I hate international week. It leaves me with a numb feeling. There is football going on, but it does not really concern me. Instead of looking at the weekend and noticing England vs Wales is on, its a blank weekend for me because United are not playing. No rushing down to Mortimer Arms after footy sessions on Saturday mornings for 1230pm kickoffs, or rushing back to my room to turn on ManUtd.com's match tracker if the match is not shown live on TV. Even in Singapore, I seldom out on Channel 21 and 22 on international week unless I have absolutely nothing to do.
Don't get me wrong, I still love the European Championships and World Cup. Matches like Brazil vs Argentina, Holland vs Germany and England vs Scotland still intrigue me. But while I watch for the good football that may occur and I cheer the goals, the blood inside me does not stir watching such matches. And I hate that kind of feeling. Perhaps its the "anti-apathy" feeling I have. I NEED to feel involved, and this neccesitates me to be a true-blue (or more accurately, true-red) fan of a team. Matches involving United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle etc affect United directly or indirectly, and thus I like to watch them. International matches do not stir me because I do not really support any team. After Euro 2004, I thought I had been converted into an English fan when I feel how passionate the "blokes" are, but watching England vs Austria in the first qualifier still left me numb when England conceded the 2 late goals. That's when I knew that I am still not a fan.
Maybe I am a true blue Singaporean after all.
I really should not question such a feeling of mine. It is perfectly normal. After all why should I get excited about England? Other than her being past colonial masters of Singapore and I am currently studying here, ostensibly there is no reason why I should support her national team. Ultimately when it comes to international football, I should still support Singapore and I think I do. When United played Singapore in 2001, I found myself cheering more for Singapore than for United. And I got mightily pissed off whenever we lose to Malaysia. I don't know how others think, but I REALLY REALLY hope that Singapore does make it to a World Cup in my lifetime. When I went to Euro 2004, I really envied those who were there to support their countries, holding their flags and scarfs up high and singing their national anthems with pride. I really want to be a part of that. But I can never do it really passionately unless its Singapore. So maybe its high time that I went for a match with the Singapore national team. Maybe I should try to get more of my friends to go, and they in turn get more of THEIR friends to go. I might just spark off some interest there. So hang on Singapore football, here I come!
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2 comments:
paiseh for pouring cold water... i have long given up hope on singapore football liaoz.. maybe since the end of msia cup? still remembered the thumping 4-0 win (izzit?).. only remembered it's a huge thrashing by singapore.. but after that.. no longer interested in local football.. unless maybe a talent comes along? preferably with the looks of beckham??? at least cannot look like rooney! *evil grinz*
Aarghh!! And I thought I was the ONLY one being shallow!! haha... but it would be nice to wave Singapore flag while Indra Sahdan scores a hat trick against Malaysia *hiak hiak*
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