11 Questions for Priyansh

The academic, writer, and podcaster Priyansh is a doctoral candidate in Physical Cultural Studies at the University of Toronto in Canada. This week, he answers my 11 Questions. His writing focuses on the intersection of sport, politics, and culture, particularly in India, where he is from. He has written about Mohammed Azharuddin, captain of the Indian men’s cricket team during the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, in “Mohammad Azharuddin as a Theorist of Shock”; football nationalism at a derby match in Kolkata; and the destruction of sport in Palestine. He has also contributed to Eleven Named People. Priyansh is a co-host of The End of Sport podcast, alongside Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Johanna Mellis, and others. I have appeared on the podcast myself, and next week I’ll be back to discuss Gianni Infantino’s continued hold on FIFA with Tony Karon. You can listen to The End of Sport on Spotify or watch on YouTube or Patreon.

When you think about sports teams, what is the first team that really felt like your team — not just one you watched, but one you felt connected to personally?

Steve Waugh’s Australia. Trained into watching sport as a result-oriented business, that cricket team’s ruthless streak was appealing to me.

Who was the first player whose name you memorized — the first one who really captured your imagination? What made them stand out to you?

Shane Warne - For his mastery of leg-spin, the theatre around his bowling, and his absolute disdain for the life of a disciplined athlete.

Did you choose the professional club team and league you support yourself, or did you inherit them from family, community, or circumstance?

I suppose circumstance is the closest explanation. For reasons that remain unclear to me, I started enjoying the exploits of Luke Modric, Gareth Bale and… Aaron Lennon as Harry Redknapp’s Spurs momentarily found a thrilling style of football. The rest can be explained by a desire for suffering.

Do you see the national team you support as a reflection of your country? If so, how does your support for the team relate to how you feel about your country?

The national team I support in football is unlikely to be seen at the World Cup anytime soon, and it says plenty about the state of India as a nation. Recently, the All India Football Federation proposed to change its name to Bharat Football Federation. This switch is supposed to make Indian footballers feel pride in the nation for reasons that have nothing to do with how the game is played. Blind joy in a fascist project is supposed to cure the ills of Indian football - symptomatic of other nation-building projects under the leadership of Narendra Modi.

Have you ever fallen out of love with a team or a sport? What changed?

I love sport as I love my favorite people, as an unrepentant critic. There is no final resolution to this dialectic - love and disapproval go hand in hand.

For you, what is the greatest rivalry in sports history, and what makes it so compelling?

The Ashes. A determined cosplay of a fake rivalry that lives on without any material hint of animosity. England and Australia have far more in common than they would like to admit. Their colonial worldview is a defining characteristic of how both nations run their cricket. Yet we have to sit through this charade every couple of years where they present themselves as rivals who can’t see eye to eye. It’s ludicrous that this is supposed to be cricket’s marquee contest!

Who is the single greatest player of all time in that sport, in your view?

Diego Maradona. For obvious reasons. But really, you cannot imagine anymore that the best player of their era would turn up at today’s equivalent of Napoli.

Can you put together your all-time greatest eleven (men or women or combined) in your chosen sport?

A list of my favorite footballers is in order.

Formation (4-3-3) - Gianluigi Buffon (GK); Trent Alexander-Arnold (RB), Lilian Thuram (RCB), Giorgio Chiellini (LCB), Ben Davies (LB); Sergio Busquets (DM), Luka Modrić (CM), Ronaldinho (CAM); Lionel Messi (RW), Son Heung-min (LW), and Cristiano Lucarelli (CF).

What song best matches your team’s energy, rhythm, or attitude?

”

What film best captures the feelings or memories you associate with sport and fandom?

Chak De! India (2007)

Finally, just for fun: if you could pick a metaphorical “starting eleven” of eleven people from politics, culture, music, film, intellectual life, or any other field, who would be on your team? You can mix different kinds of people or choose all from the same field—who makes your lineup, and why?

A team of my favorite Marxists. Coached by Ange Postecoglou (why not!), who carried my beloved Spurs to unbridled joy for a brief moment. Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Mao, & Gramsci cannot be selected as they have been put in charge of orchestrating a tifo in the stands): Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (GK); Fredric Jameson (RB), Simon Clarke (CB), Alexandra Kollontai (CB), Stuart Hall (LB); Samir Amin (DM), Frantz Fanon (CM), DD Kosambi (CAM); James Connolly (RW), Assata Shakur (LW), and CLR James (CF).