Liverpool's onam wishes

When Facebook created verified accounts it solved a lot of
head scratching over the credentials of celebrity posts. But
on Thiruvonam, the indebted followers of Mark Zuckerberg,
especially those tagged Malayalis, blinked, rubbed their
eyes and winked again on seeing a post in the official page
of English football club Liverpool.
The post that caused disbelief in social media was a one-
liner (given in pic) of Liverpool Football Club, wishing their
fans on the festival of Onam, in Malayalam! Could this be
real? Thousands wondered, but eventually they all believed
as it had appeared in Liverpool's official page verified by
Facebook.
The post has already been shared over a thousand times
and Malayalis, irrespective of their differing football
ideologies continue to talk about the post. It is the first time
any official football club page had chosen to go regional.
And Liverpool chose the occasion wisely as the sentiment of
Onam strikes deep into every Malayali's heart.
Sivakumar Siva says in the comments: “Thank u .. fc
Liverpool, Kerala people will pray for your team's success ..
you made me your fan“ Rebekah Thomas wrote: “This is
cool of you! soAll the payasam in the world for you just for
this“ Sebin J o s e shared the joy with all Liverpool fans:
“What a surprise .. thanks .. happy Onam to all the Reds
across the globe” It was not just the neutrals who liked it,
fans of rival clubs Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester
City and Arsenal hailed the gesture on social media sites.
“Respect from a Chelsea fan!” said Nehal Sadique.
Savio Peter and Sarath Menon, supporting the Red and Blue
sides of Manchester respectively gave their thumbs up.
Apparently there was also a celebrity bowled over by the
post. Thinkal Bhal, of Malayali House fame shared the post
on her Facebook page – “OMG my club wished Keralites
Onam in Malayalam ... wow”, she said. But the post had its
share of skeptics too. Arun Raj wrote: “Actually this
Liverpool
page is updating country-wise.. just look #LFCIndia in all
posts .. don’t get over reacted to see and Indian page of
Liverpool wishing happy Onam” BJP’s prime-ministerial
candidate Narendra Modi had also surprised Malayalis by
offering his Onam wishes in Malayalam and while there is a
clear political intention in Modi’s message the Liverpool
version intends no harm.
Somewhere in a cozy office the LFC’s apparent Malayali
admin should be ROFLing monstrously that his puckish idea
of luring supporters to Merseyside has hit the nail on its
head. The widespread acceptance to this post assures LFC
one thing — You’ll never walk alone.