Only other place I can see a NorthEast team is Shillong... recent pictures from the Shillong Premier League only show like one good stand and the rest needing major renovation. Also not sure Shillong is something they would want to add as a market.
Atletico Madrid/Kolkata can "merge" with Mohun Bagan without changing the name. They could go the Manchester City and Yokohama F. Marinos route. They could host matches for Madrid in India against Bagan, have Bagan go to Kolkata. Imagine promoting a picture of the Mohun Bagan team at the Vicente Calderon? You can also have an Indian train in Spain or a few players come to India. You can even have an Atletico Madrid style away/third kit. There are things you can do without changing your name, esspecially one as historic as Mohun Bagan.
As my friend rightly said, gone are the days when bengal was either ghoti or bangal. EB and MB still enjoy widespread support among the bengali community. But, this support is only restricted to traditional families. New age bengalis want glamour. They don't care about EB or MB because they have not been brought up in that environment. They have grown up watching european football. This is the group of people ATK must target.
They can do that. From a financial standpoint, this is okay as money will flow in from Mohun Bagan. But, their strategy of promoting ATM would not materialise. To be honest, this is why they are here.
Scratch a Bengali on the surface and you will see a ghoti or bangal beneath the surface. This is a permanently etched thing like ethnicity, culture or language (in fact, this division has shades of ethnicity/ language/ culture at its core). I have seen slight tilt in one side in case of the so-called Ba-ti people. And that enthusiasm, that frenzy, that madness is so infectious you won't believe it unless you experience it firsthand.
Compared to that, the Atletico affair is tame, facile. Just like you are supporting Rajasthan club, or, at best, United SC
I have attended 2 CFL matches so far and almost 90% of the EB crowd was between. 16-30 age categories I would reckon. A very different crowd than when we were teenagers. And the fan clubs are ensuring a lot more middle class participation along with women. Yeah we don't get Marus but we never got and this is very important, we dont need them. EB MB losing popularity amongst the young generation is a comment which is very ignorant and far away from reality. These 2 clubs with big investors will wipe out ATK in one season. I mean imagine, Mendoza in red and gold colours or Postiga donning the green and maroon.
Also this is STAR Sports, they would fucking big up the historic angle of both clubs and the derby in a way that will appeal to the "ATK young fans". That mixed with the extra glamour they would have would win over those fans easily!
Live in your Utopian world that young generation is as loyal to EB-MB as the last generation. But sadly it is not true. What you see in the ground is a small fraction. I am not saying they are a minuscule minority in their generation. But certainly they are not even close the majority.
Comments
Atletico Madrid/Kolkata can "merge" with Mohun Bagan without changing the name. They could go the Manchester City and Yokohama F. Marinos route. They could host matches for Madrid in India against Bagan, have Bagan go to Kolkata. Imagine promoting a picture of the Mohun Bagan team at the Vicente Calderon? You can also have an Indian train in Spain or a few players come to India. You can even have an Atletico Madrid style away/third kit. There are things you can do without changing your name, esspecially one as historic as Mohun Bagan.
New age bengalis want glamour. They don't care about EB or MB because they have not been brought up in that environment. They have grown up watching european football. This is the group of people ATK must target.
Compared to that, the Atletico affair is tame, facile. Just like you are supporting Rajasthan club, or, at best, United SC