Right,I'm off...
- Thread starter Avmenon
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Status
[quote author=Avmenon link=topic=34900.msg913259#msg913259 date=1248770629]
Soz,Fark.
At least it's capitalized, which was your main grievance with me the last time.
[/quote]
No worries... shame about people not showing up.
Soz,Fark.
At least it's capitalized, which was your main grievance with me the last time.
[/quote]
No worries... shame about people not showing up.
[quote author=Avmenon link=topic=34900.msg913253#msg913253 date=1248769658]
As the boats left, a huge mass of Reds were following them.
I was actually at Clarke Quay & Bugis. Did not know the Reds were doing a River Cruise 🙁
I later learnt that some people had actually followed the boats all the way.
I wanted to follow suit, but my wife wanted to see some of her family members living in S'pore so I gave it a miss.
She’d followed me all the way to Singapore and offered lunch at Hooters, so I had to give something in return 8)
It was late by the time we finished, I’d hoped to have been able to meet Y1…but hopefully next time…the city was filled with Reds walking around just soaking up the atmosphere…I never did make it to Harry’s Bar at Chijmes tho, so I never managed to meet Roger Rederer and his 2 fists, if he was there…but since he’s a Red, I hope he had a good time regardless.
Yep, I have never seen so many Reds proudly wearing their tees before in my life all over the city
The next day, I was supposed to meet some friends for lunch and drinks around the Orchard MRT area; these were the same friends whom I’d met in Bukit Jalil stadium for the Manc game.
I’d done a banner for my friend who’d passed away, and I wanted to give it to them early in case I missed them at the game.
I’d thought that the banner would have been very clear in the stadium, but as you saw there were scores of banners up, some of which have been posted on here.
There was a definite buzz in the city that day, it was GAME DAY!
Besides, as the seats weren’t numbered I wanted to make sure I got good ‘seats’ ; more on that later.
My friends were held up shopping in Little India and wanted to get back to their hotel to rest a bit, so I decided that I was going ahead to the stadium without them.
I’d waited most of my life for this, they could catch up with me later.
So around 3 or so, me and the missus trudged off to the MRT to catch the train to Kallang; I’d been told to catch a cab from the station as it was too far to go on foot.
Even though it was just 3.30 or so, the train was filled with Reds..even though the match was scheduled to start in 4 hours.
We were there by 4.30pm and there was a river of reds marching towards the statdium. We were bowed over with the buzz. At the stadium, we were astounded by the Sea of Reds at the East Stand, the so call Kop of the East. It was truly an experience not to be missed.
Everyone was buzzing, but I felt a bit nervous..
Would it be a good game?...Would it be anywhere near as magical as the nights in Anfield?
Would my wife finally get why I was such a loon about Liverpool?
I secretly hoped my wife would be impressed; and that she'd understand why I sat on the floor in a daze after we demolished the Scum at the Toilet.
And why you must never say 'there's always next season' or 'it's just a game'; or my personal favourite..'will you get back inside you are not jinxing the team they don't even know you'
Still, she's coming around...when she was travelling last monthshe bought us matching shirts..the outgoing green away shirts and she wanted us to wear that...I'd preferred to wear Red of course, but she didnt have any that fit her well.
We got to Kallang station, but we didn’t get a cab to the stadium.
There was already a Red River streaming towards the distance, we could see the floodlights…so to hell with this, we’re walking.
I suppose I should have been more excited and sung more raucous songs, but the truth is I was still nervous.
This is the kind of thing I’d heard about, and read about for years…and FINALLY I was going to get my chance to sample just a little taste of it.
It wasn’t the real thing of course, and I will make sure I have a chance someday.
One day, I promised myself we shall be at Anfield.
But it was still the next best thing.
Walking with a sea of Reds to the stadium, I didn’t even know how far we walked.
Finally we got there.
There was already a huge number of people there, and it was just 10 past four.
It was the first time my wife had seen anything like it, and she couldn’t help taking photos like a tourist.
She wanted to buy a jester hat, I said NO, of course.
We made our way in, East of Anfield was there passing out song lyrics….and it was all a bit carnival-like...the sight of Carlsberg stands was a great help ;D...granted, it's not very good...but it beats some other isotonic crap they were selling.
Actually I was with an officer of the Official Liverpool Fan Club of Singapore. He said it was his club that passed out the lyrics, not East of Anfield, which is another fan club.
Granted, I should have scoffed at the song sheets, but I took 2 anyway.
Luckily, as it happened.
We made our way past the stiles and past the gates, and then we saw it.
A Red Sea had already formed in the Kop Stand, and it already covered nearly half the stand.
(By the time the game started, the East Stand - Kop of the East was filled to the brim. Amazing ocean of red.
And it was loud.
They were already chanting and shouting the names of players, particularly Gerrard, (even in absentia) Alonso and Torres.
