Can I submit this to ST?

Thanks to Elvin and Tze Luck who sent me back this email...

last weekend i went up to cardiff to go watch the league cup final between man u and liverpool.....quite scared initailly...coz i dun have a ticket.....ddint know where the stadium in cardiff was either....just board the coach there and go try my luck...

so on saturday nite i board the coach then go to heathrow airport....then need to change coach there.....on the new coach, the driver counted the number of ppl then realised something was wrong....so he ask us to show him our tickets again.....thats when the driver realised some scruffy guy had sneaked onto the coach....i was sitting quite in front so could hear a bit.....the guy's breath smelt of beer (wat else?) even though i was like 2 or 3 seats behind i could still smell him....the conversation btw him and the driver went something like this....so where's ur ticket? i bought my ticket in victoria (london) blah blah...so where is it?.....i bought it but i dun have it wif me....no, u are trying to cheat me.....no i am not, i bought my ticket...so where is it?......i dun have it wif me....u are trying to cheat me, pls get off the coach.... eventually the guy break down...sorry i will pay for the ticket......no u are trying to sneak on the coach, tt's not acceptable....but i will pay for the ticket....no its too late, u were trying to sneak on.....pls, i got a football match to watch in cardiff tomolo, i got to go to cardiff.....no pls get off....eventually the guy sat down behind the driver and refuse to budge...the driver called security guards.....after gek seh for like 2 min....the guy mumbled sorry and went off......haha~ the things that a fan would do......

i reached cardiff bus station at like 420AM....it was just like those bus interchange in spore...meaning it is not a building and it was open....i froze like mad...but there was no place i could go at that hour.....a middle aged ang moh came to tok to me....he asked me where i came from...so i said spore....then to my surprise he said that we have a very good airline....i was pretty surprised...looks like SIA is indeed quite famous....but think i too boring for him.....so he quickly went to tok to another german guy who came all the way from cologne to watch the match...and he supported man u....haha~

i was walking round the stationand saw a map and to my relief...the millenium stadium was just across the street from the bus station.....great...tt means i no need to spend extra money to travel to the stadium.....but i was still damn cold...then i realised that the train station was just beside the bus station too......so i went inside....though not very warm...but at least it is better...there were quite a few ppl who were same as me....some even slept in those instant photo taking booths....and got laughed at....got one guy comment to his fren, wow how does that guy take his photos? take until sleeping.....quite amusing....

at dawn....bout 7 am.....i went out of the station to find the satdium....it was surrounded by buildings on all side and a river on one side....so could not take a good photo of the outside of the stadium......liverpool and man u posters were everywhere outside the stadium...i was getting desperate at that point....nearly wanted to climb over when there was nobody around...but my senses managed to stop me in time.....

so after circling the stadium once and takign a few photos.....i decided to go to cardiff castle...the only attraction that i knew....which surprisingly is also in the same area....lucky day for me.....on my way to the castle....i met 2 ang mohs and they looked at me and asked...do u need tickets for the match? ahh...the magic words....i asked them how much? then the guy replied...300 pounds.....i didnt choke...coz the guy at the bus station already mentoned that kind of figure and onlien agencies were selling at 400 pounds.....but still it was way too much.....i said no then the guy asked me how much i wanted to pay then i said hundred plus.....then he shook his head and said tt's too low...but he gave me his name card and call him on his HP if i changed my mind....as if i would....but the touting business is really big in uk....that guy had his own name card....and he even had his own website...think its www.90-minutes.com......professional rippers......

after the disappointment...i continued to walk to the castle...telling myself though i am desperate i would not put myself to ransom..... the castle itself was pretty small......comapred wif the one in edinburgh scotland......so i decided not to go in...(and i had to conserve money if i am to buy the ticket)......took some photos as usual and walked to the cardiff city hall......by this time i was tired of walking....all the thoughts in my mind was how to get into the fucking stadium.....on one hand i felt that it was really wasted since i am here in cardiff and man u might not reach another cup final in my 3 years here....on the other hand.....i really dun htink i can afford 300 pounds....even though i am crazy....i decided to walk back to the stadium.....

