YOU, THE T2 READER, CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME

In Calcutta, the World Cup is sacred. As with all things sacred, the World Cup too has traditions that must be obeyed and adhered to. Here’s a set of 13 that I have cultivated along with many other Calcuttans. 

BEFORE

1The World Cup fixture cutout 

Mahalaya marks the official ushering in of Durga Puja. Similarly, tearing out the full-page poster of the match fixtures from the newspaper and carefully taping it to the cupboard marks the Mahalaya for the World Cup. Since the World Cup in 1998, it has been the most visible tradition every four years. 

2 Homework

Once the poster is up on the cupboard, one must dutifully scan the fixtures every day, feasting one’s eyes on the delicious line-ups. By the time the kick-off whistle at the opening encounter goes off, one must have all the big games memorised along with the essential duty of identifying that one ‘group of death’. There always is one. Or two — as has been the case this time in Russia, with Group F (Germany) and Group D (Argentina, nearly). Extra points if you keep a pocket booklet of the schedule handy in your wallet. You already know the local cable company distributes those.

3 Hum the World Cup anthem

The hype game is firmly on the ascent when the World Cup anthem drops. Ricky Martin’s The Cup of Life in 1998, Anastasia’s Boom in 2002, and Shakira’s Waka Waka and K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag in 2010 provided the background score to all the rip-roaring goals, devilish dribbles and raucous celebrations. They are the perfect catalyst to push the pre-Cup hype a notch higher and before you know it you’re humming “When I am older I will be stronger, they’ll call me freedom just like a waving flag”. Extra points if you’ve had it as your ringtone. 

4 Revision hype

This is peak hype. The tradition kicks off when you’re done waiting and wish the games were already underway. Thanks to the wonder of undersea fibre optic cables called the Internet, old classics are only a click away. Back in the day one had to scan television listings to keep track of the magazine shows that profiled the teams and played reels of the older matches featuring the Zidanes, the Ronaldos and the Bergkamps. Revision is important before the games kick off. Watching the World Cup requires as much preparation as winning it! 

DURING

5 The hawa garom

The World Cup is underway and the city is flush with excitement. Are you even a Calcuttan if you don’t initiate half a dozen conversations daily with “Ki mone hochhe ebar ke jitbe?” (Who do you think is going to win this time?)? In city lingo this constitutes a classic example of “hawa garom kora” (to build up atmosphere). One must remember to invoke the presiding deity of World Cups in Calcutta, Diego Armando Maradona, before kicking off any discussion. All the built-up hype must be channelled through heated debates about teams, players and, of course, Messi vs Ronaldo banter, which, perhaps, is the successor to the Brazil vs Argentina banter.

6 Trivial matters

Once the Cup is on, it is customary to watch some of the big matches with friends, family or work colleagues. Such social situations demand one to be prepared. By “prepared”, I mean loose interrogative volleys from random directions — “Which club does X play for?” or “How did country Y fare in the previous Cup?” — and pat comes your reply, sure but calm. In that moment your football cred has been firmly established. Yes, there’s Google but there’s also you with your assured insights on tactical formations, attacking style and passing game. Extra points if you drop the “Thomas Mueller has played in Barasat Stadium” during Germany games.

7 Graffiti art 

Calcutta stands apart in transforming the competition into a festival of football by decking the city in stunning World Cup graffiti — a unique space where Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo (an Ozil or two) jostle for dominance over Calcutta walls in acrobatic or celebratory poses. Paras across the city dutifully declare their allegiance to their favourite team with giant overhead flags or, better, by lining the length of a street in a canopy of yellow-and-green or blue-and-white (not that blue-and-white) streamers, posters and cutouts. My favourite remains Harish Mukherjee Road’s unwavering and artistic loyalty towards Argentina.

8 Realign friends and foes

As an Arsenal supporter, I, like all European club football fans, must engage in verbal jousting for 10 months every year with supporters of rival clubs. Friends by day become adversaries by night on the battlefields of Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. However, every four years, the rivalries need realigning for a month as the dedicated desi battalions of East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona shuffle into new formations of Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, France and Portugal loyalists. Friends turn into foes and competitors become comrades. The stakes are incredibly high — bragging rights for the next four years. 

9 Adjust body clock

Barring the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan, all the other editions in the last two decades have been hosted in Europe, Africa and South America. Tradition dictates one must convert the local kick-off time into Indian Standard Time and get down to the serious task of aligning one’s body clock towards optimum attentiveness during match times. Sleep gets a red card while school, college and office are places for people to assemble and exchange profound analysis of the previous night’s matches. Weekend mornings are for catching up on sleep and evenings for gatherings carefully designed around a match.

10 Reconnect with your ‘country’ 

Nationalism dictates that you prove your love for the country. Football nationalism allows you to prove your love for another country. Among the many joys of watching the World Cup in Calcutta is the city’s sincere support for its chosen countries. Over the World Cups, as support evolves into love, one starts feeling a bond with the chosen country’s distinct football culture. As the Dutch failed to qualify this time, the Netherlands supporter in me was rendered a World Cup orphan, but found temporary shelter in the blue camp of France.

AFTER

11 Onwards to European club football

World Cups always end abruptly. It becomes a habit by seamlessly gaining a foothold in our daily lives and just as one gets comfortable with the routine, some country is already parading the trophy. The 48-hour transition phase after the final is like being in limbo between dreaming and waking up — like they show in Inception. However, the end of the tournament means the beginning of Premier League and La Liga hype. The cycle starts anew. European football kicks off a month after the World Cup final, a perfect window to submerge oneself in transfer rumours, new kit launches, and pre-season friendlies. In goes the country jersey and out comes the club jersey. 

12 Cricket, old beloved

Cricket is the old para friend who will still wave to you eagerly from across the street even though you’ve been in incognito mode for a month. I have invariably found myself seeking refuge in cricket and looking up India’s match timings mid-July onwards once the World Cup is done and dusted. England was the destination for the Men in Blue in July 2014 and they’re playing hosts again this July. It takes a while to reorient oneself with the measured and deliciously sedate pace of Test cricket but it is always a joy to see the shining red cherry whisk past the off stump or race through the covers to the ropes.

13 Taking stock of life

Traditions are sometimes heavy on the heart, almost bordering on the cruel. Once the “hurly-burly’s done, when battles lost and won”, like the evening after Durga Puja, all tangible signs of the World Cup must be taken down. One must shake off the glitter of the Cup, look around and take stock of life. The poster with the schedule of matches that was up for a month on the cupboard must come down and be set free. If it is meant to return, it will, some day, reborn as a thhonga (small paper bag for food).