Flight of football frenzy in Kolkata
DUBAI-BOUND ARGENTINE BRIGADE SOAKS UP ALL THE ACTION
It was supposed to be yet another mundane wait at the airport lounge for me — followed by an uneventful flight from the eastern Indian city of Kolkata back to Dubai last night. Instead, with Argentina taking on France in the first of the knockout clashes in the Russia World Cup, even the airport in Kolkata was brimming with the electric energy and the insane football frenzy the city is famed for.
For football-mad Kolkata has waged the battle of loyalty between Argentina and Brazil for eons.
Perhaps a somewhat logical explanation for the city’s obsession with football and the two titans of South America can be found in much later history — it is rooted in the victory of Mohun Bagan, based in Kolkata and one of Asia’s oldest football clubs, over the British Army’s East Yorkshire Regiment in the 1911 Indian Football Association Shield final.
And then, decades later in 1977, came Pele and charmed football fans from all over the city. Brazil became the darling of football in Kolkata.
Cut to 1986, and the city got a new poster boy to look up to, when one Diego Maradona dribbled past a pack of England players before shooting the ball past Peter Shilton to create history.
But then who cares much about rationale when emotions are in abundant supply?
And so to this day, the most ardent and hardcore supporters of the two teams battle it out in Bengal.
And so it was, in the small but packed lounge of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata last night, that one half of the city’s favourite boys began their fight for survival against France. From the business executive to the family flier to the bar tender to the janitor, almost the entire airport and the gathered passengers were glued to the TV.
When Antoine Griezmann successfully converted a penalty in the 13th minute for the French, there were some celebrations and claps — but muted.
Followed by hushed silence as Argentine fans absorbed the impact of what had just happened. ■
As time flew and the hour for boarding approached, the analysis got more complicated and ambitious. “Boyosher kono dam nei naki (Does experience have no value?),” lamented a grey-haired gentleman.
Some were reluctant to get up with the game caught in the crosshairs. “Na, na, arektu dekhun — ekhono boarding shuru hoye ni, (It’s OK, you can watch for some more time — we haven’t started boarding yet),” reassured a helpful staff from Emirates, possibly deployed specifically at the lounge to ensure that no football-mad passenger missed their flight to Dubai.
That was delightful news for many, but despite another 15 minutes of devoted support, the scoreline still read 1-0 in favour of the French.
Finally, it could wait no more and everyone had to gather downstairs at the boarding gate, where the queues were long and the mood somber.
Wild celebration
Until a deafening roar rang throughout the massive departure halls: GOOOAAALLLLLL!!
Ángel Di María had scored a sublime equaliser — but there was nothing sublime in the celebrations. Screaming, shouting and jumping with joy, fathers hugged their children, couples embraced and complete strangers exchanged beaming smiles. Some passengers, who had been patiently waiting at the queue, broke loose and ran up close to the nearest TV.
But order was swiftly restored after the celebrations, and the flight boarding completed in due time. The action continued on board the Boeing 777, with the match being streamed live on every seat by Emirates. It was some time later that Gabriel Mercado raised more hopes with a 2-1 lead for Argentina, before Benjamin Pavard equalised and then magic boy Kylian Mbappé scored a brace to put the French in a commanding 4-2 lead.
That sort of sapped the enthusiasm of the ‘Argentine brigade’ on board — so much so that when Aguero found the back of the net in stoppage time, there was a faint last hurrah tempered by the sense of doom for Messi and his team.
But then, who needs to mourn the ouster of Kolkata’s heartthrobs when the sky is blue and white?