The Torres bounce got lots of airings, as did Team of Carraghers,Rafa Rafael..and some Singaporean Alonso chant…and while Y1 may not write about it, ‘Who the Fuck are Man Utd’ was very popular... ;D
Haha, I was at the other end to yours. It seems your side was more fun. Ours was quieter, even though the 6 of us tried our best to do the Torres bounce, the Rafa Chant, A team of Carrager, Xabi Alonso. Who the heck was Man Utd was aired too 😉 Of course YNWA was screamed by one and all. Too bad, we did not have any cheer leader direction so that all of the Kop can be in one voice. Jamie Yeo (A gooner) should simply let us do our thing instead of blazing out some those music! 🙁
I think some deejays are going to get in trouble for that one.
Kallang is a very old stadium, and it’s scheduled for demolition next year, I think.
Only a small section is covered, so it was absolutely BOILING hot that evening.
Most of the stadium isn’t seated, it’s all benches.
The atmosphere was fantastic, even if there weren’t that many songs being sung initially…even tho Jamie Yeo of ESPN tried to get the ground going with YNWA.
(Credit to her tho for trying, since she’s supposed to be a Gooner)
Nice arse and legs too.
(I wished they’d have sung FOAR tho; I sang it to myself in the stands but only got a smattering of support)
We tried but not many know that song
This was when I was glad I’d brought in the song sheet.
I was forgetting the words!
These were songs I’d known and sung for years, but now, in the STADIUM, I was forgetting the words.
I still can’t explain it, although maybe I was too excited.
It was far better than the Scum game,but was a bit disorganised.
It wasnt easy getting the songs going,but as we soon found out,once we DID start,we wouldnt stop.
By this time, my friends had arrived, 3 of them.
There were supposed to be 5 of them, 3 Reds and 2 Mancs.
One Manc turned up with an Owen #7 shirt was was abused so much so the security had to intervene. Apparently he had to take off that shirt. Even a caucasian lady turned up with Terry chav blue tee and was roundly abused too.
One of the Mancs couldn’t make it since he had some stuff to attend at the last minute; besides he wasn’t that keen to come obviously.
The other absentee (who was a Red) had of course passed away last month.
They’d actually offered one extra ticket to someone, but just as they came into the stadium, I was told that the replacement was held up somewhere too and couldn’t make it either.
I was a bit annoyed at this, I fully understood wanting to keep my friend’s ticket unused.
He was supposed to have been there, but there were now 2 unused tickets going a-begging.
I remember sitting in his apartment sometime in May and we were all excited about the game and how we planned to spend the weekend and all that.
Now he was gone.
However, I had hoped that the other ticket would have been taken up by someone.
Someone who’d have loved to come.
Having said that, it was clear to me that all too many people hadn’t been able to come.
(more later)
[/quote]
More please.
As the boats left, a huge mass of Reds were following them.
I was actually at Clarke Quay & Bugis. Did not know the Reds were doing a River Cruise 🙁
I later learnt that some people had actually followed the boats all the way.
I wanted to follow suit, but my wife wanted to see some of her family members living in S'pore so I gave it a miss.
She’d followed me all the way to Singapore and offered lunch at Hooters, so I had to give something in return 8)
It was late by the time we finished, I’d hoped to have been able to meet Y1…but hopefully next time…the city was filled with Reds walking around just soaking up the atmosphere…I never did make it to Harry’s Bar at Chijmes tho, so I never managed to meet Roger Rederer and his 2 fists, if he was there…but since he’s a Red, I hope he had a good time regardless.
Yep, I have never seen so many Reds proudly wearing their tees before in my life all over the city
The next day, I was supposed to meet some friends for lunch and drinks around the Orchard MRT area; these were the same friends whom I’d met in Bukit Jalil stadium for the Manc game.
I’d done a banner for my friend who’d passed away, and I wanted to give it to them early in case I missed them at the game.
I’d thought that the banner would have been very clear in the stadium, but as you saw there were scores of banners up, some of which have been posted on here.
There was a definite buzz in the city that day, it was GAME DAY!
Besides, as the seats weren’t numbered I wanted to make sure I got good ‘seats’ ; more on that later.
My friends were held up shopping in Little India and wanted to get back to their hotel to rest a bit, so I decided that I was going ahead to the stadium without them.
I’d waited most of my life for this, they could catch up with me later.
So around 3 or so, me and the missus trudged off to the MRT to catch the train to Kallang; I’d been told to catch a cab from the station as it was too far to go on foot.
Even though it was just 3.30 or so, the train was filled with Reds..even though the match was scheduled to start in 4 hours.
We were there by 4.30pm and there was a river of reds marching towards the statdium. We were bowed over with the buzz. At the stadium, we were astounded by the Sea of Reds at the East Stand, the so call Kop of the East. It was truly an experience not to be missed.
Everyone was buzzing, but I felt a bit nervous..
Would it be a good game?...Would it be anywhere near as magical as the nights in Anfield?
Would my wife finally get why I was such a loon about Liverpool?
I secretly hoped my wife would be impressed; and that she'd understand why I sat on the floor in a daze after we demolished the Scum at the Toilet.
