Cricket and Community

Cricket and coworking. An unlikely pairing. But really the unity and community that both have brought are comparable. Hear us out on this one…

In India, cricket is more than just a sport. It’s something that overrides religion, politics or culture. It’s something that brings people together in a shared love. Exploring the city of Kolkata, you see parks filled with people playing, children playing in the hallways of apartment buildings (much to the dismay of other residents I’m sure) and even people gathering around screens in bars and shopping malls to watch. In 2011, when India were in the final of the World Cup, it became one of the most viewed sporting events in history. Afterwards, people filled the streets, dancing together in celebration. This is the kind of community that creates something beautiful. All troubles and differences are put aside when people come together to celebrate something like the winning of a cricket match.

 

From observation, it seems that this is a major factor at the root  of India’s continuing ‘cricket mania’. Sure, there are some that  don’t enjoy the sport, but all seem to appreciate the sociability   of.  it. It’s because there’s something so valuable about things that are able to bring people together. Because there’s something so powerful about feeling a part of something greater. That’s the whole ethos of sporting communities. People ‘love’ a team or a sport but the real thrill is getting a glimpse of the bigger picture that you are part of a collective supporting together.

 

This is powerful because getting the sense of being part of a community causes people to start acting like a team. This is essentially like being on a cooperative team yourself. Thinking about the unity and community that cricket brings to India, it can therefore be determined that it can have several positive outcomes. Supporting your country alongside the nation brings a sense of pride and cohesion that can remind you about being part of the greater collective of the nation. Each big win brings this idea to the  
forefront spurring people to indulge in the team-like spirit. Therefore, people are spurred to, as a team would, work for a greater cause, allow others to lean on them and think about how  much mutual cooperation can occur. Thus, something like a national  win in cricket establishes positive progress.

That’s why cricket is so important to India. It provides a driving  
 force and basis for unity in the country. It’s this unity that will open up opportunities of development. 

This is the same mechanism by which a coworking space operates.  Feeling part of a community creates a team like feel causing you to want to work harder, cooperate to allow others to succeed and share in success. The way that cricket has become so popular due to the cohesion it brings just shows how important community is. No longer are closed off divided offices as we realise that the established value of collaboration can apply to our working lives too. Collaboration and community are the way forward in many areas of our lives. They provide a way to bring the thrill of supporting a team within a network of supporters, across to our everyday.

So while cricket and coworking may have initially seemed completely unrelated, there’s a common denominator in their power and growing popularity. Community. Both establish the team like spirit that is the key to success.

By Josie Hart