Ekalavyan Subhash would not have descended the chilly heights of Wagamon for the sweltering heat of Kochi on Wednesday for anything but football.
Being a footballer during his college days, this former radio jockey didn’t want to miss Kerala Blasters’ first home game of the Indian Super League (ISL) season. As he rushed back, his friends waited with ticket outside the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.
“The support of thousands of vocal and boisterous fans on the stands will encourage the Blasters at the home turf but that alone is not enough to help the team win the cup,” said Ekalavyan who cited the lack of a good attacking forward and coordination among team members as challenges facing the team.
He was among the thousands of fans who thronged the stadium to support their team. A sea of yellow flowed to the stadium long before the kick-off and there was no stopping the fans as they created an electric atmosphere in and around the stadium with their drumming and trumpeting.
Last year's flop
Rahul Roy, a LLB final-year student, however, had no doubt that Blasters would make amends to the last year’s wretched season.
“The defeat against North East United is just a blip. It’s just the start of the season and with the kind of players at its disposal, the team is going to do well,” he said.
He couldn’t manage to get a ticket. Disappointed, the youngster nevertheless decided to try his luck by dropping in at the ticket counter ahead of the match.
Even sitting behind the wheel of a brand new Benz could not take Kurian Joseph’s mind off all the fun and frolic his friends were having at the stadium.
“Watching the game sitting on your drawing room couch is no match to cheering the team with friends at the stadium,” said the second-year B.Sc. student at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, who had to skip the game to take delivery of his family car.
Though away in Bengaluru in pursuit of her master’s degree, Toolika Suresh had her heart at the stadium when Blasters took on formidable Atlético de Kolkata in their home turf.
“I don’t follow any team other than Blasters. I would have been there out in the stadium if I were there,” she said.