Bengaluru stampede, the price fans pay for manufactured loyalty

India Today

2 days ago

What has Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) got to do with Bengaluru? It is a motley crew of mercenary cricketers, hired from around the world, with few, if any, local players, except three this year (Devdutt Padikkal, Manoj Bhandage and Mayank Agarwal). In fact, this is one of the rare seasons where RCB have had this many local players. Three. That's almost a crowd, by their standards.advertisementOn paper, it is led by an Indore native, in spirit by a Punjabi from Delhi. The loyalty of its players is transient, available to the highest bidder. After 17 seasons without an IPL title, this squad of global freelancers wins a cricket league, not a World Cup or even a minor international trophy. Yet, in a tragic twist of irony, Bengaluru erupted in manic celebrations that led to a deadly stampede.The city administration must be held accountable for inadequate crowd control measures, such as insufficient policing or barriers. But the catastrophe was also fuelled by pride in a team lacking strong local ties, a frenzy exploited by corporate greed.Greed and Fear
The IPL, like most city-based leagues in the world, is a cunning exploitation of regional pride. Named after cities and states, it demands loyalty with the cheap gimmick of association by tokenism. In practice, almost every team comprises players drawn from outside, sometimes pitting a native player against his home crowd. Consider the irony when Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by a Mumbai film star without any key player from the city, takes on Delhi Capitals, whose director is the Bengali icon Sourav Ganguly. Or, when RCB fans cheer against Rajasthan Royals, coached by Kannadiga hero Rahul Dravid. Loyalty to city franchises is so convoluted it feels farcical.advertisementUnlike the national team, most teams operate as pure business ventures. Owners of these franchises are business tycoons, not city or state admins. The teams are marketed as brands, and their earnings are added to corporate balance sheets. Yet, the biggest investors are fans, who spend money on tickets and emotions on their teams, sometimes with tragic consequences.Why are fans driven to such a frenzy? Many factors like human psychology, social anxiety, and marketing converge to create the mania around city-based franchises. And these factors are universal, impacting every sport, every country.The Quest for Manufactured IdentityHumans can think rationally but often let emotions override reason. Birth is a random biological and geographical event, yet it becomes the core of our identity. We take pride in the place, caste, and community we are born in, and look down upon others denied this perceived privilege of happenstance. By pitting one identity against another, sports franchises exploit these innate differences and rivalries.We are wired to function in groups and have a tribal mindset. We crave social affiliations, to make us feel part of a bigger unit. In the past, tribes and local communities offered this refuge. But in a fragmented world where people are plucked from their roots, such city-based franchises provide a new identity, even when it is artificial and irrational.advertisementThis is especially true in the case of large cosmopolitan cities like Bengaluru, where people from across India migrate, leaving behind their original identities and social groups. In a city that's vastly different culturally and linguistically, a team like RCB offers an emotional anchor and a cultural identity. It gives them a manufactured homeland.Finally, we worship heroes, sometimes like deities. Their trials, triumphs, and failures become extensions of our own lives. This phenomenon makes us invest deeply in icons like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli, even when their own roots are different from ours. Southern states, shaped by cultural devotion to icons, show intense emotional reactions, sometimes leading to tragedies.Not just hero or team worship, these businesses also spark bitter rivalries. Before the start of every match, toxic hate spills over onto social media, where iconic players are insulted, booed, and subjected to nasty slurs. The rivalry between the Chennai Super Kings, led by a player from Ranchi, and the Mumbai Indians is so fierce that it sizzles with the heat of an India-Pakistan contest.With the help of broadcasters, the IPL exploits these primal forces, turning fans into hordes driven by instinct, not reason. Its marketing machinery thrives on creating artificial scarcity—limited tickets, exclusive merchandise—and high-stakes narratives to drive fans into a frenzy. In 2024, the IPL reportedly generated over $1 billion in revenue, with millions spent on marketing to stoke febrile frenzy.advertisementThe media amplifies this commodified spectacle, and rivalries based on regional pride and hero worship. This manufactured hype and euphoria turns casual viewers into rabid loyalists, driven to extreme fervour, sometimes with tragic outcomes like the Bengaluru stampede.So, who bears responsibility for such tragedies? The franchise owners, the city administration, and a culture that glorifies sports spectacle over rational engagement. But it is the fans who unwittingly pay the biggest cost of manufactured loyalty.(Sandipan Sharma likes to spin gripping tales on cricket, cinema, and history. When not scribbling, he dodges life's mundane bits by reading everything under the sun. He has been a journalist and author for 25-plus years) (Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch