Rant 13 (contd): the un-LUCKY ones part 3 # Third Time Lucky

And so it had to be this way...after two years of enduring maddeningly humiliating defeats, not to mention constant reminders of THAT and of how pathetic our college was in sports, I guess it was to be right at the very end that we got our chance to give something back to the college and a kick up Mr. Mallya-and-his-MIT-goons backsides.

Of course Shazzy and I had already given Mallya a taste of MIC's potential at the Tennis in 'o7, but I am actually very very glad that we suffered in football for another year before this year, oh the sweetest of them all. It is so much more worth it than it would be for a college with 4000 students used to winning largely owing to Mallya's devilish operating methods, but only wins one football trophy in 6 years. (not to take credit away from the team that did it...they are pretty good).
If any of the current football team members are reading this then please remember that we have lost way worse than you can ever imagine. I feel like a world war 2 veteran when i say that but that is the truth. We are at a point where we can challenge any damn team in the Manipal region. But we have grown from virtually a garbage dump to reach that point, through some really bad losses, not just in terms of scores I should say...so think about that the next time any of you decide you've had a "bad" game!

So moving on with this fairy tale year...
There were three out of four major milestones that the MIC football team crossed:-
1) Scoring a goal.....EVER! check
2) Scoring a goal in a tournament check
3) Winning a match....EVER! check
4) Winning a match in a tournament

the first and third are an interesting story as they both happened in the same match. At this point, MIC football had crossed another small but significant milestone in terms of practices. We had now conducted the most number of practice sessions in our history with I might add, the highest ever average number of players per session.
the reason? our two fresh batches, BAJC 1st year and MS-COMM 1st year, gave us 9 of the most awesome players I have played with. I am proud to call them my team-mates.
Agnello, Narottam, Pratik, Yasin, Boppanna, Kevin, Awijit, Asim and Ankur have given our team the much needed players. To chalk one more up for the milestones section, we actually had a proper subs bench this time
So we practised and somehow I think all of us felt like we were waiting for a chance to play, because we were simply that good now. defensively, we had a rock solid line. Naim on the left, Narottam and Yasin in the center and Awijit on the right. Pratik, Gautam and Agi were our backups for defence. My mistake even at this point was to play Yasin back even though it was actually quite a big help. At least for the initial few games I'm glad he played back. This guy is probably the most cool-headed and gentlemanly player i have EVER played with or against. Having never seen him lose it on the field, it was actually surprising to see him push an opponent in a recent match. However, and this was the funny part about that incident. three mit guys close in on him, trying to show their anger and from my position it looks like this French lambu has three annoying kids looking up and begging for more candy!
Naim, the ever present, with extra build (I'm guessing from a life-time of roshogolla!!), spectacles notwithstanding, he goes on as if nothing as happened even if every other game, his lenses fly in two different trajectories! That's our strength right there for you!
and Palli, who has now earned the dreaded (for others that is) reputation of being a hard tackler. There is a yellow card in MAHE sports archive with his name on it that says : "Palli, hard-ass from the word Go!" His amazing defensive cababilities perhaps outshine his forays into the midfield...for the last time Palli...look up and pass! lol
Narottam, normally a very level headed defender, he too has his times of aggression. and Yet, his presence in the very heart of our defence is a sight wholly reassuring. I can't tell you how many set piece disasters have been avoided with that height and head of his.
Pratik, my heart goes in my mouth everytime he goes in for a risky tackle. the number of times he's been called up like that is only comparable to the number of times he's gotten the ball as far away from the goal as possible...that's his strength. Agi, who stands firmly, ever ready on the sidelines, just hoping that somewhere, in that huge field of 22 players, a small spark flies. and then its ON! but on the field, he rivals the best amongst us in his dedication to the game.
However, I have saved the best for the last. This is to say that the MOST dedicated member of the MIC team is Gautam. For the simple reason that he is there on the field for 99.9 % of the sessions and def, I find it hard to recall the last time he missed a match. "Playing time", as he calls it, nothwithstanding. I can see him working towards giving more to our team and I sincerely hope the next year's lineup will have his name on the starting 11.
The attacking lineup was def strengthened with the arrival of Bopi and Kevi from MS I section and Deepak from 2nd MS towards the end. Kevin had the legs and the stamina to out run us all. Bopi was the cool head in midfield, always looking to play his team-mates, more than himself. Deepak was an excellent asset in midfield as I found out, and I still wonder why we didn't see more of him in second year. We already had the three weirdos in Ashish, Ashwin and Vineeth from second year. Ashwin, the self-proclaimed (only later accepted!!!) Christiano Ronaldo of the team. Though he can be a prick at times, it's his sheer tenacity at playing that keeps the team going.
Ashish who despite Manipal ki hawa could run like hell all day on the field, shouting "ayee...what the fuck man!" all the way to all those who dared tackle him.
Vineeth, a player so skilled and yet one who trips over on his own (no tackles needed!) to earn a two month long injury. I'm still waiting for him to hit that top corner, but he needs no better description than crisp for the way in which his free kick flew in, at a moment very close to full time, when we most needed someone to shine.
Tenzin, the ever ebullient striker always looking for the sly opportunity to get in goal. This ability of his got us our first win against MIT.
and Ankur, the slightly lanky midfielder. Even though he mostly came on as sub this year, he can still hold his own and pass the ball well. Let's hope he builds up some muscles, those MITians ain't taking things lightly next year I can tell you that!
Shazzy, well what a story that is; became a little absent from the practices owing to too much education happening, but came back strongly and is now an invaluable asset in midfield. Also, I'm half scared everytime I lose my own mind on field, dreading Shazzy's verbal assault on me. I can still hear it from that Inter-Mahe game, "Dash shut the fuck up!!!"
And we have Asim, another striker cum midfielder. Dedicated and needless to say an amazing footballer, who's been at the core of many a victory in our repertoire.

