Story and photos by Lai Jun Wei.
13 days ago when I watched the Singapore vs Uzbekistan game at the National Stadium, I felt an overwhelming sense of patriotism and national pride. I felt that I had to do justice to our Singapore team by doing a commentary making their efforts known rather than let the media condemn them. I thank all the readers who have left positive comments on my post, but I write this one with a heavy heart.
Yesterday, I stood at the exact same spot, pitch-side, watching and shooting pictures of the 2010 World Cup qualifier match between Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Something different was in me. Something which I would describe as an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. After the game with Uzbekistan, I was proud to say that I was a Team Singapore fan. I followed the Lions’ progress closely, even watching the away game in Uzbekistan on my 2-inch portable TV while working on a report. After that 1-0 loss, Singapore needed a miracle to progress into the next round. But I believed this miracle would happen.
I made sure I arrived early at the stadium, hoping to catch every single second of the action. But the moment I stepped into the stadium, what greeted me was a sense of emptiness. Where was the crowd? From all the media reports on the Lions, it seemed like the fans had also given up hope on the Lions. The stadium was far less empty when I came on June 2. When our National Anthem sounded, I could hear no one singing (except for Uncle Les who was beside me). Only towards the end did I hear some echoing from the Singapore crowd. Perhaps the crowd was stuck in a traffic jam? I heard that the expressways were clogged up due to the throng of people heading towards some IT fair.
It was a lacklustre performance. As I watched the game, I saw a different team out there. The fighting spirit, the passion, the devotion were all but gone. From the gestures and body language of the Team Singapore players, I could see them raising their hands at each other, blaming each other for a lousy cross or poor defending. What happened to ‘Team’? Most of the action was focused on the Singapore side of the field. Foolishly, I stood on the side of the Saudi Arabian goal, hoping to capture a shot of one of our guys scoring. I was so bored watching the action from afar that I caught myself yawning a couple of time (yes, I’m guilty). There was just simply no action. I was more concerned about the welfare of one of our interns than the game itself. The crowd did cheer. But not enough to bring goosebumps. Many times, the game was played in a silent stadium. Supporters watched the game and would only make a small victory cry when the game flowed in Singapore’s favour.
Perhaps one good thing in this game was the absence of “wayang” – no pretentious falls or over-exaggerated injuries – except for one occasion when a Saudi Arabian player fell to the ground after a tackle. After the referee signalled for the medical team to come (and they took quite awhile), the player stood up and walked to the sidelines. Was he pretending? The crowd seemed to think so. They jeered at him so loudly that I felt quite bad for him. Thereafter, every time he touched the ball, the crowd would jeer.
But our team was not blameless either. Their attitude seemed indifferent and hesitant, their crosses and passes half-hearted, leading to good chances being squandered away. Several times I found myself exclaiming out loud when the players wasted chances.
At half-time, the ‘Kallang Wave’ did go around, but the accompanying ‘Kallang Roar’ was reduced to a draggy monotonous tone that sounded more like a ‘Kallang Yawn’. When the wave reached the virtually empty areas of the stadium, one or two brave souls stood up to “continue” the wave, but it looked a little pathetic.
Apart from one or two interesting moments, the second half went almost like the first. And as the final whistle sounded, Hassan Sunny went down on his knees and buried his face in his hands. Perhaps the reality of the situation had just sunk into him. The team which I saw back on June 2 had disappeared.
This article is not meant to be a criticism of players nor fans. But it was after all, the final game played at the National Stadium. It would really have been nice to win. And it would have done justice to the ‘Grand Old Dame’ if our guys went down fighting.
I am proud to say that I have been a Team Singapore fan for 12 days. I would have continued but for this game. With the dream ended, I am now just one disappointed ex-Team Singapore fan.
Related stories:
World Cup journey ends for Singapore as the boys go down 0-2 to Saudi Arabia in qualifier
So what happened to our 12th man?
I was hoping that my “handsome one” sms would keep you awake. 🙂
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