Southern side Bengaluru FC continued their celebrations on being crowned the Champions of the I-League with an open bus parade on Tuesday in Bengaluru.  

The parade began at 4:00 p.m. with most of the squad present along with the backroom staff. The notable absentees were Australian forward Sean Rooney and midfield lynchpin John Menyongar.

The event started off with a handful of fans, but as the parade began, the Bengaluru faithful clad in their customary blue colours began joining in large numbers. It was a refreshing sight to see that such a large crowd had gathered on a working day and in the hot weather as well.

The players were clearly enjoying the celebratory crowd as they took the opportunity to sign jerseys, caps and other merchandise. The atmosphere created by the Blue Army was phenomenal as the team bus was flanked by the passionate crowd from the starting point till the Bangalore Football stadium where the procession ended.

                                                        Fans gather in numbers

                                                          A first in I-League: Open bus parade

                                                                     The Blue Army

Popular sound tracks such as Knaan's “Wavin’ Flag”, Right Said Fred's "Stand up for the Champions" amongst others were played and with the fans joining in, the emotions were soaring.

Sunil Chhetri and Co. even went to the extent of allowing the fans to have a feel of the prestigious trophy. Even Ashley Westwood, who has worn a serious look for majority of the season, was all smiles at the site of the joyous fans.

Local media channels were present in full strength to ensure that not a single minute of the blockbuster parade went uncovered.

The procession made its way through MG Road, Commissariat Road, Garuda Mall junction and the D'Souza circle before reaching the stadium. The fans then occupied the stands to cheer for their local heroes for the final time this seaon. The announcer then went on to introduce the players and the management one after another to a rapturous crowd. Chants of “BFC, BFC…” were echoing in the stadium as the Garden City soaked in its team’s success.  

Bengaluru FC's CEO Parth Jindal then went on to hand the I-League trophy to the team in front of the noisy home audience. For all the football fans in Bengaluru who had been enviously watching such parades on their television sets all these years, this was the moment they had been craving for.

Bengaluru FC certainly delivered and lived up to the expectation of the fans, as they have done all season. Their organization and professionalism has been a highlight this season and they capped off their season with this wonderful event.

Credit must also go to the Karnataka State Police as well who did a marvellous in ensuring a safe event with their expert crowd and traffic control on a busy day.

It was indeed a special occasion for Bengaluru and for those fans in attendance it will surely be an evening to remember for a long time.