Mariners Base Camp
| Mariners' Base Camp | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Mariners |
| Abbreviation | MBC |
| Established | 2016 |
| Type | Supporters' group |
| Club | Mohun Bagan AC |
| Location | Kolkata, West Bengal |
| Stadium | Salt Lake Stadium Mohun Bagan Ground Barasat Stadium Kalyani Stadium |
| Colors | Green and Maroon |
Mariners' Base Camp (Bengali: মেরিনার্স বেস ক্যাম্প) is an Indian Ultras group associated with Mohun Bagan A.C. They are one of the initial groups to introduce the Ultras culture in Indian football.
Early Days
It all started when a few Mohun Bagan supporters got inspired by the gallery activities of the famous German football club Borussia Dortmund and wanted similar activities for their own club. After the club's historic I-League win in 2015, the number of audiences increased drastically from the next season during the home matches. In one such occasion, which was the I-League match against Aizawl FC at the Barasat Stadium on the 9th of January 2016, Mariners' Base Camp officially made their appearance in the stands. Though the activity was limited to lighting smoke sticks and singing songs related to Mohun Bagan using a Megaphone, the overwhelming response they got from the crowd paved the path for Mariners' Base Camp for future activities.
Popularity
Mariners' Base Camp continued to draw attention of the Mohun Bagan supporters and as a result their numbers grew rapidly. They started attending all the home matches of the club and continued their gallery activities with innovative variations. Sometimes it was cheering the team while beating drums in unison, sometimes it was their unique chants while other times it was
singing the motivational songs from the movie Egaro-The Immortal Eleven, a movie based on Mohun Bagan’s legendary triumph in the IFA Shield final against East Yorkshire Regiment back in 1911. They made the northern stands of the Mohun Bagan Ground their operating area much like the famous ultras group VAK410 of AFC Ajax , who made section 410 of the Johan Cruyff Arena their zone. Since then during matches, the northern stands of the Mohun Bagan Ground always had a banner, flex or flags on display by Mariners' Base Camp and frequently caught the attention of the media.
Another activity which acted as a catalyst to Mariners' Base Camp's road to prominence was organising a ‘Mask Protest’ against the decision of AIFF to ban then Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen for 8 matches in the 2015-16 I-league. Mariners' Base Camp initially planned for 5000 masks of Sanjoy Sen to be distributed among the Bagan supporters to show their coach that they were beside him in these tough times. Their social media campaign of the plan got such a huge response that they ultimately ended up preparing 20000 masks. Almost the entire Barasat Stadium was wearing Sanjoy Sen’s masks prepared by Mariners' Base Camp and a strong message was sent out to the governing body as ‘You can ban our coach but the entire Stadium is Sanjoy Sen now’.[1] This was a unique activity and probably the first to be seen in Indian football. Mariners' Base camp repeated this activity when star winger of the team Sony Norde could not play a vital derby match against the bitter rivals East Bengal FC due to injury. This time the Bagan fans wore the mask of Norde to motivate the team in Salt Lake Stadium. Mohun Bagan won the match with total dominance and the ‘Man of the Match’ Aser Pierrick Dipanda Dicka posed with Norde's mask at the end of the game.[2][3]
Activities
Mariners' Base Camp's common activities include constant drumming, singing and chanting from the gallery to motivate the team. Since their inception, they have shown their respect to the legendary Mohun Bagan player and arguably the best foreigner to play for Indian club, José Ramirez Barreto and to the Immortal Eleven (the team which won the historic IFA Shield back in 2011) through various banners. One of their banners contained a message about communal harmony, which displayed their humanitarian side even beyond the football field[4]. They frequently put on smoke & pyro shows which have always been a visual treat for the supporters and have been much coveted by photo journalists of the country. On 1st September, 2019 they displayed a giant tifo and messages for the opponent during the famous Kolkata Derby, which was covered by various local and national media networks. [5]
Chants
Supporters love to lend their voices with the Mariners' Base Camp's chants and songs. It spreads happiness and joy amongst the supporters when the chants are recited and the songs are sung. One such famous chant is ‘একসাথে কাঁধে কাঁধ মিলিয়ে আমরা এগিয়ে যাব / সব বাঁধার পাহাড় পেরিয়ে আবার ভারতসেরা হব”, the tune of which is inspired by the song ‘Kandhon Se Milte Hain Kandhe’ from the movie Lakshya, composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Another chant is ‘সবুজ-মেরুণে বেঁধে দল / পায়ে পায়ে এগিয়ে চল’, the tune of which is inspired by the famous INA song ‘Qadam Qadam Badaye Ja’. However, their most famous chant is ‘চল রে দল বেঁধে চল ময়দান / মোহনবাগান করে আহ্বান’ inspired by the famous song ‘চল রে চল সবে ভারত সন্তান’ wrote by Jyotirindranath Tagore during the Indian Independence Movement. Other than inspirational compositions, they also write songs and chants of their own. One such famous chant is ‘Smoke is Healthy,Pyro is an Art/ আমাদের স্বর্গ মোহনবাগান মাঠ’.
References
- ↑ "Sanjay Sen's Name Fills the Air as Bagan Overcome Mumbai 2 0 | the Fan Garage (TFG)". 13 March 2016.
- ↑ "I-League 2017/18: Mohun Bagan fans to pay memorable tribute to outgoing star Sony Norde during East Bengal game". www.sportskeeda.com. 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
- ↑ "I-League 2017-18: Mohun Bagan supporters to don 20000 Sony Norde masks in Kolkata derby | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
- ↑ "Ebela e-Paper: Bengali News, Latest News in Bengali, Online Bengali News Paper". epaperarchives.ebela.in. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
- ↑ "Details". www.epaper.eisamay.com. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
Mariners Base Camp
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