Soccer fever is a 'communicable disease' here

Whatever matter you speak, hear or think will definitely end up in football here. At government offices, school staff rooms, buses, petty shops... everywhere the heated discussion revolves around Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Italy etc.

 Messi, Neymar, Arian Ruben, Rooney and Xavi are household names for the time being. The likely pitfalls in Spain’s tiky-taka format and Netherland’s total football were being discussed threadbare. Sport clubs are deeply devided into two rows, that of Brazil and Argentina. Putting up of huge flexes in the local town now has become an issue of prestige among sport clubs. Kasargod is literally suffering from high temperature world cup soccer fever. 

Padanna beams

Visit Padanna, a small non-descript town near Cheruvathur. An entire bus stop in Padanna has been re-emerged, wrapped in the yellow, green colour of Brazilian flag. The motto in the national flag of Brazil, ‘Ordem e progresso’ (order and progress) too is inscripted inside the bus stop by the members of Shooter’s Club, Padanna. 

The one metre length Brazil national flag was brought from Kozhikode, said, Salim, a member of the club. Padanna’s local street sees all the 32 flags of the participating countries in the world cup, flying high and a gigantic hoarding, which meticulously engraved the images of who’s who of the soccer world. 

All members of Argentina team have been smiling from the non-usable vehicle tyres fixed at road-side. 

Kunhi’s wish

In Neeleshwar, a grocery shop owner, Muhammed Kunhi is the torchbearer of the world cup mania. The whole wall of Kunhi’s shop, situated at Ozhinja Valapp Marakapp beach has been pasted with the football related paper-cuttings appeared during previous world cups. Kunhi is mulling over organising a prediction contest and a colourful rally, including all the sports clubs nearby. 

An ardent soccer fan in Muhammed Kunhi would not mind shutting down his shop and board train to watch football tournaments even in far off places. 

“This time Brazil will lift the cup with Neymar as their lethal weapon,” beams Kunhi. However, his teenager son Jaseel vouches for sky- blue clad team, Argentina. The middle-aged Kunhi’s biggest dream is to scream once amidst the ecstatic audience of a world cup football match, for that he has been saving money since the last 14 years.  In the high-range village of Rajapuram, a local association called Panathur village friends has erected a nine feet size replica of the world cup near Panathur village office. 

The folkore artiste from Rajapuram, Satheesh has captured the soccer euphoria in the form of a folksong and has uploaded it on youtube.

 The“ole...ole...lela..oh..Brazil..oh..” song is grabbing attention in the form of likes. On the eve of world cup kick off, the students and teachers of Isathul Islam ALP School in Chanthera conducted a programme, ‘Up..up..Brasooka’ in which the former Indian footballer and a native of Thrikaripur, Muhammed Rafi was the chief guest. The football lovers at Thrikaripur GVH School have commenced a month long soccer celebrations, titled ‘Samba Brasooka.’

“The ecstacy like situation witnessed in Kerala towards football, especially in Northern region has some political undercurrents. Here, the support for Latin American countires like Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Uruguay has to be viewed through the lens of rising voice against colonial powers,” observes, Ramakrishnan, a teacher at Mogral Puthur government high school, Kasargod. 

Thrikaripur, Mogral Puthur, Uduma, Ravaneshwaram....all places in the district are under the grip of an epidemic called football. It will be naturally cured once the world champions lift the cup in the wee hours of July 14 at the sprawling stadium in Reo De Janeiro in Brazil.