In the aftermath of the football world cup, the football fever in IIM Shillong was reignited with the Bamboo Premier League, the first sports event for this year conducted by the institute.
The Bamboo Premier League is Indian Institute of Management, Shillong’s intra-college football event where players are auctioned to managers who in turn are responsible for building a strong team, one that could win them the tournament. It is quite similar to the auction process followed in the Indian Premier League.
It was a mandate for every team to have at least 1 marquee player on a minimum in order to continue in the event. The auctioning of the marquee player was undertaken with real money whereas the additional players were subsequently bought with equal and limited virtual money provided to every manager. The event began with the auction of the marquees, 10 managers participated in the open bidding process where each had to buy one of the six marquee players. After this preliminary process, only six of the ten managers remained in the game which ensured that the first leg of the auction was a heated and intense one with stakes being raised to a whole other level. After the six managers were decided, which depended on who had successfully bought a marquee for their team, the auction process for other players began. Each of the managers were given 10,000 virtual points with which they had to complete their teams. The total money collected from the bidding process was divided among the top three teams of the tournament in descending proportions.
The initial play-off round, where every team played against each of the other five, was marked by sweat, blood and in traditional IIM Shillong style, rain. Following this round, four teams moved into the semi-finals. The institute also held an exhibition match before the finals where the excitement went up a notch as all marquees came together to play against the enthusiastic and friendly staff of the campus. One of the most interesting aspects of this edition of the Bamboo Premier League at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong was how underdogs exceeded everybody’s expectations. In fact, the teams which were sold for the least amount of money during the initial bidding process reached the final stage and the manager who had bought his marquee with the least money ended up winning the series. Despite the impressive display of athleticism by both, first and second year students at IIM Shillong, the commentary still shined through. The witty one liners and quick back and forth between the commentary team truly made the event what it was. During every match, excited troops of students could be seen standing on the sidelines, cheering the players on with banners and anthems, braving the Meghalayan rain.
In all, this edition of the Bamboo Premier League was a show of remarkable resilience, heart-warming sportsmanship, and unbridled passion.
