@Deb_Ban Why I started? I always hated them for the name and the fact they are an obvious commercial team for Atletico Madrid.
@DX and @red_devil Are you guys serious? First off "If teams can be named Dempo , Salgaocar , Mahindra united Churchill Brothers...", I have been against those names anyway from the beginning, any regular on IFN from then can tell you that. Ya, it sounds better than Goenka Kolkata or whatever but that is not the point, the point is that the team should not have to be some corporate pawn for some Spanish team or company! It is like Manchester City naming their MLS team New York City FC or renaming Melbourne Heart fucking Melbourne City. Or for me, having my team be a fucking ad for Red Bull.
East Bengal is named the way it is because the founders of the club come from that region in Bengal. They have proper reasons which stem from their foundations for why they are named what they are, not corporate/branding reason.
I dont understand the fetish in the name. You may not like it but doesnt mean fans turning up for the club matches dont like it too.
You can have a Pune FC or a Sporting club de goa attached as your name to make it sound fancy but wont matter shit if hardly anyone is watching or following the club.
Note that ATK has been named because its a franchise. The "K" can be replaced with anyother city and the "AT" can be replaced if a new big club takes over the ownership if Athletico stake.
Its a pure business decision, Hasnt stopped people from visiting the stands isnt it?
For now it hasn't but trust me, it can eventually bite you in the ass. And it is not just named that cause it is a franchise, just because of that does not give it the name, Atletico Madrid just saw an opportunity and it was allowed... same with how RB Leipzig is named what it is
Right now they have no competition, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan as well as any other Kolkata clubs play in lesser leagues that don't play when the ISL is on, which is a 2-3 month super marketed league. Football is also relatively popular in Kolkata which helps. The fans will show up in these circumstances regardless, but keep in mind it was never as if they drew over 50,000 fans for every game, there were occasions last season when they barely drew above 30,000.
You are really underestimating the identity of a team and what it can mean to fans, as well as things like marketing and branding, as if just throwing money at the team and shit is the only thing that brings people to watch football. It is such a simplistic view.
Believe it or not ATK has found its niche segment of fans. Yesterday when i was traveling to my office around 6 pm, i found a guy sporting the jersey inside the metro station waiting for a train. I was amazed to see that, since hardly anybody wears any Indian club jersey on non match days.
If age old clubs Mohun Bagan can be renamed Mc Dowells Mohun Bagan and East Bengal renamed Kingfisher East Bengal just to fulfill some sponsors purpose , I find it ironical if people oppose to the naming of ATK only but is fine with the other two
Madrid is very much involved with the team regarding technical aspects and foreign signings, not like Mallya's relation with MB or EB. So, its only fair if the team is named Atletico Kolkata. Many top Asian cubs are named after their stakeholders...look at the Chinese clubs. Besides , Indian clubs are in no position to negotiate when some big owner/sponsor comes on board.
The entire ISL product is a corporate pawn for IMG along with the others and you are worried about a single team having stake of a spanish club.
Regarding those low attendances of ATK and not all matches getting 50 000 + attendance, the same can be said about MB and EB. Its not that a non derby match in YBK attracts 50 000+ people...besides its pointless to compare the identity of a 2 year team with that of century old clubs....Even Mumbai FC has an identity , heritage and a certain group of loyal fans that MCFC doesnt. As I said ATK can survive if they even manage a 10 000+ fan base.
No doubt they can survive and no doubt they can have a fan around wearing the jersey, I see it all the time with the Red Bulls, hell, I wear there jersey despite the hatred of the brand. But there might come a time when the name could be hated by the fans and also be the brunt of jokes. Fine, it won't kill them, it won't mean they dissolve, hell, they might be successful. Look at Real Salt Lake despite being a joke for only being what they are because of Real Madrid but are still a successful team!
I still hate it, would rather better branding that actually resonated with Kolkata, like the 2 other clubs who historically do.
And fuck McDowells and Kingfisher naming their clubs, another thing I was against so how is this ironic!
Don't get how you guys could like the name, for all the hate the ISL gets?
@ArsenalFan700Just because the origin of name is Spanish doesn't mean it's bad. People fancy the name despite knowing full well that it is just a venture to earn money for ATM board, but the real test would be when ATK goes against either of the big three(md sp included)
Comments
@DX and @red_devil Are you guys serious? First off "If teams can be named Dempo , Salgaocar , Mahindra united Churchill Brothers...", I have been against those names anyway from the beginning, any regular on IFN from then can tell you that. Ya, it sounds better than Goenka Kolkata or whatever but that is not the point, the point is that the team should not have to be some corporate pawn for some Spanish team or company! It is like Manchester City naming their MLS team New York City FC or renaming Melbourne Heart fucking Melbourne City. Or for me, having my team be a fucking ad for Red Bull.
East Bengal is named the way it is because the founders of the club come from that region in Bengal. They have proper reasons which stem from their foundations for why they are named what they are, not corporate/branding reason.
You can have a Pune FC or a Sporting club de goa attached as your name to make it sound fancy but wont matter shit if hardly anyone is watching or following the club.
Note that ATK has been named because its a franchise. The "K" can be replaced with anyother city and the "AT" can be replaced if a new big club takes over the ownership if Athletico stake.
Its a pure business decision, Hasnt stopped people from visiting the stands isnt it?
Right now they have no competition, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan as well as any other Kolkata clubs play in lesser leagues that don't play when the ISL is on, which is a 2-3 month super marketed league. Football is also relatively popular in Kolkata which helps. The fans will show up in these circumstances regardless, but keep in mind it was never as if they drew over 50,000 fans for every game, there were occasions last season when they barely drew above 30,000.
You are really underestimating the identity of a team and what it can mean to fans, as well as things like marketing and branding, as if just throwing money at the team and shit is the only thing that brings people to watch football. It is such a simplistic view.
Madrid is very much involved with the team regarding technical aspects and foreign signings, not like Mallya's relation with MB or EB. So, its only fair if the team is named Atletico Kolkata. Many top Asian cubs are named after their stakeholders...look at the Chinese clubs. Besides , Indian clubs are in no position to negotiate when some big owner/sponsor comes on board.
The entire ISL product is a corporate pawn for IMG along with the others and you are worried about a single team having stake of a spanish club.
Regarding those low attendances of ATK and not all matches getting 50 000 + attendance, the same can be said about MB and EB. Its not that a non derby match in YBK attracts 50 000+ people...besides its pointless to compare the identity of a 2 year team with that of century old clubs....Even Mumbai FC has an identity , heritage and a certain group of loyal fans that MCFC doesnt. As I said ATK can survive if they even manage a 10 000+ fan base.
I still hate it, would rather better branding that actually resonated with Kolkata, like the 2 other clubs who historically do.
And fuck McDowells and Kingfisher naming their clubs, another thing I was against so how is this ironic!
Don't get how you guys could like the name, for all the hate the ISL gets?