AFTER SECURING a historic 52-run victory against Pakistan in the first Cricket World Cup match held in the West Indies, the home team, in a symbolic gesture, sauntered to all four sections of the ground where they applauded fans.

In turn, the adoring public returned the favour with endless whoops and cheers and all was right with the world.

Yet, just weeks before, the same West Indies were severely chastised by fans for being sloppily put together on their arrival at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

On that occasion, the players strolled right past the onlookers, heads held straight, without even a wink for the handful of disappointed admirers on hand.

Ahh, the love-hate relationship between fans and professional athletes. Don't you just love it! A delicate balance between the two factions is hard to achieve, isn't it?

Grown folks hop, scream and jump for spectacular goals, boundaries and the buzzer beaters that these athletes deliver. People are willing to starve, skip work and shell out enormous sums to watch athletes perform in their favourite sports.

Let's not forget that we have even recently heard of a case of an Indian fan willing to sell a kidney to attend this World Cup.

Sacrifice

With all this sacrifice, just what is it that the fans expect in return? Athletes are, after all, accused of being snobbish and not appreciative of their positions.

It has even be suggested that fans like what the athletes do but hate how much they are paid, but that's another story. Are the standards that we hold them up to, too high for just normal human beings? The athletes should win all the time, always say the right thing and behave the right way not just in public but also in their private lives.

These expectations have led to numerous and memorabl between the two groups, the most notorious in recent times was the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons basketball game a few years ago which saw players head into the stands after verbal and physical abuse.

Give the players a break. After all, they are human beings like the rest of us and being in the public spotlight all the time does not make them super human all of a sudden.

Delicate balance

Yes, fans put a lot of sacrifice into attending games, but remember, this does not buy the athletes themselves.

However, like I said, the balance is a delicate one and athletes need to remember that the fans are at the base of those lucrative contracts. Not only do they purchase the tickets but they are also responsible for attracting the dollars of the sponsors. They at least deserve some recognition and thumbs up to the West Indies for recognising that, well the second time around anyway.