LEGACY LORE: When Chennaiyin FC embodied the fighting spirit of a city devastated by flood

MANY TIMES IN ITS rich socio-cultural history, football has often become the centre-point for communities, regions and even countries to come together. It has been a platform for people to launch movements and heal after tragedies and natural disasters.

There have been moments like this in Indian football as well. The 1911 IFA Shield victory of Mohun Bagan that ignited a passionate bout of struggle against the British rulers. The unofficial Indian team that went on to a war-torn Bangladesh to play their national team right after they achieved independence, symbolizing India's hand of friendship to that country. The time when Mohammedan Sporting went to play a friendly in Kashmir; the first time a top division club had visited Kashmir.

The ISL has been around for about two years, and that's not very long if you're looking for a tanglible socio-cultural impact. But a tragic turn of events did occur, and one ISL franchise rose to the occasion to embody the spirit of the city at a difficult hour. We're talking about Chennaiyin FC, and how the team carried itself through the Chennai floods of 2015.

By itself, Channaiyin FC can be called the single success story of ISL. With every other franchise, it's been a case of piggybacking (or at least trying to) on an existing football culture created and nurtured by the I-League clubs that the cash-rich private tournament sidelined. Even the Chennai franchise was originally supposed to be based in Bangalore, an obvious attempt to profit off of the ground-work laid down by Bengaluru FC. Eventually, however, circumstances forced ISL to move it to the capital of Tamil Nadu.

At first, the fanbase was a bit shaky; people responded to the presence of movies stars in the stadium more than the team or the game. But over the weeks, slowly but surely, a bunch of dedicated fans was developing; and they were in it for the right reasons.

Then, towards the end of the ISL 2015 regular season, excessive rains struck the city. Soon the accumulated water drowned out parts of the city, leading to a crisis that required the army to step in and run rescue operations for days.

The Marina Arena wasn't very flooded. But the hotel where the Chennaiyin FC team was staying got partially affected. The team had its practice schedule affected but the matches went on. The turnout was low as expected as most people could not make it to the stadium; but to show up and support the team.flood the 5-6 thousand people who did show up stood out in their loyalty to the team. Nothing says success for a football club like fans who brave a calamity like flood to show up and support the team.

The team's real encounter with the flood came later, when they were about to travel to Pune to play a do-or-die game; a straight-up battle for a place in the semi-finals. The Chennai airport was closed due to the flood and there was a huge question mark over whether or not the team would make it to Pune in time for the match.

They did, but only after a long harrowing journey. The team was loaded onto a bus, which navigated the flooded streets of Chennai - slowly, so as to avoid accidents - and found its way to higher ground. Here, the squad was moved to a different bus; and this one rushed them to the Tirupati airport, some 150 kilometers away. Here, they boarded a chartered flight. It was a long, stressful journey that left everyone tired; but it was a significant journey for the players.

"When you have this kind of chance, this kind of game, it does not matter how much you travel. Would have done the distance even walking but I am thinking of the people of Chennai who are suffering. We are privileged people and it does not matter if we travel for one or two days."

And the players responded with vigour because the condition back home was unplayable. So the players walked out with a large 'Pray for Chennai' banner in solidarity with its home city.too,. They beat Pune City emphatically and made it into the semi-finals. They had to play the home leg of the semis at Pune

In the semi-finals that was missing for much of the campaign. It was as though the team had been infused with an extra sense of purpose. They overcame Atletico de Kolkata to reach the final, and before that all-important game, the players drew their inspiration from their Chennai itself as heroic stories of people opening their doors to strangers and rescuing those in need came pouring out of the city. Marquee player Elano Blumer said before the game, fervour they played with a

"It is sad what has happened in Chennai due to heavy rain which caused loss of property and lives and we have to shift our home semi-finals to Pune. Now we are looking for the win so that we can dedicate it to our Chennaiyin FC fans and the victims, who have backed us from the start.”

It was like the people of Chennai had set a benchmark for fighting spirit, and the players were just trying to live up to it as worthy their representatives. The team embodied the city.

And nothing symbolized this adamant fight against adversities like the final match. An explosive second half, where Chennaiyin FC took the lead, conceded immediately, and conceded again with 3 minutes to spare, saw the team refuse to back down even at the 90th minute with a Laxmikant Kattimani own goal. They were level.on the face of defeat. They kept attacking, and the pressure paid off

But they refused to give up. They charged again, and a beautiful Jayesh Rane pass saw Stiven and sealed its bond with the soil in the process. city, Mendoza make a dream run, bypassing one, two, three defenders and blasting the ball into the goal. With seconds to spare, CFC had executed one of the most thrilling comebacks ever in ISL, just like the city they represented was working its way out of a natural disaster that left it crippled for a long time. The team dedicated the victory to the and sealed its bond with the soil in the process.

Chennaiyin FC are likely to remain active in Indian football for a very long time. And once ISL and I-League are merged, they will probably emerge as one of the most powerful top division clubs in the country. In due course, they are likely to achieve many memorable victories. But the culminating days of their 2015 campaign will always be one of the most important chapters in their legacy. Because that was the first time the team and the city became one