7 min read · Dec 9, 2024
Supporting RCB is itself a struggle. If you don’t know the full form of RCB, please walk away, you don’t deserve to read these holy words. ;)
It’s the classic underdog story, except this one runs on a never-ending loop, sprinkled with Kohli’s cover drives and existential crises. If IPL was a movie, RCB fans would play the emotional leads- clapping, crying, and waiting for that elusive happy ending year after year.
RCB is that team which promises fireworks and occasionally delivers a power cut. With star-studded lineups featuring Kohli, AB, Chris, Faf once they’ve always been “that team” - the one you look at and think, “They’ve got this.” And yet, like my gym goals, the IPL trophy stays stubbornly out of reach.
Watching RCB matches is like being on a Tinder date:
RCB’s tagline has been echoing through the seasons like an overplayed ringtone. Every year, fans chant it with a mix of hope, belief, and mild delusion. That’s the charm though.
2k16 almost made dreams come true. Virat Kohli, in his top mode, smashing runs and hitting centuries like it was an everyday thing. But did they win the cup? No. They came agonizingly close, which sums up RCB in one line: Always the entertainer, rarely the champion.
My moron friends still mock me with this tagline, but I am heartfully thankful to Smriti Mandana for making this line come true and correcting the grammar.
Thanks Queens ❤
If there’s one team in the IPL that has made heartbreaks into an art form, it’s RCB. Our journey has been a rollercoaster - only if the rollercoaster had a flat tire, a broken track, and yet managed to attract loyal passengers year after year. Not everyone’s cup of tea!
I think 2k10 was the 1st time, RCB made it to the semi-finals, where MI crushed their dreams. It was like RCB fan’s ordering biryani and getting pulav - that’s not what you paid for! To my pals, who think biriyani and pulav are same, they are not.
You have a problem with your tastebuds, eyes and nose, if you think they are.
This was peak entertainment. Honestly, I was not a loyal fan back then, because I was so mesmerized by Gambhir’s performance in 2k11 world cup, I started supporting whatever team he was in. By the time, the world cup ended, he shifted from dare devils to knight riders. Back then, I was supporting KKR, but Chris Gayle, signed midway, started hitting sixes like it was his day job. RCB topped the table and reached the finals, where CSK decided to ruin the party.
See, not talking about loyalty, but there was only a single survival rule back then, when you can’t fight the taunts your friends group throwing at you and your team is not really playing well to defend, at that point your friends will try to force you to join their team, that is the perfect time, you should grab that. ❤
Somehow, from then I started supporting RCB and KKR both. My love for KKR slowly faded, as Gambhir was not getting enough chances to play in international matches even though his form was typically good. IYKYK!😒
In 2012, I don’t remember exactly, too lazy to make this blog perfect by asking google and altering my memories. Virat Kohli’s leadership kicked in. Gayle smashed Pune Warriors - he was the IPL’s highest individual scorer then not sure now, Idt humans can beat that. Yet they are out of playoffs. Sixes everywhere, trophies nowhere. But Kohli’s aggressive captaincy caught attention. 🥁
Then the next season was a classic RCB season - peak memes, low points table. I remember, there were memes and video edits, my friends used to send, which says black magic was performed on RCB, you need to do this and that, to save your team.
A***les, gave me literal trauma.
In 2015, it was a Kohli, AB, and Gayle Show. VK led from the front with some stellar partnerships. RCB made it to the playoffs Hopes were rising. AB and Gayle were turning bowlers into bowling machines. Fans declared, “Cup is coming soon!” Soon turned into… not soon.😔
Ah, the golden year. Kohli smashed 4 centuries. The three were unstoppable. They reached the finals, yet lost to SRH. This was our closest chance to glory. At some point I started hating the teams who made them lose. This one really hurt.💔
I remember vaguely, Kohli saying, “This one hurts. We gave it everything.” But my eyes totally remember the heartbreak all too clear. I am not able to write much about this year, as for some reason my eyes are getting blurry..🥹
In this season, “RCB = Royal Challengers Bottom” jokes were born. We actually sensed this as a downfall. In the next season, Virat smashed his bat, fans smashed their remotes.
I remember my mom smashing me, after I smashed the remote!❤
Kohli scored fantastically, but couldn’t carry the team alone. They ended up last. The frustration was real. Finally, in 2020, Kohli led RCB to the playoffs after 4 years. Next season also we reached playoffs, It felt promising, but the trophy remained distant. The same season, there were too many heartbreaks in between 2021 and 22.😭
He announced that it was his last season as RCB captain. His tenure as captain ended without the damn trophy. Also Kohli resigned as test captain, BCCI sacked him from T20 Captaincy. Mustards everywhere 🔮.
Honestly, after he stepped down as captain, Cricket didn’t feel the same anymore again. I personally stopped watching and didn’t know what happened thereafter. So, ending the years history here.
Virat Kohli has been RCB’s heartbeat for 16 seasons. He holds the record for the most runs in IPL history and remains a one-team player (Literally learnt about loyalty and commitment here!), a rarity in modern cricket.
RCB is not just a cricket team; it’s an emotion. They are the lovable underdogs who may not always win but always entertain. Whether it’s Chahal, Siraj, Padikkal, Dinesh, Padikkal, Faf, Kevin fiery passion, RCB keeps the IPL alive.
P.S. RCB fans don’t age. We just accumulate more seasons of emotional damage.
Every time I feel like, how much can my bad luck be bad, I turn back and look at RCB and Kohli, it hits me like my bad luck might not be that bad maybe and I move on . Kohli being called as Failed Captain and RCB being called as Failed team, they make me realise, few things are not meant to be and are not fated.
Being an RCB fan is like being in a toxic relationship you just can’t quit. They lose, we rant. They win, we celebrate like there’s no tomorrow. And every season, we repeat: This time for sure!
When VK announced that he was stepping down as captain without having the cup in hand and millions things are flashing in media. It was a pretty bad hit to all my beliefs, I was holding on to personally from a very long time. Dealing with this news depression, in my Robotics class I wrote a rap and forgot to tune it in garage band. Now its taking me a light year just to think about it.😂
To the man,
I stan!
Your life is not easy,
But you are not cheesy.
Heard you were born today,
Becoming brighter day by day.
Doesn’t matter, red or blue,
In cricket, it’s gonna be only you.
That aura of yours is a mystery,
Bowing down to your bravery,
Boosting up my dead battery,
Inspiring me to create history.
The fools will fight over,
Might be having hangover.
Let them slowly recover,
Meanwhile give us a big over.
By now, the world has known,
B’coz you have already shown.
Even you loss the toss,
You are always the boss.
Your constant battle of 12 years,
Helped me overcome all my fears.
On the field, love the way you play,
So, don’t step down and please stay.
This too shall pass! Hoping for a less burdened tomorrow, ending the blog at 22:24 IST.
Until then to all the RCB fans holding onto their dear lives for next season,
Next saala cup Namdu!! ❤️