18 Jun 2021  |   06:17am IST

Lift it like Ronaldo: Goans react to Portuguese star’s ‘Coke moment’

Ronaldo lifted two bottles of Coca-Cola from the table prior to his press conference before Portugal’s first game at the ongoing Euro championships. Later in the day the market value of the company dropped by a few billions. This showed the power of celebrities. His fans in Goa had much to say about his actions.

Ajit John

It was a mandatory pre game

presser. With a hint of derision, Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Portugal picks up two bottles of Coca-Cola, mutters the company’s name and sets them aside before holding up a bottle of water and saying “Agua” (water in Portuguese)

The apparently spur of the moment reaction was a knock on the solar plexus received by the beverage giant.

Ronaldo known for doing damage to opponents with his feet “handed” coke some big worries.Before the sun set that day, the Euro 2020 sponsor saw its market value drop by $4 billion.

Ripples were felt through the world. And Goa is one kf those special places where Portugal is literally the “home team” and Ronaldo their “boy”.

The action also brought home the truth thay celebs can send big messages through small actions. Lets check out how Goans reacted to this

Dr Fenton de Souza who interacts with sportsmen and footballers particularly in Goa said it was commendable such an elite athlete had made such a move. He said “It is a pity even fit athletes in Goa do not take it seriously. They have no problems consuming aerated drinks and eating vada’s. Exercise is not taken seriously in India. I feel sponsorships are very important but it was probably the wrong place to place those bottles in front of these super fit athletes”. He felt this action by Ronaldo would go down very well with all his fans in Goa and would certainly have an effect with many possibly even following the narrow road to fitness with all the sacrifices it entailed. Dr Souza said since this was the age of celebrity, it would be nice if other celebrities did something that would initiate some positive change.

James Mendonca symbolizes the youth of today who follows trends in the digital world closely. He said “Ronaldo is followed by 270 million followers on a single platform, namely Instagram. He has sent the right message. Water any day than “sugar and fizz”.

Millennial’s look up to celebrities. What a role model, even at 36 what passion, what commitment and dedication. Am’ore Ronaldo!!”. Enough said .

For Kunal Kunkolienkar a student based in Margao, Ronaldo was someone people looked up to as an inspiration. The physique he had he said was compared to a 25 year old athlete. The fact he was a role model on and off the field was highlighted by the act the other day. He said “Not only Cristiano but all the top athletes have the power to change the mindset of people watching them and top athletes they guide people in doing the right things. Some people have started to call Cristiano a hypocrite as he was featured in a Coca-Cola adv back when had just begun his career. I’m of the opinion that this isn’t called hypocrisy because you grow, you learn and then you evolve. Mindset changes over time. Many people love to drink soft drinks and I was one of them but health should be your first priority”.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Leann Rodrigues. She said “ If you know something is bad for your health and you still continue doing it then you have no one else to blame for it. If you’ll don’t know! back in the day Cristiano Ronaldo himself used to endorse Coca-Cola but obviously he has now realised the ill effects of it and being a fitness icon himself he definitely knows a thing or two about it. So the ball always lies in your own court and you have to take the decision yourself rather than someone else telling you about it”. Speaking about the power of celebrities she felt CR7 sent out a correct message to everyone with a slight pinch of humour too. Leann said “It’s not about just Coca-Cola but many other things in our lives but it was a good wakeup call”.

However there was criticism too. Valencio Martins said blunt when he said “Cristiano’s move to remove bottles of coke from the table and replace it with water in my view was a wrong idea. I can understand his view of promoting healthy food and drinks to his fans but this was not the right place. Coca Cola, Heineken, McDonald’s, etc are the leading brands when comes to sponsoring biggest global sporting events and the world of sports need them to move forward. When it comes people of Goa staying healthy, I feel it is everyone business. Celebrity has power to influence people but it should expressed on the right platform”.

There was more.

Conrad Baretto of Football Dugout said “ First of all I’m absolutely against what Cristiano did at the press conference. It’s a mere publicity stunt to vilify a brand. Players and Fans needs to realise that it’s these brands that make a tournament. The players need to respect the commercial obligations of the event. Of course it will have an impact on fanatics that blindly support a player. It’s not only about fitness and health benefits”.

Brand respect? Or sending a fitness message? Opinion may be divided. But can Ronaldo and his actions have ann impact? On that there is no debate.