Green sweep

From social networking sites, to clothes, food and music, everything bubbles over with cricket fever.


Momina Sibtain March 29, 2011

ISLAMABAD:


As the excitement for the semi-final reaches an exponential level and ticket prices in Mohali touch six digit figures, Pakistani’s have come up with creative ways to entice the public and unite the country.


As the “Munni” and “Sheela” jokes become over done, a talented young architect with a knack for photoshop manages to rouse the enthusiasm of Pakistani’s this cricket season. Haroon Noon, hailing from Lahore, is the mastermind behind the latest ‘Go Green Team’ images phenomenon. The power of social networking has distributed and redistributed Noon’s images across Face book and Twitter.

“I photoshopped an image for myself to keep as my display picture on bbm,” says Noon reliving his journey, “and the image caught on like wildfire”.

More and more people started inquiring about the image, inspiring Noon to make a few other images supporting Pakistan’s cricket team. As it became apparent that Pakistan will be playing against India in the semi’s, Noon stepped up his game and started churning out innovative image after image. In less than two days, his Face book page had almost a 1,000 followers, with more than half of them changing their display pictures to these funky green images showing solidarity towards the cricket team with the tagline ‘Have you gone green yet?’

“When I initially made the page, I had no idea how much people would like this, but the motivating slogans are bringing the country together,” says Noon.

Another inspirational hit this cricket season has been Sharez Aziz’s “Duck Sauce (Boom Boom Remix)”, a spin-off of the popular “Barbara Streisand” by Duck Sauce. Replace ‘Barbara Streisand’ with ‘Shahid Afridi’ and add the well-executed ‘Boom Boom’, and you end up with a song that really gets the blood flowing. “I wanted to capture the feeling of elation and triumph that we feel when Pakistan has a victory,” explains Aziz, “and, more than that, it is a tribute to Shahid.”

“The concept of this song came about when during one of the Pakistan matches Duck Sauce was being played in the stands every time Pakistan scored,” says Aziz. “That’s when I thought it would be amazing if instead of Barbara Streisand it said Shahid Afridi.”

Amidst the Green Fever, controversy rages over a remix of the Pakistani National Anthem by German DJ Paul Van Dyk. As the new spin on the national anthem catches on, there is continued debate over whether it is in fact a remix by the Grammy nominated DJ or not. Whether it is or not, it has been nothing but a huge success and has gotten people even more pumped up for the semi-final.

Memorable status updates

• Green is made up of crushed Yellow and Blue

• Who will lose the Pakistan vs India semi-final? Choose the correct answer:

A) India

B) Bharat

C) Hindustan

• Weather forecast for March 30 Mohali:

Level 10 green storm!

• Oh for gods sake! It’s not Wednesday yet????!

• If Pakistan loses, I will cheer for India in the final. That’s because my wife is an Indian and I want the Cup to stay in South Asia.

• I would love to go and watch the thrilling match today, but I have shows so can’t go

Shoaib Malik

Pakistani cricketer

• It is disgusting to position this match as a war rather than a sport, in which, the mantra must be played in the game

Shabana Azmi

Bollywood actor

• I said it once and I’ll say it again, India is the greatest. No offence to any teams from around the world.

Akshay Kumar

Bollywood actor

Getting into groove

A number of bands and artists have launched tracks in tune with Pakistani spirits as they reach fever pitch with the approach of the semi-final.

Standing out amongst the many tunes stirring up enthusiasm amongst cricket fans, Siege have managed to set just the right groove for the semi-final with ‘Aisi Ki Taesi’. The song contains all the necessary ingredients for a fierce World Cup anthem. The song is a bhangra number but the use of heavy guitars and dhols gives it a very colloquial feel, and the rest is done by the lyrics which portray the sentiments of all Pakistanis regarding the semi-finals.

More than thirty thousand hits on YouTube within a day speak for themselves, as ‘Aisi Ki Taesi’ takes the cake for best cricket anthem for 2011.

• Jazba — Ali Zafar (2 stars)



• Yeh Dunya Hai Dil Walon Ki — Ali Zafar (2 stars)



• Chulainge Aasman — Faraz Khosa feat. Javad Ahmed (1 star)



• Josh-e-Junoon — Ali Azmat (3 stars)



• Aisi Ki Taisi — Siege (4 stars)



Food franchise marketing

Many fast food eateries across the country have done a substantial amount of advertising related to cricket. For example, Nandos, the South African chain specialising in grilled chicken, has promoted cricket hype through the use of its posters. Nandos’ billboards have been saturated with funny slogans which insinuate puns like: ‘Ask for Akmal with every delivery, he’ll be sure to drop everything’ and ‘ Cricket with our hot chicks is all about four play’.



Good samaritan

They say that a good deed goes a long way, even across borders. Many people have given up their seats for Pakistanis who want to see the cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan. The good samaritans are Indians who have given up their valuable match tickets so that their neighbouring enthusiasts can cheer at Mohali for today’s big match.

Dileep Khanna, a manager of Union Bank of India, gave up his tickets to salvage India’s corrupt image getting projected through black marketing of the semi-final tickets. He said: “I’ve sent a message that India is not just a home to black marketeers but also to those who can adjust for somebody who wants to see the match and promote peace.”

Ranjai Sodhi, an 18-year-old student, felt a touch of spirituality while persuading his five college-going friends to hand over their tickets to Pakistanis. He said: “Offering your seat to somebody whom people have branded your enemy, is a journey to destroy stereotypes and to explore peace, friendship and love.” toi





Attire with an attitude

Gulabo, the patriotic casual wear outlet located at Park Towers in Karachi, has launched six new eye-catching t-shirt designs for cricket fans. Slogans such as: ‘Boom, Boom Pakistan’ and ‘Chalo, Pakistan chalo’ bring a sense of active fervour. The hot selling t-shirts range between Rs700 and Rs1,000. Another brand that launched a capsule collection for the World Cup was Stoneage. Aligned with the brands philosophy, the collection was sporty and edgy. Hands down the most popular garment remains, the official jersey. Not only are they available in all sizes, one can even get them personalised!

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2011.

COMMENTS (6)

QS | 12 years ago | Reply found it :) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Go-Green-Team-Images/150040841724704?sk=wall If anyone is still looking for the page.
Annonymous | 12 years ago | Reply Green Sweep and Green Fever are two different articles. Open your eyes please.
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