Fans go the extra-mile to cheer Chennaiyin

Predominantly a cricket crazy city, Chennai has lost on quality cricketing action and the fans seem to have found another sport which they are passionate about and have embraced football with open hands. Fan clubs, an integral part of sport, have cornered a lot attention. Out of the many groups of supporters of Chennaiyin FC, B-stand Blues have garnered the maximum attention. They are called themselves B-Stand Blues because they are in the B-deck of the Nehru Stadium cheering the team. Speaking to DTNext, Madhan a member of the B-Stand Blues, said, “We started going as a group for the ISL matches and sitting on the east side of the stadium. But our chants weren’t heard by the players or the crowd. So we decided to sit in the B-deck which is right behind the players’ dug out and it has a better view of the game.”  

From this vantage position, the roar seems even louder. For the first home match of the reigning champions, the B-Stand Blues have prepared something special — a banner which is approximately 1500 sq. feet in size and they have spent about Rs. 20,000 on it. They said: “Seven of us worked continuously for four weekends on the banner. We painted it by hand to show our love and support for the team.” Abhishek Bachchan, co-owner of Chennaiyin FC had praised the Chennai fans. “The Chennai fans are the best fans in the league. They are very sportive and passionate about the game. They don’t boo anyone,” he said. The B-Stand Blues have come up with 15 innovative cheering slogans and have planned a lot more for the coming matches. “We are looking forward to show our love and support for the players and the team with the chants and we have put the chants up on YouTube and Facebook so the other fans can see it and chant along with us during the game,” he added.