Monday, January 03, 2005
Aide Iskandar
One of the Singapore players I respect the most. He's the Tony Adams of the Lions.
Was watching the Tiger Cup semi final between Singapore and Myanmar. The good news was, Singapore won the match 4-2 and 8-5 overall. The bad news was, I saw the ugly sight of soccer being displayed on and off the pitch. Myanmar players are known to be tough tackling and rough players but that was no excuse for their behaviour in the game. The poor pitch conditions affected game play and both sides found it difficult to play flowing football. Seeing Myanmar taking a 2-0 lead was bad but the Lions never gave up, something that's relatively new when it comes to Singapore. The score became 1-2 after Alam Shah scored. Myanmar's striker got himself sent off after getting 2 yellow cards and that sparked off a sending off spree, through no fault of the Japanese referee. He had to do what he had to. The second player was sent off for tripping Indra in the penalty box as he was the last line of defence. The third one was retarded. He was sent off for protesting to the referee and kicking mud in front of him. It was funny to hear the commentator repeating how the third player got sent off. " He was sent off for kicking mud".... So that was the first time I saw a team being reduced to 8 players on the pitch.
That wasn't the end of the action as the reserve goalkeeper on the bench was being sent off as well for throwing a water bottle that hit Subramani right smacked on the right side of his face. It's damn painful because it was filled with water and was thrown with full force. Did Subramani deserve it? No.... As the vice-captain, he was trying to be the peacemaker by separating a Singapore player and a players from Myanmar. It promised to be a free for all after all the sending off and tempers were high. The Myanmar player elbowed the Singapore player and any human being would retaliate, let alone the Singapore player. He simply pushed the Myanmar player and he went down the ground, just like Rivaldo. It took some time before the coward from the Myanmar bench owned up and he was banished to the dressing room. The referee ended the game minutes after that....
So what's the bottom line? Myanmar players are sore losers. I wanted to go watch the match but it was raining so I gave up the idea and I'm kinda glad that I didn't. Police had to go up to the stands to control the crowd and a fight could have started between the Singapore and Myanmar supporters.
Singapore has exceeded everyone's expectations by progressing from the group stages into the semis and now the finals. If we want to win the Tiger Cup, I hope we meet Indonesia but I rather we meet Malaysia because there are some old scores to settle. Namely the 4-0 thrashing at the last Tiger Cup. I've said this many times, if Singaporeans do not support their own country, nobody will.
While everyone is probably asleep and getting ready for school, I'm still trying to come to terms that school is over for me, for the next 2 years that is. While every student in Singapore will be up early tomorrow morning to get ready for school, I will still be sound asleep in my bed. The rainy weather helps alot too. No more getting up early to catch the bus to school and risk falling asleep during tutorials and lectures. I do miss the life of being a student actually.... I was reminding my mother jokingly to wake me up at 6am so that I will be ready for school. haha.... It's become such a routine for me for the past 2 years. I don't like to sleep early and I can't. So I'm usually very tired by the time school ends.
So what's my plan for the next 3 months? I really have no idea. It may seem such a long time but it's gonna pass by very fast. Gonna start shaping up because I'm really unfit now. Probably play some squash now and then. I miss playing rugby too, gonna join in a few trainings and matches if possible. I've learnt to be a dirty player and I miss taking out my anger or stress on my opponents. It's not easy being a student in jjc, trust me and it's not just about the studying part. There's lots more.... That is why I look forward to playing rugby. I like pushing my body and mind beyond the limits. Something which is gonna be important in army. Telling myself I can do it even though training and doing physical can be tiring. Telling myself to ignore whatever minor injuries I have during a game.
Was doing some catching up with dlow and everyone has grown up in many ways. All my friends seemed to have grown taller (some were shorter than me but now they are now towering over me) or lost some weight. Fat siew is now taller and he has also lost some weight. dlow also and he has even got himself a girlfriend. The guy who introduced me to counterstrike in sec 2 and we will crowd e zone as a class every friday. Looking forward to meeting dtan, lian, alim and aanesh soon.... Don't worry guys, I've got 3 months before I enlist. I couldn't recognize lian the last time I went back acs(I) on Teacher's Day. That plump boy has lost weight and he was having that 5566 and F4 hairstyle. haha....
I don't know what 2005 is gonna be like, it's still early days. I'm thinking of helping out with the packing of the relief supplies which will be sent to the disaster-hit areas. I don't think I've done much good deeds in my life, perhaps this is one of the little ways I can help. However, I'm still keeping a lookout for a job.
The cd that I've ordered from Korea has arrived. I was watching mtv all night long during my stay in Korea and even though I don't really understand Korean, I know that I was listening to good stuff. Perhaps it's only right to say that the number of talented singers will depend on the country's population. Now I finally understand why many Singaporeans are in love with Korean actors and music. I've now got the latest album by M.C THE MAX and I'm trying to see if I can get their first album. I don't know much about them (just a 3 man band), I was hooked on one of their songs which was being played repeatedly on Channel V Korea. As long as the music isn't in Chinese, it's good music.
I hafta say that Korean music rocks. Music knows no boundaries.
