My bright Sunday morning was captivated briefly by this article written by a lady reporter of The New Straits Times (Malaysia) , SONIA RAMACHANDRAN, who is no football fan, finds out why Malaysian football is no longer appealing... so she claimed.
I was more interested to read the motoring pages (my 3rd passion in life... 1st is LFC, 2nd is Mafia) but somehow this article is focusing directly to my subject of obsession... football. But mind you, football to me must have a connection with LFC. I don't mind learning about the Swiss team since we have the new guy in Dossena or even Israel, simply because we have a really good Jew in Benayoun (I am not anti-semitic...). It is true that LFC, like every other teams in the English Premier League ... is no more purely English entity. LFC last season was lucky to have Gerrard and Carra in the 1st 11. So to be familiar with the cosmopolitan or global-look of LFC, me and you must do some study and learn about these new players. It's simple. Just google.
Coming back to the core issue of the article written by Ms Sonia, she is examining on the performances of Malaysian national football team and the clubs playing in the Liga Perdana. Mind you, the national team will be facing Chelsea on July 29th... part of Chelsea's Far East exhibition programme. (I still contemplating to go or not, and if I were to go, I'll wear my red colours.... hahahaa)
My home state is Sarawak though I have been living, working and building my family here in the capital (Kuala Lumpur) for almost 16 years now. It was during my teens when my state team under the battle-cry of NGAP SAYOT stoled the scene. It was riot. It was fun back then. The stadium in Petra Jaya is roughly about 20 miles from where my parents stay and where my friends actually hang-out. I think it was the only avalaible location that the government can think of to built one, no matter how remote the area could be for most of Kuching city's dwellers and the rest of Sarawakian supporters. (This is also a point that I can empathy to the issue of building a new stadium at Stanley Park...)
The game is usually played at 8.45pm on Saturday. This is to accomodate the live telecast. But for teens like us... sometimes accompanied by a carton of Indonesian-made cigarretes (a pack of Djarum 10 sticks cost 80 sen) and may be a can or two of Heineken (I have ceased all my love towards booze since 1997)... we would arrive at the stadium as early as 4pm. This is simply to get the feel of the game. To hang out. Friends from every corner of the city would converged and usually we have our own corner... behind the left goal-post (the exit is straight to our car park). Those were the time when our pocket-money is so deprived. RM20 was considered a luxury. The ticket would cost about RM5. So you have RM15. Spend on fags and booze, plus 2 burgers, you'll still have at least RM3 when you reach home.
Speaking of which, everytime we're stuck in the traffic jam... (the agony of having to park close to the entrance of the stadium is to get stuck afterwards!) the never-missed song of the night is by Joan Jett - `I hate myself for loving you'. I guess it is simply because the deejay loves the song so much that he just didn't bother to play other albums. It's a catchy rock number and if any of you who are not familiar with that song... I say may you rest in peace and go to hell! This is a cult song. A must know song. Same category with Smoke on The Water by Deep Purple. Well... it is for me at least though I never bought the album. I prefer Metallica. It personifies our hate-love relationship with the state team. The singing would be louder from our car if the team loses the game. We hate the fact that we have to endure the heartbroken but at the same time seems to never failed to get into all the action. No football games on Saturday afternoon and the pitch near our places would be played by small kids as the big boys like us, got the licence to drive to the stadium on our own. This was the fun 1980's for me.
Then... there was a huge scandal. The nation's football league was rocked by arrests and prosecution by the law for match-fixing and bribery. I can't really remember the actuall date. It could be sometimes in 1993 or what ever. Roughly 127 players and team management were caught and some of them were detained under Restricted Residents (the law we inherited from our former colonial master... yes you... the English...). The whole case make all of my enthusiams and memories now a total mockery and disgust.
So Miss Sonia... I really don't care to read your article... I did read the boxes... that I just learn our national team has move three spaces and for me, it doesn't matter at all because I won't be rooting for any of them. The national team must prove to me, to all the Malaysian fan that the team are the strongest in the ASEAN region. They must beat Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore often and convincingly before they can pull enough string to attract my attention to taste again the agony of going to the stadium. Until then, supporting Liverpool Football Team is much fun and taught me a lot about self-esteem. We're not the League leader but we're the most feared team in Europe. That shows how great the team is.
