Thursday, January 18, 2007: we love the singapore lions (:
today was one of the rare few times where i actually watched a whole soccer match, and concentrated hard. today, i went for the Singapore vs Indonesia ASEAN football championships at the National Stadium. few words to describe? bench clinging, heart stopping, stomach flipping match. perhaps it was the sheer thought of Singapore losing to a foreign team, perhaps it was due to the atmosphere of the stadium, where everyone was rooting and hoping that we would get into the semis.
i think one thing that really struck me most today about the match was the passion for the game, how the fans are so eager to support and to cheer our team on, and to go wild each time we score a goal. today's game reminded me of Rev Wee Boon Hup's message at Fusion: there's a good passion, and there is also a bad passion. perhaps its not really my position to judge, but i guess today was a really good illustration to the whole message. on one hand, while i think its perfectly fair to be happy when we score a goal, or to be disappointed when the opponents do likewise. however, where do we draw the line? how do i ensure that my passion for something doesnt turn into overzealousness that i end up cursing and swearing and booing the other team?
perhaps in the heat of the moment, frustration leads to outward expression of the anger welled up inside.
but still, what did the poor referee do to warrant such an unpleasant (and constant) boo from the audience? i felt really sorry for the ref just now. but like i said, perhaps its not my opinion to judge, since i dont know the rules of the game, what constitutes a foul, or when a card needs to be pulled out. haii, poor guy.
and Oh No, the poor indonesian team.
one thing i realised, was that i dont know what its like to really be passionate about something. i am so... lifeless sometimes. maybe thats why i dont understand how some people can be so.. ON about everything that has to do with their passion. like the soccer fans just now. how they're so obssessed with the game, how the sg team has to win, how badly the ref judged (okay, some instances were quite badly handled), how protective they are to the indo team.
but i guess, good sportsmanship, as i understand it to be, does not mean screaming "balik kampong" to the indo team when we "won" (we drew, but we scored more points overall to get into the semifinals) and rubbing it into their faces. neither is it saying the ref was unfair when the indos pulled a shirt or tripped a sg player, when a sg player did the same to the indo guy and instead was cheered on for. (okay did that make sense?)
but anyway, what i'm trying to say is, i feel sorry for the indo team and the refs ): and that overzealousness can end up hurting other people, especially when a whole stadium-full of home supporters diss an indo player together.
haii, but oh well. quite an eyeopener lah, and a fun day out. (:
got to start packing stuff for tues. so many things to get ready for. UNI ENROLMENT! hai so fast. 2 months, just like that. and i wont even get to see the football finals. boo ):
a shout of praise.
12:40 AM
