources, growth, reach and engagement.

I will elaborate on my above ideas as I continue on these series of articles in later posts. Stay tuned. If you found this article interesting, like and share and leave a comment below. Thanks!