Mumbai, Dec 20 : A galaxy of stars from the silver screen and sports personalities alongside other fans thronged the D.Y Patil stadium to be part of the final of the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) that metamorphosed more into a football festival from a mere tournament summit clash Saturday.
The final between the formidable rivals - Atletico de Kolkata and Kerala Blasters - saw spontaneous and vociferous support from a packed 55,000 crowd at the stadium and millions who watched the game on their television sets in various parts of the world, to mark the climax of a tourney which is believed to have taken Indian football to the global audience.
Though played at a neutral ground for both the finalists, there was no shortage of lung power as supporters, sporting the shirts of their favourite team, enthusiastically shouted and held up banners even before the commencement of the match.
Supporters of the teams were evenly shared as bright yellow shirts of the Blasters were matched by the equally striking red shirts of the Atletico side.
The atmosphere and a sense of expectation was heightened by an engaging closing ceremony that was highlighted by energetic and acrobatic dance performances.
"Lets Football", the popular tournament anthem along with Bollywood number "Indiawale" turned the mood celebratory as the crowd joined in humming the tunes in unison when the DJ played it before and during the match.
Cricket played a prominent part to promote the match with the duel between one-time batting partners Sachin Tendulkar, co-owner of Blasters and Sourav Ganguly, co-proprietor of Atletico, eagerly anticipated.
Both of them were, fittingly, present to witness the event with their families.
Tendulkar wore his team's shirt and was joined by former teammate Harbhajan Singh, who also wore a Blasters shirt. Ganguly wore the red shirt of Atletico and was seen engaging with All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel.
Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham were also present in the stands, despite their teams, Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United FC respectively, failing to reach the final.
The crowd was seen holding up banners in support of their teams. "Blasting with the Blasters" and "Come on Kolkata" were two such banners that caught the cameras attention.
