It was the toughest job to go through so many applications and shortlist JUST 35! Of course though some were exceptionally great and there was no question they would make to Bangalore whereas some we weren’t sure whether we should have let go or not. It’s a job that would scar our conscious forever.

Our main influence in every category was of course, that the applicant should love Team Royal Challengers & the Club and that his love should not just be evident in their FFC2 Application & their profile but their activity on the site too. How much they did to get votes, their strategies to get votes, their references, how much others liked their applications, if their social networking profiles made their love for Royal Challengers evident. Yes! We went through, checked all of that! On the other hand, just love for the team without skill would obviously not help anyone make it to the top 35. Which is why, there are so many professionals in every category who have applied but have not won, because of their love for Royal Challengers not being evident enough!

We need our applicants to work for the team, for the club, to love this club, to love this team, write about them as bloggers, take loads of pictures & videos to upload on our site as photographers & videographers, your commentary live and recorded of your experiences while travelling through the IPL and excerpts of the match, for all the fans to see.

People applied right up to 11.59PM because we had announced that the deadline was midnight on the 24th of Feb, with applicants emailing us to tell us they had missed the deadline by just a few minutes off the deadline and to accept their application. It was heartbreaking on one hand, but on the other, could not make any exceptions to the rules for any applicant either.

We’re sorry about those of you, who did not make it, but now you know why and you also know that it was not an easy task from this blog post.

But Club Royal Challengers, will have some more fun, some more games, some more contests for the fans, with more opportunities to win because we Game For More! Keep an eye out for what’s up next Fans, you do not want to miss what comes up next!

A short note from Nidhi@RCB

A lot of you are probably very frustrated/upset/angry about not making the shortlist. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions about the selection panel and criteria. Based on the feedback from FFC1, here's an answer to some of what you are feeling:

THIS IS *@*&#* MY APP WAS GOOD. WHY WASNT I CHOSEN!
Yes probably. The response in the blogger and photographer sections in particular was overwhlemingly positive. It's been hard shortlisting to only 9 when in a lot of cases we'd love to send 15. Don't take it personally. We used all the information you shared with us on your application and profile page, in addition to the votes and references you received AND other activity (e.g. Mahesh spammed Twitter with his requests for votes in addition to having a strong app!)

WAIT SO IF VOTES WERE IMPORTANT, I GOT MORE THAN SO AND SO. WHY WASN'T I CHOSEN!?!
Yes votes were important. In a lot of cases, they helped us choose between apps because the more votes you got showed how passionate you were. But we have maintained since FFC1 that the number of votes itself is not the sole criteria. Several fans only found out about the contest in the last few days. It wouldn't be fair to some of them - esp. those with strong apps to be penalized. And yes, as some people pointed out, some fans have more online friends and others less. If it all depended on votes, it would be a popularity contest when in reality it's more - the 4 chiefs have a HUGE responsibility.

WHO CAME UP WITH THE SHORTLIST?? WHAT ARE THEIR ADDRESSES. WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON !(*#(*!(
The community managers, other people who manage the site but are not familiar with the fans, and the club officials. Please don' t attack us personally. We understand you are frustrated. It's just the nature of contests. Only so many people can win. We do have another contest - Mighty 14 - that allows 112 fans to meet the Royal Challengers and get free tickets to their home matches. Very different from FFC2 yes, but we introduced this contest to give more people the opportunity to get closer to their cricketing idols.

I STILL DON'T FEEL GOOD. I'M ACTUALLY QUITE ANGRY, ARGH :@
Vent it out. In the comments. Please don't personally attack anyone. Please don't attack the 35 finalists personally. We will be moderating comments lightly (taking out any swear words, inappropriate content, names if they are used negatively). But you do have a say, and you probably have some very valid concerns that deserve answers from us. We will do our best to do them justice.

I'M DONE WITH THIS SITE. TRIED SO HARD ON THIS CONTEST AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!!
Hey! At the end of the day, it's still about the Royal Challengers, and every fan is helping build this fan club. We do value you. Very much. And we're always here for you. You may be mad at us personally or the contest, but don't take it out on the players! Think about Dravid.

I hope this helps. Please do leave us comments. If you DID get shortlisted, congrats! Please expect an email or blogpost with next steps. Your journey has just begun, and oh we do NOT believe in easy challenges! Good luck. You'll need it. :)