it was already bout 9 am at this point......on another side of the road...there was an old ang moh who asked me whether i want to sell or buy tickets.....another young ang moh beside me was also interested in buying....so he brought us to a fat ang moh who said he had contacts...he was just waiting for the guyto come out of his hotel......i wasnt really hopeful.....and to my "horror" (trying to be a bit more dramatic here) it was the same tout that i met earlier which the fat ang moh was tokking bout...my heart sank again....the fat guy came back wif 2 tickets and said it would be 400 pounds each...i nearly coughed out blood....i only walked for a while and theres such a big diff in the price??? that fat guy again asked me how much i was willing to pay and i said 100+ and he went over to the other side of the road wif the young ang moh to discuss....think my price was too low to make him interested....but i think he was trying to make a premium off the tout.....then the old ang moh commented to me that i aint gonna get anything wif my budget.....i replied i also know....but i am just a student and cannot afford to pay that kind of money...i only came here to try my luck...to which he said oh sure sure try ur luck....had a bit of sarcasm in his tone....made me rather irritated....but wat to do? money makes the world go round......

so on i walked for about 50 metres b4 i met another ang moh and a black guy beside him....again the magic words were said and they replied 300 pounds....by now i was super irritated at that figure and wanted to pack up and go home......i said no then the ang moh ask me wat was i willing to pay and i said 100+....clearly the ang moh wasnt interested.....so he said no and turned and walk away....the black guy looked at me.....then he said 200 pounds and u will get it.....i said cannot coz i only brought 150 pounds (i had 190 pounds wif me and could withdraw if i wanted to)....then he said 180....i said no as i only had 150 pounds....clearly he was slowy buying it.....he made the actions indicating i could withdraw from ATM but i said tt's all i have already...then he said 170...i still made the same expression...he turned to look at the ang moh who by now had walked away.....then he said follow me....so i followed him...he put his hands into his pocket and he had around 4 tickets wif him....presumably he looked for the one wif the lousiest seat.....and handed it to me....i asked 150 pounds? scarcely believing my eyes when i looked at the ticket wif worthington cup final liverpool vs manchester united printed on it.....he said yeah but then it dawned on me that 150 pounds itself wasnt a small sum either....i nearly wanted to give it up when i saw that the face value of the tix was only 40 pounds......but i stopped myself.....i told myself that i probably would find a ticket much lower than this.....if i give it up...i might never get this price again if i go back to the same guy.....so i fished out my wallet....squeeezed my balls and handed him the money......

at last i had a ticket.....but from that moment on.....i became scared again....i began to have doubts bout the prigins of the ticket...i had read on websites that some tickets had been stolen and ppl wif those tix would be refused entry......i cringed at the thought of that...the price was bad enough.....if it had been stolen then i can really go bang my head.....i checked out the entrance....and they had machines to pass the tix thru.....my head was filled wif thoughts of me passing the ticket thru and kanna rejected.....really scared.....but i didnt have a choice anymore.....

slowly and slowly united and liverpool jerseys began to fill the streets outside the stadium.....predictably i stayed near the united end......where i proudly displayed my jersey....those liverpool fans unfortunate enough to pass thru that area had "u scouse bastards" ringing in their ears.......(they call ppl from liverppol scousers)......the liverpool fans just smiled and walked away....presumably their fellows on the opposite end were also doing the same to the united fans.....

i stayed outside my gate for a long time....kick off was at 2 pm and entry was at 12 pm.....i saw one gate open and wanted to get in....but then i noticed the ppl in that queue were wearing nicely...and no jerseys....so i figured they must be the sponsors etc....better not to attract too much attention i thought so i patiently waited...about 11 plus at this point....at exactly 12..the gates did open so i slipped into the midst of the queue.....

after the steward tore the portion of my ticket to be retained...i could bearly contain my joy...all the suffering from last nite had been worth it......i was finally inside.....there was an extra spring in my steps.....even though i had to climb nearly 4 to 5 storeys to get to my seat...but it was a superb view.....even though it was high it still felt close to the pitch as it was steep......it felt like a very much bigger version of the basketball stadium in geylang which was torn down...we went to watch vj get beaten by rj in the final remember??? but this was of course very much bigger....in addition the roof was closed...had never been to a closed stadium b4.....the atmosphere should be quite whack.....after bz taking photos again i began to realise that i had forgotten that man u had the "small" task to beat liverpool and lift the trophy.....i began to pray..all that was left was man u winning to make my day complete..... there was a guy below who began to sang man u songs....to my surprise a guy about 10+ seats to my right began singing liverpool....liverpool......i was amused...how come he is in man u end?? (my ticket was in man u end, to make it even more perfect) i began to scan the stadium for any sort of barrier which divided the 2 sets of supporters.....ala national stadium style...remember those black metal fence which prevented us from going to the grandstand freely?? i didnt see any in the stadium....which was kind of weird....i shrugged it off....and tried to get myself comfy for the match including going to toilet and taking pics of the starting lineup on the big screen....