So thats the team I guess. There were many who came and went but i guess this is the bunch that stuck it out for this one glorious year.
our first victory and our first goal, came at a practice match against a lowly architecture team. i say lowly, because not only did we score our first goal thanks to an amazing low and hard shot by Pady, but we ended up scoring 5 more! for the first time, WE were the ones celebrating a 6-0 scoreline. From then on, we never looked back. Our defence slowly gained a useful reputation of being able to hold out against a veritable seige. Even MIT was finding it hard to break our defence down in the first half. Stamina problems meant we sometimes ended up giving away the odd goal in the dying minutes and hence lost. But there were moments aplenty for us at every game. Thus we never lost hope!
Finally comes the tournament, this time it was Revels first. I guess, we needed a platform to really show off our game. Our opponents, MIT B. Lets put aside the fact that MU technically doesnt permit two teams from one college under the same Gender category. Instead lets talk about the game itself. This was lets say the MIT reserve team. Their future players. the game itself was nerve wracking to say the least. They managed to score a scruffy goal in the first 20 mins, but we crossed our second milestone as we managed to equalise mere minutes after their success, with a brilliantly developed move. Vineeth and Ashish were at the heart of that as far as I remember. I also recall someone telling me that Atman, the MIT main team captain, had to actually get up from his bench as that happened, and control things from the lines. A quick image of a fiery scotsman doing the same in the Theatre of Dreams comes to mind, even though it hurts me to think of ever wishing against that king of managers.
The second half and just when it looked like we would be going into penalties, they pushed in yet another scruffy goal. I was much at fault for this one, as the ball slipped in from just under my arm. an unlucky 2-1 loss!
Inter-MAHE, and this time I don't think anyone felt not-ready. We'd taken up morning practice sessions once again after more than 2 years and it looked like paying off at last. Our attackers literally and pardon the expletive, Raped their defence. MCOAHS, the Allied Heatlh college wasn't exactly easy pickings, but we had no less than 8 chances, 3 of them, so cruelly missed, you wanted to take a bludgeon and smash your own head off (cos you were so far away from the guy who missed!). However, we were unable to break through in the first half. The second half turned the whole game upside down. A freak handball in our box but one of their players, yet the ref somehow missed that. In the ensuing confusion, a stuck out leg was enough to get them 1-0 up. We would def have equalised had it not been for this horrendous blunder on the part of the ref (he really sucked that day..honestly!). Three players, one of ours and 2 from them, were coming on as subs or were basically just coming on. In the middle of this their move began and before you knew it, one forward was almost at the D. I had little choice but to charge out as I was not sure if the defender was going to make it. A chip over my head and a relatively cool finish and it was 2-0.
tweet tweet tweet.....it was all over!

So that is the story of the final throw of the dice, at least for my batchmates and I.
I should however, also give a special thanks to the entire cheerleading squad of MIC. Truly, it is a treat in any game (good or bad) to hear custom made cheers for the team members being shouted out at the top of your voices. here are some of the choiciest examples:- 1) na na naa naa...na na naa naa...hey hey hey...take your shirt off!
2) MIC is what?...DYNAMITE (ma fav)
3) Hey *player name* you're so sexy...I wanna be just like you...SEX BOMMB!
SO, as huge a thanks as I can ever muster up goes out to you guys...you guys are the real dynamites.
And in the tradition of my earlier posts, enjoy the pics..

late as usual...even for the team photo

we're not always that lucky you know...
but that's why we have teammates


sometimes we point fingers...


...but win or lose, we are united as one...


...courtesy our cheerleaders and this slightly amnesia hit old man 's shop


3 emotions in one...Anger, Depression, and Frustration.
not to mention Ashwin and Naim!!!!


(sitting, right to left), Naimul; Tenzin; Ashwin; Ashish; Bopi
(top row, right to left) Awijit, Ankur, Deepak, Narottam, Agi, Shaz, Asim, Pratik, Yasin, Subu Sir, Gautam and myself)

so guys
WHAT ARE WE???