For months on end we have been bombarded by a barrage of ads, TV programmes, various promotional gimmicks and goodness-knows what else all targeting, yes you guessed it, "the last great sporting event of the millenium."

Come to think of it, if all this hue and cry over a sporting event makes you retch, just wait till we approach the end of the year. The Millenium Madness thankfully is still a few months away.

Well, World Cup madness really. Cricket is played throughout the year these days--there was a time when it had its own season--but everyone agrees that the World Cup is something special.

But then wasn't it special three years ago as well when it was held here in the sub-continent? Then it was the "cola wars" that had everyone chattering. Remember "nothing official about it?"

Strange that the roles are reversed now and the 1996 "official" cola is sulking by the sidelines while the "official" one is parading the ICC World Cup up and down the countryside.

The name of the drink has even found itself attached to the trophy itself every now and then by the print media. I guess that was the idea after all.

Now this time around we have the "TV wars" with companies from Japan, South Korea and America--none of whom have the remotest connection with cricket--all coming up with various ridiculous schemes.

Hands up also all of you (surreptitiously if you wish) all those who have been stocking up on biscuits of various kinds (and cheese and cakes too) in the hope of winning that elusive ticket to Lord's.

I must confess here that I too have succumbed to the bait. And I've ended up with a watch for my pains!

This is also the time for all those closet experts to come out and air their views on anything and everything connected with cricket. How come the one's with the least knowledge are always the loudest and most opinionated? The old "empty vessels" syndrome I guess.

The real problem occurs when these know-alls who know nothing end up writing and commenting on cricket.

We had the sorry spectacle of the Washington-based correspondent of one national daily making a factual error in his very first copy from England--one of those dreary 'diary' items--and then the next day explaining to us that the pressure had got to him!

Pressure while writing a diary item? Just think of the pressure of sending your report in time on June 20 when the final may end around midnight Indian time!

Really what makes the bile rise among all this commercial cacophony is the various pseudo-patriotic campaigns which are spreading their tentacles.

All this "I cheer for India", "I pray for India" bullshit is getting out of hand with the Indian tricolor being misused in the most blatant commercial manner. Give us a break!

Of course, there is a positive aspect to all this. And that concerns the team of 83 without whom all this hype would have been virtually non-existent.

But most of it was only empty promises. Politicians and companies lined up to get their name in print, offering everything from plots of land to cars.

After the initial euphoria died down our boys were left with virtually nothing. Yes, the nation had taken them for a long and bumpy ride.

So today if they are being recognised at last for their achievements, well bully for them. Its time they cashed in.

The proliferation of cricket-based websites is also mind-boggling. Who has the time to check these out? And in any case most of them offer the same old statistics and the odd article or two.

That hasn't prevented one leading magazine (which should know better) from plugging its own site in its latest issue. Talk about blowing your own trumpet.

Till 1983 interest in one day cricket in general and the World Cup in particular was minimal. Our record was miserable and no one took much interest in this form of the game. All that changed with that miracle at Lord's.

Today we have general newsmagazines, even those without a single full time sports journalist, coming out with half a dozen World Cup specials.

Much of the content of these 'specials' is either rehashed stuff or ghost-written columns, badly written ones at that.

Its also time for married men to work out pacts with their wives in order to be allowed to watch cricket the whole day.

I'm told (fortunately I don't fall in the above category) this particular form of male groveling raises its ugly head whenever there is a major sports event on TV. Last year it was the World Cup football, this year it is the World Cup cricket. And next year it will be the Olympics.

Oh what a joy it is to be single and sports-crazy!

Photo credit Kamal sharma