the pre match entertainment was kind of boring...singing...drums...flags...the usual...haha fake i go a lot of times....united players and liverpool players came out in their suits to inspect the pitch and no i didnt get to see whether beckham was wearing armani or hugo boss suits.....but to my horror man u wore white and liverpool wore red for the match.......in my memory the cup matches btw these 2 have always been won by those wearing red...first sign of discomfort in me.....

as the match started...the answers to the barriers became obvious.....there were none......i was just 10+ seats away from the liverpool half.....haha~ but it was pretty interesting....both sets of supporters didnt want to watc hthe match at all...preferring instead to irritate each other....i could only hear wat man u fans sang....like have u won the treble, have u won the league? and 12 long years (liverpool havent won the league for 12 long years.....but i scared man u also will be like that....so i didnt sing)....stading wasnt aloowed during matches but both sets of supporters still stand..until the stewards buey tahan come and tell them to sit down to prevent any trouble.....but like naughty primary schoolkids.....when the steward turned their backs they stood up again........i never once saw their eyes on the pitch.....pretty amusing.....i told myself to concentrate on the match.....dun want to make the same mistake as in the west ham match.....after a short while i hear foot stomping to my back right...ie the line btw liverpool and man u supporters.....i saw a lot of police standing btw them and fans restrainign their counterparts....apparently the mickeying around had got heated until a fight nearly broke out...i was scared for an instant.....but then i thought wat the fuck.....stupid ppl.....apparently the presence of police was still not enough.....and 2 men were brought down the steps and led away...i dun know if they were arrested or just ejected from the stadium.....but i just thought it so stupid...ruin ur own final.....only 20 min of the match had passed.....the united fans again shouted u scouse bastards and u cant take a joke.....they were to be silenced soon enough.......

there seemed to be no danger when steven gerrard picked the ball just outside the area but nobody closed him down...he shot....i shouted shit....and the ball was in the net via a deflection off beckham.......united supporters were stunned......it was silent....the opposite half in sharp contrast were a sea of activity....flags were waving....ppl jumping up and down.......it was a nice sight...except i should have been inside instead....this wasnt supposed to be happening...i was supposed to see man u win and fulfil a childhood dream.....but i composed myself....hoping for the best....halftime came and went and the rest of the match was a blur.....i alternated btw angry and desperate....angry coz the referee was biased towards liverpool....every 50 50 ball went their way....desperate coz man u were not showing much urgency and there was a clear lack of understanding as passes went astray....i remember shouting fuck the referee a lot of times.....but the unimaginable did happen.....liverpool scored another sucker punch.....both goals came against the run of play....if the first goal was a slap on the face...the second was like a stab in the heart.....and as if it wasnt enough...the guy is pushing the knife deeper and deeper b4 twisitng it round and round and then withdrawing out the blade.....it felt THAT bad....it really hurts......the final few min went normally....really did want the torture to end...but also hoping for a huge miracle ala barcelona to rescue me from the brink of despair.....but it never came and when the final whistle blew....my head dropped...united supporters were already leaving when liverpool scored the second goal....and by now the seats were already half empty......i didnt want to leave so early....forced myself to watch liverpool lift the trophy....it was a moving sight when the players lined up in front of their supportes and sang u'll never walk alone....(liverpool's anthem)......

i was so close to watching man u lift the trophy......and i can die a happy man......but no....aaarghhh in case u all think i xin tong the 150 pounds....i am not....if time turn back again, i would still have done that......i am really sad only coz man u lost.... and when i left the stadium.....it was filled wif liverpool jerseys......the carlsberg logo (sponsors of liverpool) popped out everywhere....irritating me to the max......but wat can i do? my team cocked up......it was about 430 pm when everything finished and i reached the coach station.....my coach back to london was at 815 pm....i had banged on man u winning and me celebrating......but now i got to pass away the lonely hours.....i tried to write this email on paper but just felt too sad to do it......luckily the 6 pm coach had extra space and i could hop on and return back to london.....overall i guess it was a fruitful trip...after all how many sporeans can claim they have watched a cup final wif man u in it?? i was possibly the only sporean inside the stadium that day...i hope...hmm guess thats all....sorry for boring u all........bye bye~~ anyway my pics are on http://sg.photos.yahoo.com/toshking got time then go and see okay?? seeya all.....