Bengaluru FC - Sweeping in the winds of change

Of course, there are a few drawbacks that the club and the I-League as a whole will have to overcome in order to endeavour to achieve the success its European counterparts experience season after season. Despite the notable increase in television viewership of I-League matches, several key clashes weren’t telecasted this season. Hopefully, the Ten Network will strive to telecast live matches instead of monotonous repeats of previous ones. Commentary has always been a major component of sport and quite frankly, the current set of commentators on the Ten Network don’t seem very well adapted to their craft. Finally, the quality of the recording equipment – both audio and video – will have to be improved drastically, for a more pleasant viewing experience. These can be dismissed as minor discrepancies, but their resolution will speak volumes in the success of the future seasons.

A consistently dominant string of performances from Bengaluru FC since the start of the season has been well rewarded with the I-League rookies claiming the title with a game in hand. This famous and historic title win, apart from trending on Facebook for over 24 hours, prompted the club to extend its generous arms once more towards the fans with 50 lucky members of the Blue Army being ferried to Goa on the club’s tab to attend the presentation ceremony of the I-League title following the final game of the season. For those who were not able to make the cut, the club announced an open-top bus celebration through the streets of Bangalore to commemorate the title victory. Yet another example of Bengaluru FC’s determination to reach out to the fans.

This, a sublime example of a “Cascade” or the “Domino effect”, will forever remain in the hearts of everyone affiliated to Bengaluru FC in any way, the memories of which will be the cause of several instants of reminiscent goose-bumps for years to come. All it took was a little shove, in the form of the exquisite Ashley Westwood-led team playing their socks off in a little slice of heaven opposite Garuda Mall, and the Indian football fan answered the call. The winds of change are blowing through the cricket-obsessed subcontinent, and its effects will change the way the Beautiful Game is perceived from the grass-roots level up. This can only mean one thing – progress. And what can we expect from this progress? A bright future.