It’s been over four months since Lionel Messi and Argentina ended their 36-year long wait to lift the FIFA World Cup at the Lusail stadium in Qatar, but down south in Kerala, celebrations still seem to continue. It reached an all new level during the state’s iconic Thrissur Pooram festival on Sunday, April 30. In what came as a surprise to many witnessing the spectacle, large illuminated cut-outs of legendary footballer Messi holding the FIFA world cup were displayed atop 15 elephants lined up at the Thiruvambady side of the famous Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple.
The moment, which went viral on social media, took place during the ‘kudamattam’ ceremony, which is a change of colourful ornamental, silk umbrellas in quick succession by people on top of elephants.
One of the videos that went viral on social media was that of a clip from Mathrubhumi news, where noted Malayalam sports commentator Shaiju Damodaran was anchoring the festival events. When the cut outs of Messi were raised on top of the elephants, Shaiju recreated the words he used while commentating Messi’s goal during the 2018 World Cup game against Nigeria.
The annual festival was held at the Thekkinkadu Maidan, where thousands cutting across religion and age, had gathered to catch a glimpse of the festival.
തേക്കിൻകാട്ടിൽ സിംഹരാജാവ് എഴുന്നള്ളുന്നു
— Shaiju Damodaran (@Shaiju_official) April 30, 2023
Thrissur Pooram shakes hand with world football ⚽️
Lionel Messi in Kudamattam in front of Kerala’s Pooram fans and ofcourse football fans ⚽️ #thrissurpooram #kudamattam #messi #commentary #live #letsfootball #mathrubhuminews pic.twitter.com/dQESGhqVvb