Interview with Roshan Lobo, EFLI MVP - "Parents didn’t really want me to join a dangerous sport, but I would sneak out and go for practice"

How was it to be on live television in the US? Tell us a little bit about that experience of yours.

It was a lot of fun. The first time actually was with CNN, the international CNN channel. It came in India and no one really knew the date and time. My brother switched on the TV and was watching CNN and he noticed and then he called everyone. It was kind of nice because after the recording when the show is going to be telecast, you kind of message everyone, family, friends to catch the show. It’s really amazing to see the show yourself as well as see everyone else watching it.

And people come and tell me – “Dude! You came on TV” – because, you know, it’s not like everyone comes on TV.

And were you nervous the first time you went in front of the cameras?

For the CNN one I was, because for one week I was alone there in Times Square and I didn’t have anybody with me. And suddenly I came to know that CNN wants to do an interview, like the CNN, you know. So it was a big thing. I was kind of really nervous, in the beginning of the show also, I was little nervous. Now I am sort of okay with it.

The first one was in fact a radio interview in Florida, there I made a lot of mistakes while speaking since I was nervous.

Roshan Lobo was in the North team in the Scout Bowl game in the US

Also Roshan, tell us a little bit about the culture around American football in the States. It must have been a totally different setting to the one here even for some of the more popular sports.

Over there, you know, American football matches are like a festival. People just love going for the games, enjoying themselves there. Here, even though people like cricket, there is no atmosphere like that. There, the people just love it so much, they sing, they dance, they do all sorts of things. And they do it as a group. Like for example if some team is playing, all the supporters of that team get together, they wear the same jersey, they carry various boards and signs, and there’s a whole lot of energy around it.

And I believe that’s the case not just with the big teams, it’s like that even at school and college level?

Yeah, the game is just big everywhere. Every college and school has a football field and dedicated coaches for it. Like, each team has some 10 coaches or something. So even for school/college games, the families, the entire city/town will get behind the team. It’s just a totally different situation, you don’t find that in India at all.

Roshan, your coach Thimmaiah looks to have been a major influence in your career so far. He was your rugby coach and as you said, he was the one who brought you to the EFLI. So tell us a little bit more about Thimmaiah, his contribution to your success?

I met Thimmaiah when I started playing rugby. When I started playing, he was in the Indian rugby team for the Commonwealth squad and he had played rugby before as well for the national team. At that time, he was the best player in the team and everyone knew him in Bangalore as he was the best player.

Everyone respects him for the way he goes about his work and being an athlete. Rugby is not an easy sport you know, you have totally different requirements for an athlete. When I started playing rugby, he was in the Indian camp in the preparations for the Indian team. We were both roommates over there, we got really close and he taught me so many things as I was looking up to him.

Then once the Commonwealth got over, he got a job offer from EFLI to coach the Bangalore team. In fact, he was one of the best coaches across all the teams in EFLI and even now, if you ask anybody around, they will tell you that he is the best coach around at the moment.

The way he coaches people is something really terrific; he can coach any player and get him to play better. He knows what is required.

So what are some of the elements from his coaching that really stand out?

Thimmaiah has some really good methods of coaching, he goes about showing us videos, talks at length about the game, tells people what to do and what not to do, does a lot of research; these are the things that made our team really good.

The US coaches, of course, came down and taught everyone the basic rules, but he went and did his own research and came up with tactics and stuff.

After falling at the semi-final stage last year, are you keen to make up for that loss and go all the way in the second season?

Absolutely! We are just waiting for the new season to start off and we want to improve from last year.

That’s great, because you must have noticed, there is another Bangalore team that is doing really well, the Bengaluru Football Club. It’s a new team, but they are top of the i-league and are beating some of the other more fancied teams also. So do you think you can also emulate their efforts and give Bangalore another title winning team?

Totally! We just have to wait for the season to start and see what happens, but I believe Bangalore will be there amongst the top four teams. We are looking to make the final from there; actually I think Bangalore can take the championship, but it depends on a lot of things, so let’s see how it goes.

Guess that means the losses to Hyderabad in the friendlies were a bit of a smokescreen?

Yeah, people might think that since we lost to Hyderabad three times, we are not so good as last season. They might underestimate us, but when the season begins they could be in for a surprise.

