The love of sports in our region is no secret. And Saturday was a treat for both cricket and soccer lovers. Locals were treated to the derby teams go against one another with Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid, which trended in the region with #HalaMadrid. Expats enjoyed the cricket match that was played between arch rivals India and Pakistan. The following day was also crucial as it was the day of Capital One Cup finals that was played between Manchester City and Liverpool.
While the outcomes of these matches matter, the exciting part is when supporters from opposite teams watch the match together. Living in countries such as Kuwait, Oman, Qatar or the UAE enables this kind of ‘co-cheering-abusing’. As teams brought home victory, social media discussed the matches virtually frame by frame.
Not far behind sports, is the movie madness. The Middle East might not have any direct link with Hollywood or Bollywood but with the love that the region has for film and cinema entertainment, showbiz of both these worlds can create uproar.
The big conversation of the week was ‘The Revenant’. One of the biggest nights for Hollywood, the 88th Academy Awards, #Oscars took place on Monday morning for the Middle Eastern viewers. The Oscars 2016 ceremony was aired live on OSN Movies Premiere HD and OSN Play. ‘Theeb’ made by Jordanian filmmaker Naji Abu Nowar did not bring home the trophy but the fact that it was part of the nomination for Best Foreign Language Film itself spread a sense of pride. Needless to say, the highlight of the Awards was Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. The fact that the award created history on Twitter indicates that Leonardo’s fans were with him in the wait for the coveted award.
Through the week, we also saw Shah Rukh Khan fans tweeting their love for the actor and his work as the first trailer of his latest movie ‘Fan’ was released. The Twitteratis showed excitement for the movie by using #FANTrailer.
However, for the cricket fans the week does not end on a happy note as Martin Crowe, the legendary New Zealand cricket player, commentator and author passed away. His fans, supporters and friends are mourning his death and remembering him using hashtags #Gonetoosoon and #RIPMartinCrowe.
