Blackburn Rovers’ return to English football’s third tier has seen a turnaround in their fortunes and a return to winning ways. But a strange situation has occurred were some supporters have started not only giving club owners, Venky’s, the benefit of the doubt, but have taken their wave of forgiveness to a new level of cordiality.
There are even reports circulating about a so-called Venky’s appreciation society having already been formed. Members are currently trying to come up with a name for this group. Their first choice was Venky’s R Us, but they were worried about the letter R being the wrong way round. So they are now currently using ‘Venky’s In’ Rovers UK Supporters – or VIRUS – as their new name.
VIRUS say they want to become a united front for all Rovers fans who think Venky’s have been getting bad press and have done a really good job for the club. They want fellow fans to know Balaji Rao’s initials are the same as Blackburn Rovers and have set up a campaign for Venky family names to be printed on the backs of Rovers shirts. They also want Blackburn to be twinned with Venky’s home town of Pune in India and the Venky siblings to be made Freemen of the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen.
There have been questions from many Rovers fans asking why Venky’s never attend matches these days? VIRUS replied that they do attend games on a regular basis, but in disguise. Sometimes they come dressed as stewards or ground staff and even as police officers. They also employ body doubles, who leave matches early to divert attention away from the real Venky siblings.
Our owners’ secretive ways have led to their admirers deciding to follow suit, basing their methods on James Bond films and the Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series. Due to Venky’s still being unpopular amongst most Rovers fans, the men from VIRUS have decided to keep a low profile too, for the time being. They have created their own closed membership structure and secret codes for communication.
VIRUS say they intend to hold regular meetings with like-minded supporters and put out propaganda and counter arguments against Blackburn Rovers fans who want a change of club ownership. VIRUS blame these fans for the removal of Steve Kean, pointing out his success in Borneo after being forced out of his job at Rovers. There is talk of a future ‘Venky’s In’ demonstration through the streets of Blackburn and calls for a boycott of rival fried chicken restaurants in the town.
