The Governor's Gold Cup is a mega event in Sikkim to say the least, and attracts people from all walks of life to the ground. Strangely, monasteries in the region are mysteriously less crowded during matchdays. Any guesses why?Their passion for the game was first portrayed in an award winning Hollywood production - The Cup- directed by Khyentse Norbu, a monk himself - but the people in red robes here are really crazy for soccer. This is evident from the large number of monks who make it to the Paljor stadium here to watch teams and players in action on the field vying for the 30th All India Governor’s Gold Cup football tournament every day.
Even if there is less turnout of spectators in some of the intial matches, the tournament has a steady and loyal group of football fans in red robes that come to watch the matches in progress everyday giving their holy rituals at monasteries a miss! Monks from different age groups are a standout feature in the stands of the stadium in the flowing red robes.
A considerable number of monks had turned out yesterday to lend their support and vocals to the Tata Football Academy (TFA) who entered into the quarterfinals by defeating Railways FC in tie-breaker. An ardent soccer fan, Chepel, who is studying at the Chorten monastery here said, “Our favourite team is TFA who will lift the Gold Cup for the second time”.
Chepel was accompanied by several of his monk friends who have utilized the Sunday break to watch today’s game against Army XI and Jammu and Kashmir Bank. “We think that Army XI will win this match as they are much stronger and physically fit”, said Tashi, another monk studying here in a monastery in Gangtok.
But the overall favourite team of the monks religiously following the tournament is TFA. And the ‘red’ numbers are set to swell up on Monday when their favourite team TFA runs into a strong Bangladesh XI for a berth in the last four. The monks in their flowing red and yellow robes dot the hills side gallery and sometimes make it to the galleries on the right side of the stadium. A few of them even managed to find a seat near football icon Cheema Okorie, who is coaching the New Delhi Heroes in this tournament.
However, the monks are missing their two favourite teams-Bhutan and Tibetan National Football Academy. Both these two teams who used to be regular attractions in the Gold Cup here could not attend this 30th edition. Several monks studying here are from Bhutan while there remains a traditional support base for the Tibetan side. Despite the absence of their favourite teams, monks are coming to watch the Gold Cup and their numbers grow as the tournament progresses to the final showdown.
The organizers, Sikkim Football Association acknowledges the steady and loyal turnout of the monks and do not forget to thank the monks every year for their presence when they give the vote of thanks after the final. SFA general secretary Menla Ethenpa said that the association is seriously thinking to hold an inter monastery tournament for the monks studying in various monasteries in Sikkim from next year. “The monks not only come to see the Gold Cup action but also show their presence during all other tournaments including the Gangtok football league”, said Mr. Ethenpa.
With such a loyal fan base in place, a little more visibility for the tournament could do wonders for it, and evnetually make it evolve into an event which is looked forward to by all Indian football lovers, not just the Sikkimese. And if we indeed want the country to progress football-wise, we as fans need to show a lot of spirit, something that we could probably learn from the monks.
Source:Goal.com
