3 months ago Wavin' Flag was the song on everyone's lips and the one set as their ringtones. Shaikra's Waka Waka also did manage to get its share of caller tunes, and this was all amidst the fan frenzy the ongoing FIFA World Cup had created. That was also the time when I had moved from the small town of Ahmedabad to mighty Mumbai, so fortunately for me I experienced everything from matches on big screens to free vuvuzela give aways and more importantly an atmosphere with like minded, jersey clad, football fanatics all around me. This really made me wonder, how big football is and how big it can get in a sub-continent over-populated with cricket lovers.
Living in Ahmedabad, it wasn't as if I didn't know that football was very sought after in our country. I knew that 1,25,000 football crazies had gathered at the Saltlake stadium when the sport bid good bye to one of the best goal keepers it had seen. I knew it when Sunil Chhetri signed a 3 year deal with Queens Park Rangers, but sadly never got a work permit from the British Government. I knew all about Maradona's India tour and the chaos that went behind it. Yes, I did keep myself updated with the news, but could never realize the magnitude of it till I experienced the World Cup in Mumbai.
I had underestimated the sport's reach in India. It comes second only to cricket and even though the fan base is majorly filled with support for the EPL big 4, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, I realized there lies a huge store of untapped potential for football in India. Even though I have been a loyal and devoted Red Devils fan for the last 10 years or so, I won't deny that it pinches every time I realize that I cannot muster up the same level of devotion and obsession for an Indian club… or even for our infamous Indian football team.
I'd hate it if football comes out to be a demi god for those who treat Sachin as God and Cricket as a religion… being a sports lover, I have my own fanaticism for cricket and the Indian cricket team. The inception and success of the Indian Premier League not only proves that its possible to boost love for an already crazed sport to infinite levels, but also that if the right amount of dynamism is put, the I-League or the Durand Cup and others alike can be bought very near to cricket if not beyond it.
Comparing the EPL to I-League will surely be apples to oranges, but I can't help but reason that if the EPL can grow to this magnitude in terms of not only its fan base but also as an invaluable TV product, beyond the borders of its tiny origin country, if put through the right channels and with efforts not unknown to the professionals and sportsmen in India, football will not be too far behind.
Football may not have a Sachin Tendulkar of its own, but we still have cities like Goa, Kolkata and Mumbai where the sport is big. In a massive country like ours, it may be difficult to replicate efforts and its effects made at city to another, but considering the untapped potential in our upcoming footballers and possible future infrastructural avenues, cities like Bangalore, Delhi and Ahmedabad may also end up having a Mohun Bagan for them.
Even though my team ended up on the losing side in the World Cup final match, the experience of witnessing the World Cup here made it possible for me to look at the bigger picture football has produced. How I wished at the start of every match that I could chorus along Wavin' Flag to the Indian contingent coming through the tunnels at South Africa and not to some other country I haven't even been to.
