We’ve
all done it. Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all become loyal
fans of a team at some point of our sports life. A loyal fan is someone
who cheers for a particular team because he or she likes them or follows
them faithfully. When that team which a fan follows falls from grace,
the support system is kept intact. In sports, these are the individuals
who stand by their team in the highs and lows. While it’s hard to say
what the true value of one fan is to a sports team, we can start at the
obvious which is invaluable. What separates loyal fans from everyone
else isn’t the number of years they have rooted for a team or the number
of games they have watched. Rather, it’s the simple fact that they
consider the team they support their team. In what could be considered a
sort of pseudo-family, teams and loyal fans share success as well as
failure.
The fan loyalty is built over the years as it takes time to make them feel that players are part of their extended family. However, it is different in case of the Indian Premier League. I was recently watching the after match proceedings in one of the matches between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The fate of the match was decided by the explosive knock of AB de Villiers who single handedly won the match for his side from nowhere. During the post match presentation ceremony he praised the home crowd for standing by them in the tough times. He started his conversation by saying ‘RCB for life’. His reaction was emotional but this has given birth to an important question. Can this format breed fan loyalty? Indian Premier League came into existence in 2008, which was modeled on successful franchise sports like English Premier League, National Basket Association and Major League Baseball. It was an attempt to give Indian fans an experience of city based competition. The complete reshuffle of the players after three or two years is perhaps the most damaging point when it comes to fans loyalty. I know teams are allowed to retain five players but that is not even the half of the squad. Kolkata was happy when their beloved son was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders but he was allowed to leave after few years. The same could be said about Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and many more. They all started with their home based franchise but after a couple of seasons they were not retained by their respective franchises.
There have been few players who have played for one team across the seasons. The fans have felt bad and have voiced their opinions but when they were not heard, they decided to support the new players. The cash rich league is not that old and still has a long way to go before it can be termed as successful as EPL and other franchise based tournaments. If IPL has to breed fan loyalty, the governing council will have to make sure that players are offered contracts for a longer duration of time. There is a need to let franchise build their squads with few additions and subtractions after the end of each season via transfer window. The owners will have to leave their shortsightedness for success and should take a decision after seeing their team’s performance at the end of the season. Unlike the other leagues across the globe, the Indian Premier League has allowed teams to go into the market with similar budgets. This defeats the purpose of disparity among the franchises, which is good for the health of the tourna ment. However, regular auctions have dented this good factor. This T20 extravaganza needs long term planning in order to be a milestone in the world of sports. AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma, Dale Steyn, MS Dhoni and few more may finish their respective IPL careers with the same team but few makeshift points are required to increase these numbers in the near future. The fans would be happy if they are allowed to watch same set of players year after year. This could lead to success as well. The support of the home crowd is very vital and the importance can be understood after looking at various football clubs. It is the support of Manchester United fans, which has made this club a successful one in the world. The players feel happy when they play in front of their passionate crowd and the same could happen to IPL teams, if rules are tweaked in their favor. I know it won’t be easy to change the rules but a little try is enough to turn the tide. However, all is not gloomy. The fact that teams like Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings have made their home ground their fortress, where opposite teams find hard to register a win, is a good sign for the Indian Premier League. Home ground dominance has been a dominant feature of the various franchise based sporting events in the world and IPL has certainly taken a step forward in this regard.
Source-http://www.crictoday.com/ipl-7/12280-ipl-m
The fan loyalty is built over the years as it takes time to make them feel that players are part of their extended family. However, it is different in case of the Indian Premier League. I was recently watching the after match proceedings in one of the matches between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The fate of the match was decided by the explosive knock of AB de Villiers who single handedly won the match for his side from nowhere. During the post match presentation ceremony he praised the home crowd for standing by them in the tough times. He started his conversation by saying ‘RCB for life’. His reaction was emotional but this has given birth to an important question. Can this format breed fan loyalty? Indian Premier League came into existence in 2008, which was modeled on successful franchise sports like English Premier League, National Basket Association and Major League Baseball. It was an attempt to give Indian fans an experience of city based competition. The complete reshuffle of the players after three or two years is perhaps the most damaging point when it comes to fans loyalty. I know teams are allowed to retain five players but that is not even the half of the squad. Kolkata was happy when their beloved son was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders but he was allowed to leave after few years. The same could be said about Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and many more. They all started with their home based franchise but after a couple of seasons they were not retained by their respective franchises.
There have been few players who have played for one team across the seasons. The fans have felt bad and have voiced their opinions but when they were not heard, they decided to support the new players. The cash rich league is not that old and still has a long way to go before it can be termed as successful as EPL and other franchise based tournaments. If IPL has to breed fan loyalty, the governing council will have to make sure that players are offered contracts for a longer duration of time. There is a need to let franchise build their squads with few additions and subtractions after the end of each season via transfer window. The owners will have to leave their shortsightedness for success and should take a decision after seeing their team’s performance at the end of the season. Unlike the other leagues across the globe, the Indian Premier League has allowed teams to go into the market with similar budgets. This defeats the purpose of disparity among the franchises, which is good for the health of the tourna ment. However, regular auctions have dented this good factor. This T20 extravaganza needs long term planning in order to be a milestone in the world of sports. AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma, Dale Steyn, MS Dhoni and few more may finish their respective IPL careers with the same team but few makeshift points are required to increase these numbers in the near future. The fans would be happy if they are allowed to watch same set of players year after year. This could lead to success as well. The support of the home crowd is very vital and the importance can be understood after looking at various football clubs. It is the support of Manchester United fans, which has made this club a successful one in the world. The players feel happy when they play in front of their passionate crowd and the same could happen to IPL teams, if rules are tweaked in their favor. I know it won’t be easy to change the rules but a little try is enough to turn the tide. However, all is not gloomy. The fact that teams like Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings have made their home ground their fortress, where opposite teams find hard to register a win, is a good sign for the Indian Premier League. Home ground dominance has been a dominant feature of the various franchise based sporting events in the world and IPL has certainly taken a step forward in this regard.
Source-http://www.crictoday.com/ipl-7/12280-ipl-m
No comments:
Post a Comment