Follow pitch-side reporter Leeza Mangaldas as she takes you behind the scenes this Hero ISL season. New posts every Monday exclusively on indiansuperleague.com.

MATCH WEEK 5: THE MAGIC OF MANJAPPADA

My #ISLfie with KBFC fans in Kochi

I’ve always been fascinated with spectator behaviour — how emotions are amplified when experienced as part of a group of thousands of people together in the flesh — the joys are more joyful, pain cuts deeper, and love and reverence for a team or player take on an incomparable intensity.

Nowhere does this heightening of human experience as a result of being part of a collective with a shared obsession become more apparent to me than when reporting from a match in Kochi.

Still two hours before kick-off but the stadium is almost full

My first match this week was Kerala Blasters vs NorthEast United. It was a special one for Blasters fans because not only was it their first win of the season, but also because the victory was thanks to a goal scored by local hero CK Vineeth that was set up by another local star, Rino Anto.

Local heroes Rino Anto and CK Vineeth are fan favourites in Kochi

Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown also made his ISL debut in style that night, winning the Hero of the Match award for his outstanding performance. He too was full of praise for the atmosphere that the fans create in Kochi.

It was an absolutely jubilant sea of yellow.

Wes Brown elated after a great day at the office

With at least 35,000 people at virtually every home game, almost all wearing their team’s yellow jerseys, and many brandishing yellow flags and banners, you can quite literally feel the passion of the fans in the air when you arrive at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ernakulam for a Kerala Blasters match. And you can’t help but be moved by the experience.

When you witness all these tens of thousands of people act in unison — watching them transition in a matter of seconds from delirious swaying and deafening cheers to standing completely still and in total silence for the national anthem – or when you take in the thunderous celebration that erupts whenever the Blasters score a goal (which the team needs to do more often, by the way), it’s hard not to feel something primal within you stir.

The “home of the 12th man”

They call themselves Manjappada which translates to “Yellow Army” in Malayalam. What started as a Facebook page for the fan club in 2014 evolved into an elaborate network or WhatsApp groups for over a dozen districts in Kerala, each with a designated representative, connecting hundreds of thousands of supporters.

Subin Matthew, a die-hard football fan from Alleppey, was instrumental in structuring and mobilising the group. “When ‘the God of cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar announced that he would front a football team in God’s own country, I was determined to create a fan base the whole nation could be proud of,” he said. “We harnessed the potential of the internet and social media to create a highly connected and engaged fan base here.”

Several members make it a point to attend every single match every season — each with a unique story behind their intense love for the game.

Take Abdul Rahman for instance, a regular fixture at Kerala‘s home games who even balances a football on his forehead during the match to demonstrate his love for the sport. As a young boy, Rahman used to play with a local football team in Changanassery where his teammates included star goalkeeper KT Chacko. In the nineties, he became a ball boy serving teams like FC Kochin, Viva Kerala, and Eagles FC. That wasn't enough to make ends meet though, so he also sought work as a rag picker.
When the Hero Indian Super League started, he would come and wait at the stadium ahead of every home game, patiently hoping that a generous soul would give him a ticket to watch the match. Today, he is recognised and invited in by the team as one of their most ardent supporters.

I was thrilled to see so many female fans!

From flash mobs and body paint to their massive, signature yellow-and-blue “Manjappada” and “home of the 12th man” banners, the everyday social distinctions of rich and poor, young and old, male and female all become secondary to their identity as Kerala Blasters fans.

Isn’t that, after all, the magic of sport?

It’s why I personally love to watch fans watch the match: to revel so completely in the euphoria of a win or the frustration of a loss that you forget the mundane concerns and obligations of everyday life. And most of all, to share in a relentless sense of hope and belief, regardless of the result.

I love watching fans watch the match

The love for football and the scale of the turnout in Kochi is truly extraordinary, but so is the exuberance of the fans that come out to support their teams in Bengaluru, Goa, Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi. I genuinely feel privileged to experience this beautiful spectacle of shared devotion between the fans and the teams as I travel from stadium to stadium.

Over the course of the season, I look forward to shining the spotlight on each different fan club. Let me know which one you think I should write about next and why, in the comments, or by reaching out to me on Instagram or Twitter at @leezamangaldas!