Indeed, as the players engage in the pitch battle, a massive choir will constitute the 12th player for the Black Stars, as they drum, clap and dance in the stands to spur the players on to get the goals.
Since the beginning of the tournament on January 20, the cheering fans have become an indispensable part of the success story of the Black Stars.
Some of them go to the field as early as 12 noon for the match that starts at 5 p.m., as a sign of their unflinching support for and confidence in the Black Stars.
The fans — dressed in the national colours of red, gold, green and black — are a delight to watch.
Some of the dress codes are hilarious — some fans wear long gowns, while others go with polo shirts and other T-shirts of various designs.
There are others who paint their whole body in national colours. The various supporters unions — including the Supporters Union of Ghana, the National Supporters Union and the Nationwide Supporters Union — add colour to the support with their scintillating songs and drums.
Besides, there are numerous white folks dressed in Ghana flags supporting the Black Stars.
The supporters sing and drum throughout the more than 90 minutes of play with the enthusiastic ones leading the band. Another exciting part is the Mexican waves when fans stand up for few seconds in turns.
The supporters spur the players on with the shouts of ‘goal’ whenever they are on the attack and clap for skilful moves.
They also try to nullify the offensive moves of the opponents of the Black Stars with the shouts of ‘away’, meaning the ball should either go wayward or the Black Stars’ players should clear the balls.
The fans cheered on the Black Stars to beat Guinea in the opening match.
They, however, went wild when the Black Stars failed to shine against the minnows, Namibia, and this criticism re-energised the players to thrash Morocco.
After that impressive showing against Morocco, the supporters started showering praises on the players, which boosted the morale of the players, including striker Asamoah Gyan, who received heavy doses of the blame for what the supporters saw as sluggish strikes.
And when the die was cast for the Black Stars to meet their arch rivals, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the 12th player (the about 20 million Ghanaians) did not expect anything but a win for the Black Stars.
The confidence level of the fans was so marvellous, to say the least, as they predicted scorelines of five nil, four, three and two nil against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
And on the blessed day of the match, the fans, dressed in national colours, filled the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium and supported the team amidst singing and dancing.
Many of the fans were not daunted when the Black Stars went down by one goal; they continued to spur the players on with the shouts of ‘goal’ and claps for skilful moves.
The few supporters of the Super Eagles at the stadium were hardly heard as the songs and drums of the Ghanaian supporters had overshadowed theirs.
The equaliser, courtesy Essien’s header, sent the whole fans jubilating. Some foreign media reported that the fans celebrated the equaliser as if the Black Stars had won the cup.
And when the Black Stars’ defence pillar, John Mensah, was given the exit orders following a late tackle on Peter Odemwingie, the fans filled the vacuum created by his exit; their shouts of goal and claps for good play stimulated the players the more.
The determination of the players and the unflinching motivation by the fans resulted in the winning goal by ‘Agogoal’, which brought about the mother of all jubilation with President Kufuor as the lead jubilant at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium.
The Black Stars’ Coach, Claude Le Roy, and the players attested to the might of the supporters when they said the fans were behind their victories, and that their support had boosted their confidence to lift the cup.
The midfield dynamo, Sulley Muntari, was quoted by the BBC as praising his team’s fans “for the part they played in the 2-1 quarter-final defeat of Nigeria”.
“They (the supporters) helped us a lot, it was fantastic. You can’t describe it, we thank them for coming and cheering us, and we’ll try our best not to let them down,” he said.
Now that Ghanaians are confident that the “host and win” slogan will come to pass, their support for the Black Stars in today’s match against the Indomitable Lions will hit the roofs.
The fans are expected to fill the stadium and further inspire the already-inspired players to clinch the coveted victory.
After the anticipated win against the Indomitable Lions, the fans will increase the tempo of their support against either Cote d’Ivoire or Egypt in the finals to seal the victory for the stars — the lifting of the trophy for the record fifth time.
Go Black Stars! Go for the victory, because no matter the fury of the lion, it cannot harm the scintillating sparkling of the star.
Source: daily graphic
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