The Luckiest Time to be a Sports Fan - well, for at least this one ;)

There’s something deeply irrational, yet incredibly moving, about being a sports fan. You pledge your loyalty to teams and sportspersons who don’t even know you exist, ride the highs and lows of matches you can't control, and often end up with nothing but heartbreak for years. And still, you stay. You scream at your screen, wear the same lucky jersey, pray before penalties, and defend your heroes in every WhatsApp group war.

Sometimes, though, the universe repays your loyalty. And for me, these last few years have been nothing short of a golden age.

---

Cricket: From Glory to Glory

Let’s start with what just happened.
The Indian Women’s Cricket Team has won the World Cup — for the first time ever.

It wasn’t just a victory; it was a rewriting of history. Years of near misses, heartbreaks, and what-ifs finally found closure as Harmanpreet Kaur’s team lifted the trophy in front of a roaring crowd. The sight of our women in blue celebrating on that world stage was goosebumps-inducing — a culmination of resilience, grit, and belief that has quietly been building over the last decade.

In many ways, this moment feels poetic. It arrives not long after the RCB Women’s Team, led by Smriti Mandhana, won the Women’s Premier League in 2024 — a precursor of things to come. Indian women’s cricket had been knocking on the door for a while. Today, they’ve kicked it wide open.

And speaking of long-awaited dreams fulfilled — let’s rewind a bit.

After 18 years of heartache, banter, memes, and dashed hopes, Royal Challengers Bangalore finally lifted the IPL trophy. And at the center of it was Virat Kohli.

The only player to have played all 18 IPL seasons with the same franchise, Kohli has been the soul of RCB through highs and mostly lows. For over a decade, the chant of "Ee Saala Cup Namde" echoed every season, only to end in disappointment. But this year was different. RCB clawed their way back from the bottom half of the table, made it to the playoffs against the odds, and then stormed to victory.

It wasn’t just a win; it was poetry. The image of Kohli lifting that elusive trophy, after sticking with one franchise his entire career, is now etched in every cricket fan's mind. Add to that the RCB Women’s Team's WPL trophy in 2024 - and it's two trophies in two years for the fans!

If you add it all up — the RCB Men’s triumph, the RCB Women’s success, India’s T20 and Champions Trophy double, and now this World Cup — this is truly the golden age of Indian cricket fandom.

Because it wasn’t always this way.
Remember November 2023? India went unbeaten through the ODI World Cup only to lose the final to Australia — a heartbreak that felt national. It came after losses in both the 2021 and 2023 World Test Championship finals. For a while, the cricketing gods seemed cruel.

But the tide turned.

India won the T20 World Cup, edging out South Africa in a last-over thriller, and followed it with the Champions Trophy win — cementing this team as one of the greatest modern units in world cricket.

As an Indian cricket fan, and especially as an RCB fan, there hasn’t been a better time to be alive.

---

Football: The Redemption of the Greatest

If Kohli’s journey is about national greatness and club heartbreak, Lionel Messi’s is the mirror opposite.

He won everything with FC Barcelona. League titles, Champions Leagues, Ballon d'Ors. But with Argentina? Just scars.

He lost three major finals in a row: the 2014 World Cup, and the 2015 and 2016 Copa América finals—both to Chile, both on penalties. The pain led to a tearful retirement announcement from international football in 2016. The world mourned, but he returned. Quietly. Determinedly.

In 2021, Messi finally got his first international trophy, lifting the Copa América in Brazil’s own backyard. It was emotional, it was powerful, but critics dismissed it as just a Copa. A weak tournament.

Then came Qatar 2022.

The World Cup final against France was an epic. Goals, comebacks, penalties, drama — and finally, Messi holding the one trophy that had eluded him. A script too perfect to be fiction. It wasn't just about silencing doubters; it was about completing football.

As if to underline that his time wasn’t over, he went to Inter Miami in 2023 — a struggling MLS side at the bottom of the table. Within weeks, they won the Leagues Cup. By 2024, they claimed the Supporters' Shield with record points.

And yes, he added another Copa América in 2024. Three international trophies in three years. From zero to three. Destiny fulfilled. The world now waits and prays: will he return for World Cup 2026?

We can only hope.

---

Chess: From One Legend to a Nation of Champions

Chess has been a constant in my life since childhood. For me, and for countless others, Viswanathan Anand wasn’t just a player. He was the reason Indians believed we could be the best in the world.

I still remember watching him beat Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 to retain his World Championship title. Since then, Anand has become a mentor, a guide, and an icon for generations of Indian chess prodigies.

And those prodigies have arrived.

In 2024, India dominated the Chess Olympiad, winning double gold in both the Open and Women’s categories. It wasn't just a win — it was a rout. India proved that it wasn't a one-man show anymore. We are now a chess powerhouse.

Then came the moment that took it all to another level: D. Gukesh, aged just 18, qualified for the World Chess Championship by winning the Candidates Tournament in style. I flew to Singapore to witness history as Gukesh faced reigning world champion Ding Liren.

And he delivered.

Gukesh became the youngest ever World Chess Champion, a moment so surreal and emotional that it felt like fiction. It was a generational shift, a moment of glory not just for Gukesh, but for Indian chess as a whole.

Oh, and let’s not forget Koneru Humpy, who won the Women’s World Rapid Championship in 2024, reminding us that Indian excellence in chess isn’t just about the men.

We are no longer just participating. We are dominating.

---

The Golden Age of Fandom

As I look back, I realize how blessed I’ve been as a sports fan. These weren’t just wins. These were redemptions. Long-awaited closures. Destiny fulfilled.

And sure, I would have still been a fan without the trophies.
I would have cheered for Messi even if he hadn’t lifted the World Cup.
I would have stood by Kohli and RCB even without the IPL title.
I would have flown to Singapore for Gukesh even if he didn’t win.

But when they do win? When history unfolds the way you always imagined it?

That feeling is something else. It validates the years of loyalty, the pain, the belief.

Truly, there hasn’t been a better time to be a sports fan.

Or maybe, just maybe, this one.

---

#Harmanpreet #Mandhana #Deepti #WomensWorldCup #Messi #Kohli #RCB #IndiaCricket #Gukesh #Chess #Anand #SportsFan #Fandom #Redemption #GOATs #GoldenEra