VS
Liverpool vs Singapore. It was a good game of football I must admit. We watched it while our 2nd round of MJ started on a grainy CH 5 feed because the antenna must have been fried by El Nino lightning tendencies. Add to that, that I actually bought 5 goals at the Pools on a whim and made some dough.
But was it really a success for Singapore as a whole? True, that big ass teams [namely English clubs] like to tour Asia to cement their fan base. A fan base which buys jerseys, memorabilia and contributes viewership to the soccer channels so that Starhub has an excuse to raise the subscription for them.
There was a sizable crowd indeed. 45,000 was it? 45,000 of my countrymen turned up to see Liverpool's 11 square off with homegrown talent [some store bought from other countries of course. we call these blokes OTS (off the shelf)]. There were supporters of other English clubs there too. In the grandstand, there was a clear mix of Tottenham Hotspurs, Everton [arch nemesis across the Merseyside] and Manchester United jersey clad people littering the predominantly Liverpool oriented crowds.
Now step back. Who are Liverpool? They are a club. Just like Geylang United, Balestier Khalsa and SAFFC. Who is the Singapore national team? They are a bunch of naturalized Singaporeans who are donning our nation's colours attempting to garner some kinda pride amidst all the prejudice. Classic David vs Goliath. But miracles happen in the most unlikely of places. It wasn't our team's night anyhow.
You love your club. Understandable. Very understandable. But isn't it embarassing when you can put club before country? I am a Chelsea man. I've been since I was young and not only since the infusion of some tasty Russian caviar and ice cold vodka plus cold hard cash. Yet, if Chelsea FC were to come to Singapore for a pre-season exhibition game. I will not throng the banks of Boat Quay attempting to steal a glimpse. I will not go to the airport to welcome the blokes to our fair shores. I will not stalk their hotel attempting to steal even a piece of soiled undies for a collection. What I will do is attend the game. Because it is a rare event and that is my only consideration.
And if Chelsea were to thrash Singapore. It would be nothing more to me than a clash of 2 sporting teams with the better one garnering the better score line. Let me take you back to 2001. Manchester United visits Singapore and hands us a 8-1 clubbing. I was a fan of good football that night. But my proudest moment was still when Indra Sahdan sidestepped Jap Staam, and drilled the size 5 through the legs of a complacent Rai Van der Gouw. Talking about pulling on heartstrings, this was more than that. This is the stuff that nationalistic pride is made off.
Back to the present. If any of the Singapore team were to switch a move, talentedly wrongfoot or nutmeg a Chelsea player, I'd be one of the first outa my seat screaming "YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! Take that EPL!". Because it is Singapore. Nuff said.
So, this is my suggestion for etiquette when all other teams big and small visit the little red dot for a footy match:
1. Wear the jersey of the club you support [this I think is universal], but don't forget who your club is attempting to embarass. IT's your fuckin countrymen.
2. If you are at the game and you are not a supporter of the EPL club, don't wear a jersey of some other EPL club. What are you trying to prove? Turn up in red. Or better still, go hunt down some Malaysia Cup/League vintage Lions jersey and turn up. Cheer your country on, because it is the logical choice between the 2 teams.
3. To all those fools who verbally abused, booed, jeered at and violently attacked people who were wearing a Manchester United jersey on that night, go fuck yourselves. You are hammering your own countrymen over some misplaced life and death allegiance to an English football club who couldn't care less actually who dies for their cause; as long their jerseys get sold in bulk volume.
The moral of the story: Stick up your hands for your country. Those with no pride are no better than carcasses out on the desert plain, doncha think?
Booyakasha!
But was it really a success for Singapore as a whole? True, that big ass teams [namely English clubs] like to tour Asia to cement their fan base. A fan base which buys jerseys, memorabilia and contributes viewership to the soccer channels so that Starhub has an excuse to raise the subscription for them.
There was a sizable crowd indeed. 45,000 was it? 45,000 of my countrymen turned up to see Liverpool's 11 square off with homegrown talent [some store bought from other countries of course. we call these blokes OTS (off the shelf)]. There were supporters of other English clubs there too. In the grandstand, there was a clear mix of Tottenham Hotspurs, Everton [arch nemesis across the Merseyside] and Manchester United jersey clad people littering the predominantly Liverpool oriented crowds.
Now step back. Who are Liverpool? They are a club. Just like Geylang United, Balestier Khalsa and SAFFC. Who is the Singapore national team? They are a bunch of naturalized Singaporeans who are donning our nation's colours attempting to garner some kinda pride amidst all the prejudice. Classic David vs Goliath. But miracles happen in the most unlikely of places. It wasn't our team's night anyhow.
You love your club. Understandable. Very understandable. But isn't it embarassing when you can put club before country? I am a Chelsea man. I've been since I was young and not only since the infusion of some tasty Russian caviar and ice cold vodka plus cold hard cash. Yet, if Chelsea FC were to come to Singapore for a pre-season exhibition game. I will not throng the banks of Boat Quay attempting to steal a glimpse. I will not go to the airport to welcome the blokes to our fair shores. I will not stalk their hotel attempting to steal even a piece of soiled undies for a collection. What I will do is attend the game. Because it is a rare event and that is my only consideration.
And if Chelsea were to thrash Singapore. It would be nothing more to me than a clash of 2 sporting teams with the better one garnering the better score line. Let me take you back to 2001. Manchester United visits Singapore and hands us a 8-1 clubbing. I was a fan of good football that night. But my proudest moment was still when Indra Sahdan sidestepped Jap Staam, and drilled the size 5 through the legs of a complacent Rai Van der Gouw. Talking about pulling on heartstrings, this was more than that. This is the stuff that nationalistic pride is made off.
Back to the present. If any of the Singapore team were to switch a move, talentedly wrongfoot or nutmeg a Chelsea player, I'd be one of the first outa my seat screaming "YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! Take that EPL!". Because it is Singapore. Nuff said.
So, this is my suggestion for etiquette when all other teams big and small visit the little red dot for a footy match:
1. Wear the jersey of the club you support [this I think is universal], but don't forget who your club is attempting to embarass. IT's your fuckin countrymen.
2. If you are at the game and you are not a supporter of the EPL club, don't wear a jersey of some other EPL club. What are you trying to prove? Turn up in red. Or better still, go hunt down some Malaysia Cup/League vintage Lions jersey and turn up. Cheer your country on, because it is the logical choice between the 2 teams.
3. To all those fools who verbally abused, booed, jeered at and violently attacked people who were wearing a Manchester United jersey on that night, go fuck yourselves. You are hammering your own countrymen over some misplaced life and death allegiance to an English football club who couldn't care less actually who dies for their cause; as long their jerseys get sold in bulk volume.
The moral of the story: Stick up your hands for your country. Those with no pride are no better than carcasses out on the desert plain, doncha think?
Booyakasha!
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