Even last year actually, that’s what happened, everyone thought that Bangalore team is not very big and not very aggressive. Physically yes, we were not that aggressive out there on the field, but I guess we showed the most fight through the season. We have few players in our team who get really aggressive and stuff.

The Pune Marathas were the champions of the inaugural season. So what do you think was the reason why they were successful?

The defense! Their defense played really well and their quarterback, Dinesh Kumar from Chennai, was one of the best. He was really quick and he is one of the Indian rugby players who play for the national team. He was the quarterback and made really good plays. He used to have a very good understanding with his teammates and I think that made a big difference.

So do you think that this year, they will again be one of the main contenders for the championship?

I think the main contenders this time around will be Pune, Delhi, these are the two teams we feel will be good. And also, perhaps Hyderabad.

Delhi team, they are really big, and have good strategy, so they are very dangerous. Pune, they do the basics very well and have some really good players, so that is their strength.

What is the reception that you get now when you go around? Have you become some sort of celebrity in your neighbourhood especially since the sport is not that popular? They may have seen people playing cricket or football or tennis, but this must be something different?

A little bit, yes. Basically, I get many friend requests now on Facebook, people just pop up from nowhere and say ‘you know what, I just found you online, I read that you’re the best, I want to join the team, I want to play the game’, that sort of thing. So, it’s kind of amusing because I never expected something like this to happen. And once I came back from the US, there were many followers from the US, there were many orders for my shirt from the US. Its kind of different as I never thought this was going to happen and then the articles started coming up.

I was just doing some research today and I found out that there are at least 25 articles about me in different publications. It’s kind of nice and my family is very proud of me.

So they supported your decision to get into this sport?

In the beginning, they didn’t really like it because it was a contact sport and they were of the opinion that there is no future for sports in India. I was initially in agreement with them, but then I just wanted to do something different and that’s why I chose rugby as a sport.

In fact, during rugby, I suffered some serious injuries, many broken bones and my parents didn’t really want me to join a dangerous sport like American football. But I just wouldn’t listen to them, I would sneak out and go for practice.

But now they are kind of chilled about it, they think its fine.

I guess it worked out eventually in the end right, that’s what matters.

Image Courtesy: ThePapare.com and Roshane Jayampathy

And how has been the response and buzz created in Bangalore and in India after the first season? What have you observed?

Many people are now interested and I get many messages now saying they want to join and stuff. I really want the EFLI to do something where they promote the basic rules of the sport and create more awareness so that people understand the game a lot better.

Basically now, if you see, on Ten Sports the ads go out and we have started school programmes and college programmes. That will get a lot of interest going in the local public. We actually need active participation from kids, especially school kids, so that they will follow, then their family will also follow.

In the first season you played matches in Colombo and last year you played some exhibition matches in India. With every passing match, have you seen more and more people turn out for your games?

Even now, if you conduct a match in most cities, you will probably see the same people turning up, because even now, they have not fully grasped the game and its rules and regulations. But in places like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, there are more and more people coming in even though they don’t know much about the game.

Especially the game at HAL in Bangalore, we could see that the crowd were on their feet towards the end as the game went into double Extra Time. And people were just so energetic and they were very keen to know what’s happening and who was going to win and very excited for the game.

In your opinion do you think this league can really take off in a big way in India and work like some of the other sporting leagues?

Yeah, because if you ask the people who have come and watched these games, they will tell you that their experience was good and that they didn’t find it boring. Even if they don’t know the rules, they just love the entertainment. The tackles and the action are a big hit and as more and more people come and watch, the word will spread. And slowly, they will also learn the rules a bit better, so they will understand and enjoy the game even more.

Who are your favourite players that you perhaps idolize?

One of them is Adrien Peterson, he is the MVP in the NFL amongst Running Backs. Basically I love his story because in 2012, he had both ACL and MCL in his legs; he trained for the next eight months and he played in the NFL in 2013 and picked up the MVP award. It is a really great story.

What do you do in your free time Roshan, when you’re not playing American football?

Basically, right now, I’m doing a part-time job with a company called Runners4Life. Also, I go to schools and teach and I play Ultimate Frisbee now and of course, rugby and American football. Ultimate Frisbee is a game that is coming up big and people who don’t want to play contact sport are taking up this game. It’s very popular and it requires good levels of fitness and skills to play it.