When I was told that the tickets were available for ISL's opening ceremony to be held in our Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, my immediate straightforward reaction was "Dude. I don't follow football at all other than to watch World Cup matches". "Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind" came the quick candid response from my friend. I wondered and pondered for some time as to why not I also try a new and different game apart from following the sport that had single handedly united our country as a whole...at least almost! The game I follow very closely is also being passionately pursued very religiously and fanatically, like the Cuttack incident, by billions of Indians across the country. It goes without saying that it's Cricket. I decided that I can try something newfangled that could open up me to fresh experiences in life. So, without further ado, I called up my friend enquiring him whether he still had any remaining tickets for the opening ceremony. I was very glad that he did not say the disappointing 2 letter word 'No'. We reached the stadium hassle free by train and were in time for the grand commencement of ISL season 2.
After the regular checks at the entrance, we marched towards our designated stand for a fun-filled evening. In the meantime, I was asking my friend on the background of ISL to know more about the tournament. His response was a single and simple statement "ISL is the Indian version of EPL". Luckily, I knew what was EPL. So, I understood what he meant by it. On questioning him on the number of teams, he further explained me that there are 8 teams competing in the tournament and that the current champions are Kolkatta. Now, I had the rough understanding on the context as to what I was getting into. The loud blares from inside the stadium gave me the cue that the spectacle had just begun.
The opening event was star studded with many high profile celebrities like Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya. And of course, THALAIIIVVAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!! The entire stadium broke into a hysterical state of madness when Thalaivar's visuals were displayed on the big screen. I was sure that even an alien in the Andromeda Galaxy would have become partial deaf at the intensity and loudness of the feverish decibel levels then!
When the banners of all the teams were unrolled and spread out across the pitch, it was time for the party to begin. Alia Bhatt's scintillating moves to popular Bollywood numbers drove the spectators to cheer for her madly and wanted more from her. Following her fine performance, Bollywood queen Aishwarya Bachchan simply sizzled the complete stage with her graceful grooves. Once again the crowd broke into a delirious state of frenziness when Ash danced for a song from the Tamil film "Enthiran" and Rajnikanth's smiling visuals were shown on the giant screens. Her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan and her husband Abhishek were cheering her from the VIP lounge.
The crowd fell into a hushed state of silence when the MC was inviting Master Blaster and THALAIVAAARRRR to the stage. The alien in the Andromeda Galaxy which was previously mentioned would have become fully and permanently deaf! Such was the vociferous reception by the berserk local Chennai fans in the stadium for Rajnikanth when he was traversing to the stage in the buggy. And the energy he showed while he hugged Sachin was simply matchless! With Nita Ambani loudly proclaiming " Let's Football", the second season had officially begun. 75% of the stadium's capacity were literally bringing the stadium down for the match to begin. However, there was one more high profile celebrity to perform amidst such an already star studded power packed performances. The Musical Maestro - AR Rahman!! Just before the start of the match, his rendering of our National Anthem set the tone perfectly for a high octane match between Atletico De Kolkata and Chennaiyin.
The night would have ended on a real high for all the Chennai fans after seeing all their favorite stars in a single stage but Atletico triumphed over Chennaiyin who capitalized very shrewdly on the lapses of Chennaiyin. Despite their team's defeat, the close to 30000 people had an indelible memory in their lives. I was completely thrilled and exhilarated at the day's events. I was very glad to have taken the right decision.
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