PSL 4 AND THE DISTASTEFUL BANTERING.

PICTURE COURTESY: SAMAA.TV

Pakistan Super League has started off very grandly and with Islamabad United winning the opening match, a very firm ground has been set for some outstanding performances. The quality of performances, organisation and production are getting better every year. Subsequently, many more foreign players are opting to play for PSL. It is very predictable that the quality of games will also be phenomenal this year but there is something that is not getting better rather it's getting worst, the useless bantering.
Competitiveness is very important for any sport whether it be football, cricket or any other sport and the fans play a huge part in backing the team. It is absolutely true that the support from fans is very essential for the success of any team but some delusional fans out there think that's supporting their team means ridiculing the other teams. This is absolutely wrong and distasteful. Supporting your team means promoting and highlighting their qualities and in case of a defeat, remaining hopeful and believing in the talent of your team.
The idea of supporting your team passionately is not a new one, previously, people would sit down in front of their television sets and praise the teams whenever they got a chance. However, the new age of digitalization shifted this idea to the social media platform and it altered from supporting to bantering. Bantering was a rather new idea for the youth, it includes acceptable bullying on social media. Many people support bantering and tag it as a fun activity. Saying insensitive things about other teams, personal attacks, unhealthy criticism and unapologetic memes has become a very popular part of social media bantering. Several people go down to a level that it can be considered as bullying but they make it look acceptable by earmarking it as a bantering, which is "healthy". I am all for healthy criticism and I believe that it is very important for the progress of any team but there is a very thin line between cruelty and healthy criticism.
Lahore vs Karachi debate is very normal for the Pakistani social media users but ever since PSL started, this debate has only deteriorated in quality. Every year, instead of indulging into some quality discussions about the players of the teams, some trash minded people involved in city wars. The people who enjoy city wars come from a different mentality which is unacceptable to me. Throughout the year, everyone supports team Pakistan but when PSL kicks off, they disregard the concept of patriotism and indulge into some dirty bantering. This goes down to the questioning of the existence of the opposing city. This drama goes to such an extent that at some point I feel that these people forget that Pakistan comes first! Lahore and Karachi exist because of Pakistan. I am not a spoilsport but to some extent, the bantering goes out of control which yields a very bad impression.
Every city has its own issues but you don't need to specifically mention them on social media especially in the days of PSL, just to prove a point. The discussions should be about the players, game plan, strategy and performances. Stop mocking the country because we are working very hard to overcome the problems faced by various cities and your tweets could give away a very wrong impression.
Other than that, enjoy the matches, indulge in healthy conversations and have fun which is not offensive to anyone.