JOIN USFlaunting the spirit
The mother of all cricketing spectacles is back with an apt slogan — Bharat Bandh. The ‘pyjama cricket’ has caught the imagination of the young.
Girls and boys in the City just can’t wait to catch all the IPL action both on and off the field. Enterprising youngsters have come up with interesting innovations in terms of merchandising.
The frenzy is not complete without tee-shirts in all shapes and sizes, caps that double up as crowns, large glasses and wigs that come in bright colours of blue, purple, orange and yellow.
And all these are made by ordinary people, who have one thing in common, their love for the game.
The City’s young has always been known to experiment, explore and do something different. There are those who have pooled in money and bought stuff. While Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) does sell its own merchandise, people prefer to customise the tee shirts and caps with their names printed on it. The wigs are worn to grab that extra attention. Metrolife spoke to a few youngsters and asked them why they prefered to carry along their own merchandise.
Most of the young people have booked their tickets for the matches well in advance. And they insist on customising their merchandise. Chethna, a young professional, said she and a bunch of her friends have got together, pooled in some money and bought jerseys, caps and wigs. “We would like to wear these jerseys wherever we go to watch the match. When we go to the stadium, we carry along the wigs, caps and flags. We got our names printed on the jersey and have the slogan ‘I love RCB’ printed on the front,” said Chethna. “This is just our way of expressing our support to the team,” she adds.
Reo Raymond, a compere, says he has ordered 25 tee-shirts for his friends with all their names printed on them. “The RCB jerseys you get in the market are exorbitantly priced. Here we get to buy the same stuff at Rs 300 with our names on it. Those over-sized glasses and caps are an indispensable part of the accessory,” said Reo. He said all the tees they buy have the tag line ‘No 1 Fan’ printed on them. “This is done so people know we’re die-hard fans of the RCB.”
George Tobias, another youngster, thinks the IPL has come in a little too fast. “The World Cup has just finished and I think the IPL has been pushed in too fast. Nevertheless, I love cricket and won’t miss a chance to watch a game. I’ve ordered 20 caps and jerseys. If I don’t get tickets to the watch the match live, I prefer to go and watch the match in one of the sports bars in the City.”
Vivek, an entrepreneur who customises merchandise, hasn’t had a moment’s rest after the IPL began. He has been getting orders in bulk from the corporates and the student community. “The RCB tee-shirts are plain red with the logo. I design whatever I am asked to on them. The caps are a rage too,” says Vivek, whose tee-shirts are priced anywhere between Rs 100 and 200 and sweatshirts cost Rs 350.