ISL 2015 - The Winners....

I am one of the many people who are thrilled at the increasing popularity of the Football in India. Special thanks should be given to the Indian super League or ISL as it is called. and horrors, to the Reliance Group for sponsoring it. Jokes apart, I should credit them where its due. Its a big effort to put monies on other activities that don't resemble pajama clad morons bashing a leather ball out of the park.

Last year it was a big success with reports that it has the highest average stadium attendance for any football league in Asia!!! At the completion of the 27th match Nov, 9, the first edition has had an average stadium attendance of 22,639, positioning ISL as the best attended league across Asia, ahead of other football leagues such as South Korea's K-League, China's CSL and Japan's J-League. This is no mean achievement as these countries have a good base of football fans and also have spent vast sums in popularizing the sport there.

And this year it has apparently done even better. better attendances, more activity on social media from fans, more goals (could be sloppy defending too), higher television viewership and more frenzy in general.

Lets do a round up of the top performers -

The winners - Chennaiyan FC @ChennaiyinFC, were languishing at the bottom of the table and pulled up their socks. Awesome finishing...

The Top Scorer and winner of Golden Ball - Aka the person who wins the Indian Gold coins (advertising soon Mr. Mendoza).

The fittest player - Ian Hume. What a performer, what a player. I love him to bits. I can't believe Kerala Blasters let him go to Kolkata. Or was it that, Kolkata simply didn't leave them with an option.

Other favorites of mine!
Adrian Mutu - This Romanian wizard literally dances with the ball. Though he has less goals to show for his efforts, he was peerless on the pitch. Please please let us see him next year.

Stiven Mendoza - Simply for his clinical finishing and also selfless passing of the ball in the goal area.

Elano - What a special player. His distribution in the mid-field is what kept Chennai a cut above the rest.

And finally the homegrown hero Sunil Chettri. In the end it was depression to see him withering away in the Bombay matches (I think mostly due to Anelka's stubbornness) but he still managed to get into the headlines.

Here's to hoping more success to ISL and by that to Indian Football.

Why do Indian's like gold so much!

Its common knowledge that Indians are crazy for Gold. And other metals. And precious stones. I guess its the most commonly known trait about Indians. What could the reason be.

Other Investment options
I mean why dont' Indians invest in stocks (still a very small fraction of the population), FDs, SIPs/Mutual Funds, Real Estate,etc. actually real Estate is quite popular and must follow bullion a close second.

There are a few reasons I think that Indians love investing in Indian Gold coins over other avenues.

1) Historical
Since we are a very old civilization we tend to value precious metal over paper currency or new fangled financial instruments. Since the times of Kings and Emperors, we have always fancied Gold, no correct that hoarded Gold. It was easy to take value of, to trade (globally accepted), to use as jewelery. Hence over the centuries we have had it used as a measure of prosperity and as a article to barter. Remember the massive treasure trove in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala which was stashed away by the last king of the land? The El Dorado of India.

2) Touch and feel
Indians always like to see what they are getting for their money so to speak. So cold FDs, Stocks, Mutual Funds don't excite them as hard gold (even cash), or real estate (where the first thing they do is put a fencing around it with a Board proclaiming their rights).

3) Kaala paisa??
This is an obvious and simple reason for some Indians to invest in Gold and cash. No accountability and no paperwork. Simple enough?

4) Beti ke liye
This is as filmi as it gets. But in the rural areas where education levels are low, Gold is a safe and something everyone understands well. It makes sense for parents to save in Gold and then use it for jewellery and other expenses for their daughters wedding.