‘Superfan’ Percy – a genuine asset to the sport he loved

He was considered the ‘superfan’ of cricket. Percy Abeysekara, fondly and famously known as Uncle Percy throughout the cricket world, breathed his last on October 30, after a brief illness in Colombo. Well known for his appearance with the Lion Flag, outside the boundary line, Uncle Percy, 87 at the time of his demise, was part and parcel of Sri Lanka cricket even before the island nation earned Test status.

Recalling one of his many epics, Uncle Percy related on an incident where he once had to spend the night in police custody after an incident occurred at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, now known as P. Sara Oval. As he recalled it was during an unofficial cricket tour match between the mighty West Indies led by Sir Garfield Sobers and Ceylon, captained by Michael Tissera.

It was a time when Uncle Percy was way much younger, in his early 30s, and when he was just another cricket ‘fanatic’ among thousands who ‘gatecrashed’ or even climbed on top of trees to witness famous Windies cricketers Garry Sobers, Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai and Charles Griffith to name a few.

His ‘invasion’ into cricket grounds as a fan had occurred many moons ago, being a cricketer and past pupil of St. Aloysius’ College, Galle. After moving to Kalutara from his hometown of Balapitiya, it became his home and the Kalutara Esplanade became a ground he frequented. Almost all of the young and school cricketers from the area then knew who Uncle Percy was, as he would cheer for the cricket they played unconditionally.

After decades of cheering for cricket, and being seen at all venues in Sri Lanka and other parts of the world, Uncle Percy earned many names – all bestowed by famous cricketers of the world and many others who were integrally part and parcel of the game. He was known as ‘Sri Lanka’s One Man Cheering Squad’, ‘Cricket’s Original Cheerleader’, Sri Lanka’s Mascot, ‘Superfan’, and it was his influence that created many other cricket fans around the world, namely ‘Chacha’ of Pakistan, ‘Gravy’ of West Indies, ‘Sudhir Kumar’ of India and Sri Lanka’s very own ‘Gayan’, to name a few. It was Uncle Percy who gave them the confidence to come out of their shells, by his actions and antics outside the boundary line.

But Uncle Percy had a unique ability many others did not possess. It was the use of his words, which rhymed and related to the game or a cricketer. At the beginning some international cricketers found it rather offensive, but gradually, with Uncle Percy earning a reputation to his own, not only holding and ushering the Sri Lankan cricketers but players of the opposition teams, many started to respect him as a dear friend of cricket.

He would have been the only cheerleader to travel around the globe, to all Test playing countries and still be accepted and respected as their very own. His famous ‘chantings’ that rhymes, and gleeful dancing moves, especially to the tune of ‘papare’ music was a treat to watch. The most notable aspect of all was the ‘Lion Flag’ Uncle Percy accompanied with, a specifically tailor made flag to his own likings, slightly bigger than the usual dimensions of a flag. There were even a few incidents where Uncle Percy’s flags were ‘stolen’ by his fans to keep them as souvenirs.

His travels around the world to cheer the Sri Lankan team began with the 1979 World Cup, held in England. Since then, for many years, Uncle Percy travelled along with the Sri Lanka team cheering for his side, while entertaining other cricket fans at all venues he visited.

Uncle Percy’s list of friends was not limited to a certain genre, he was loved or liked by all equally. He earned many friends in famous cricketers. Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe once presented Uncle Percy his man-of-thematch award. David Boon, whom Uncle Percy called a ‘Tasmanian Goon’, later became good friends, so was former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Virat Kohli, in 2015, invited him to the visitors’ dressing room, while present Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, paid a visit to a feeble Uncle Percy during the recent Asia Cup to check on his health. Sharma even became slightly emotional in one of the postmatch press conferences at the ongoing World Cup, when he recalled the last time he saw Uncle Percy at his home.

Many renowned cricketers made sure to pay their tributes to the late Uncle Percy through social media platforms, including the Sri Lankan cricketers played through many eras. One of the many fitting tributes were scripted by Kumar Sangakkara, who wrote on X – “From my debut till my last game Uncle Percy was a constant. His contribution to the game in Sri Lanka stands equal to any of the players that have worn the shirt. His energy, his passion, knowledge and rhyme will be sorely missed. Rest in peace Uncle Percy.”

Overall Uncle Percy was an ocean of knowledge, who had many tales to share related to cricket and its history. The world of cricket would dearly miss the chanting, dancing, smiling superfan Uncle Percy outside the boundary lines.