But I'm still a loyal citizen of Malaysia with my heart goes to LFC.
Yours truly
utusanLFC
hehehe....
I was more interested to read the motoring pages (my 3rd passion in life... 1st is LFC, 2nd is Mafia) but somehow this article is focusing directly to my subject of obsession... football. But mind you, football to me must have a connection with LFC. I don't mind learning about the Swiss team since we have the new guy in Dossena or even Israel, simply because we have a really good Jew in Benayoun (I am not anti-semitic...). It is true that LFC, like every other teams in the English Premier League ... is no more purely English entity. LFC last season was lucky to have Gerrard and Carra in the 1st 11. So to be familiar with the cosmopolitan or global-look of LFC, me and you must do some study and learn about these new players. It's simple. Just google.
Coming back to the core issue of the article written by Ms Sonia, she is examining on the performances of Malaysian national football team and the clubs playing in the Liga Perdana. Mind you, the national team will be facing Chelsea on July 29th... part of Chelsea's Far East exhibition programme. (I still contemplating to go or not, and if I were to go, I'll wear my red colours.... hahahaa)
My home state is Sarawak though I have been living, working and building my family here in the capital (Kuala Lumpur) for almost 16 years now. It was during my teens when my state team under the battle-cry of NGAP SAYOT stoled the scene. It was riot. It was fun back then. The stadium in Petra Jaya is roughly about 20 miles from where my parents stay and where my friends actually hang-out. I think it was the only avalaible location that the government can think of to built one, no matter how remote the area could be for most of Kuching city's dwellers and the rest of Sarawakian supporters. (This is also a point that I can empathy to the issue of building a new stadium at Stanley Park...)
The game is usually played at 8.45pm on Saturday. This is to accomodate the live telecast. But for teens like us... sometimes accompanied by a carton of Indonesian-made cigarretes (a pack of Djarum 10 sticks cost 80 sen) and may be a can or two of Heineken (I have ceased all my love towards booze since 1997)... we would arrive at the stadium as early as 4pm. This is simply to get the feel of the game. To hang out. Friends from every corner of the city would converged and usually we have our own corner... behind the left goal-post (the exit is straight to our car park). Those were the time when our pocket-money is so deprived. RM20 was considered a luxury. The ticket would cost about RM5. So you have RM15. Spend on fags and booze, plus 2 burgers, you'll still have at least RM3 when you reach home.
Speaking of which, everytime we're stuck in the traffic jam... (the agony of having to park close to the entrance of the stadium is to get stuck afterwards!) the never-missed song of the night is by Joan Jett - `I hate myself for loving you'. I guess it is simply because the deejay loves the song so much that he just didn't bother to play other albums. It's a catchy rock number and if any of you who are not familiar with that song... I say may you rest in peace and go to hell! This is a cult song. A must know song. Same category with Smoke on The Water by Deep Purple. Well... it is for me at least though I never bought the album. I prefer Metallica. It personifies our hate-love relationship with the state team. The singing would be louder from our car if the team loses the game. We hate the fact that we have to endure the heartbroken but at the same time seems to never failed to get into all the action. No football games on Saturday afternoon and the pitch near our places would be played by small kids as the big boys like us, got the licence to drive to the stadium on our own. This was the fun 1980's for me.
Then... there was a huge scandal. The nation's football league was rocked by arrests and prosecution by the law for match-fixing and bribery. I can't really remember the actuall date. It could be sometimes in 1993 or what ever. Roughly 127 players and team management were caught and some of them were detained under Restricted Residents (the law we inherited from our former colonial master... yes you... the English...). The whole case make all of my enthusiams and memories now a total mockery and disgust.
So Miss Sonia... I really don't care to read your article... I did read the boxes... that I just learn our national team has move three spaces and for me, it doesn't matter at all because I won't be rooting for any of them. The national team must prove to me, to all the Malaysian fan that the team are the strongest in the ASEAN region. They must beat Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore often and convincingly before they can pull enough string to attract my attention to taste again the agony of going to the stadium. Until then, supporting Liverpool Football Team is much fun and taught me a lot about self-esteem. We're not the League leader but we're the most feared team in Europe. That shows how great the team is.
But I'm still a loyal citizen of Malaysia with my heart goes to LFC.
Yours truly
utusanLFC
hehehe....
No comments:
Post a Comment