I fan of Kings XI Punjab team (being a Panju, I cannot help) and I know this year’s IPL will not same for me and for other fans as well.
Loyalty towards teams is required if IPL has to build a strong and sustainable brand in long run. Cricket indeed is religion in India but IPL is not about popularity of cricket. It is much more than. It is about fans cheering for their teams. It is about fanfare associated with their teams. It is about connections with teams and fans. It is about building strong connections between teams and their fans.
Here are few things which fans will miss in IPL - II
• No emotional connect: Last year whole Eden Garden stood up with Shahrukh to their team. The frenzy it generated cannot be explained in words. He was able to connect with Kolkata fans emotionally and everybody in the stadium started cheering for Knight Riders. This emotional connect will be missing all together as people will be watching match but connect with Shahrukh and Eden Gardens will be missed and missed badly.
• No connection with fans: Last year I personally interacted with lot of fans of Kings XI during the matches and it almost looked like a strong community is in the making. But this year there won’t be any such community existing. There won’t be any fans that will rupture into Bhangra when there are four or six is hit. There won’t be any fans dressed in colorful attire and cheering their team vociferously. I will miss these communities of fans.
• No rituals: Last year IPL teams could not build any rituals for their fans. Some ceremonies which are seen as cool to be followed. Certain codes, if followed, will distinguish the fans of Royal Challengers from Punjab XI. Last year none of the teams could do this. This year, teams started to work on membership cards but nothing materialized. May be I have to wait for next years’ IPL to build some rituals for my Punjab XI team.
IPL you will be missed. Come back soon.
Loyalty towards teams is required if IPL has to build a strong and sustainable brand in long run. Cricket indeed is religion in India but IPL is not about popularity of cricket. It is much more than. It is about fans cheering for their teams. It is about fanfare associated with their teams. It is about connections with teams and fans. It is about building strong connections between teams and their fans.
Here are few things which fans will miss in IPL - II
• No emotional connect: Last year whole Eden Garden stood up with Shahrukh to their team. The frenzy it generated cannot be explained in words. He was able to connect with Kolkata fans emotionally and everybody in the stadium started cheering for Knight Riders. This emotional connect will be missing all together as people will be watching match but connect with Shahrukh and Eden Gardens will be missed and missed badly.
• No connection with fans: Last year I personally interacted with lot of fans of Kings XI during the matches and it almost looked like a strong community is in the making. But this year there won’t be any such community existing. There won’t be any fans that will rupture into Bhangra when there are four or six is hit. There won’t be any fans dressed in colorful attire and cheering their team vociferously. I will miss these communities of fans.
• No rituals: Last year IPL teams could not build any rituals for their fans. Some ceremonies which are seen as cool to be followed. Certain codes, if followed, will distinguish the fans of Royal Challengers from Punjab XI. Last year none of the teams could do this. This year, teams started to work on membership cards but nothing materialized. May be I have to wait for next years’ IPL to build some rituals for my Punjab XI team.
IPL you will be missed. Come back soon.
by Ramesh , on March 28, 2009 1:51 PM
Absolutely right. IPL is not just about runs and money. The atmosphere will be totally missing. It just won't be the same in SA.