All for the Game

At another place in the city,driving an SUV with a Brazilian flag on top is 24-year-old lawyer Karan Singh Sandhu. Says he,“My father was captain of the football team in college and we often play the game.” He is planning a vacation during the ongoing FIFA World Cup,just like he did the last time. “We went to Vaseela,a farmhouse in Nadiali village. A big screen was installed near the pool and we used to watch matches all night,” recalls Sandhu,who is a Maradona and Beckham fan,and has watched England versus Brazil at Wembley,London,and cheered for matches at the Old Trafford. During the last few months the football fan has been busy collecting sports magazines,posters and football accessories. “England and Brazil should be in the top five,” he predicts. His 27-year-old friend,Amrit Pal Sidhu has a longer list of teams that can make it to the top five,including Spain,France,Argentina and Netherlands. “Our boarding school,Bishop Cotton School,Shimla,has a tradition in football. Our coach introduced me to the real game and I know the rules and all about the clubs,top guns and so on,” he says. At his home,Sidhu is planning a room dedicated to football. “It will be a hall of fame,” he says.

Eighteen-year-old Devin Markanda has also elevated the game to a godly status. “The intensity,rivalry,madness and excitement is simply irresistible,” says Markanda,who has especially got a big LCD for the World Cup. Conversation with friends is often about football clubs,teams,rules of the game and popular players,including David Beckham,Wayne Rooney,Lionel Messi,Chelsea and Liverpool.“It is unfortunate that Beckham is not playing,but Rooney is in action. Plus,this year,according to reports,the World Cup is already a success. It is one of the most commercially viable season,” adds teenager Rajat Ghera,along with friends Rohan Markanda,Aashank Ganeriwala and Arjun Mahajan. “We have been hooked to the game since the ’98 FIFA World Cup. We play matches with seniors every Sunday and after school. Unlike cricket,football has a pace and movement. It requires high energy,” say the St John’s School students,according to whom Indians are hardcore England fans because the English Premier League is well-publicised in India.

“Even Lalit Modi has gone on record saying that the IPL is on the lines of EPL,” says Sethi. His group also has an online presence,including an active Facebook account.

And when it comes to football there is no gender divide. “Who says girls can’t be football fans,I follow the game,” says 15-year-old Scheherazade Sandhu,who has been playing the game since she was nine. “My friend Tanvi is the under-19 football team captain for Chandigarh and both of us love the sport,” she adds,admiring a David Beckham poster and flipping through the pages of his autobiography. Who is she rooting for? “England,” comes the prompt response.

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