And why you must never say 'there's always next season' or 'it's just a game'; or my personal favourite..'will you get back inside you are not jinxing the team they don't even know you'
Still, she's coming around...when she was travelling last monthshe bought us matching shirts..the outgoing green away shirts and she wanted us to wear that...I'd preferred to wear Red of course, but she didnt have any that fit her well.
We got to Kallang station, but we didn’t get a cab to the stadium.
There was already a Red River streaming towards the distance, we could see the floodlights…so to hell with this, we’re walking.
I suppose I should have been more excited and sung more raucous songs, but the truth is I was still nervous.
This is the kind of thing I’d heard about, and read about for years…and FINALLY I was going to get my chance to sample just a little taste of it.
It wasn’t the real thing of course, and I will make sure I have a chance someday.
One day, I promised myself we shall be at Anfield.
But it was still the next best thing.
Walking with a sea of Reds to the stadium, I didn’t even know how far we walked.
Finally we got there.
There was already a huge number of people there, and it was just 10 past four.
It was the first time my wife had seen anything like it, and she couldn’t help taking photos like a tourist.
She wanted to buy a jester hat, I said NO, of course.
We made our way in, East of Anfield was there passing out song lyrics….and it was all a bit carnival-like...the sight of Carlsberg stands was a great help ;D...granted, it's not very good...but it beats some other isotonic crap they were selling.
Actually I was with an officer of the Official Liverpool Fan Club of Singapore. He said it was his club that passed out the lyrics, not East of Anfield, which is another fan club.
Granted, I should have scoffed at the song sheets, but I took 2 anyway.
Luckily, as it happened.
We made our way past the stiles and past the gates, and then we saw it.
A Red Sea had already formed in the Kop Stand, and it already covered nearly half the stand.
(By the time the game started, the East Stand - Kop of the East was filled to the brim. Amazing ocean of red.
And it was loud.
They were already chanting and shouting the names of players, particularly Gerrard, (even in absentia) Alonso and Torres.
The Torres bounce got lots of airings, as did Team of Carraghers,Rafa Rafael..and some Singaporean Alonso chant…and while Y1 may not write about it, ‘Who the Fuck are Man Utd’ was very popular... ;D
Haha, I was at the other end to yours. It seems your side was more fun. Ours was quieter, even though the 6 of us tried our best to do the Torres bounce, the Rafa Chant, A team of Carrager, Xabi Alonso. Who the heck was Man Utd was aired too 😉 Of course YNWA was screamed by one and all. Too bad, we did not have any cheer leader direction so that all of the Kop can be in one voice. Jamie Yeo (A gooner) should simply let us do our thing instead of blazing out some those music! 🙁
I think some deejays are going to get in trouble for that one.
Kallang is a very old stadium, and it’s scheduled for demolition next year, I think.
Only a small section is covered, so it was absolutely BOILING hot that evening.
Most of the stadium isn’t seated, it’s all benches.
The atmosphere was fantastic, even if there weren’t that many songs being sung initially…even tho Jamie Yeo of ESPN tried to get the ground going with YNWA.
(Credit to her tho for trying, since she’s supposed to be a Gooner)
Nice arse and legs too.
(I wished they’d have sung FOAR tho; I sang it to myself in the stands but only got a smattering of support)
We tried but not many know that song
This was when I was glad I’d brought in the song sheet.
I was forgetting the words!
These were songs I’d known and sung for years, but now, in the STADIUM, I was forgetting the words.
I still can’t explain it, although maybe I was too excited.
It was far better than the Scum game,but was a bit disorganised.
It wasnt easy getting the songs going,but as we soon found out,once we DID start,we wouldnt stop.
By this time, my friends had arrived, 3 of them.
There were supposed to be 5 of them, 3 Reds and 2 Mancs.
One Manc turned up with an Owen #7 shirt was was abused so much so the security had to intervene. Apparently he had to take off that shirt. Even a caucasian lady turned up with Terry chav blue tee and was roundly abused too.
One of the Mancs couldn’t make it since he had some stuff to attend at the last minute; besides he wasn’t that keen to come obviously.
The other absentee (who was a Red) had of course passed away last month.
They’d actually offered one extra ticket to someone, but just as they came into the stadium, I was told that the replacement was held up somewhere too and couldn’t make it either.
I was a bit annoyed at this, I fully understood wanting to keep my friend’s ticket unused.
He was supposed to have been there, but there were now 2 unused tickets going a-begging.
I remember sitting in his apartment sometime in May and we were all excited about the game and how we planned to spend the weekend and all that.
Now he was gone.
However, I had hoped that the other ticket would have been taken up by someone.
Someone who’d have loved to come.
Having said that, it was clear to me that all too many people hadn’t been able to come.
(more later)
[/quote]
More please.
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=34900.msg913372#msg913372 date=1248778141]
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[/quote]
Haha Farky, I was starving and dying of thirst because they did not allow us to bring in our bottle of water. As if we will throw at the team we support!
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[/quote]
Haha Farky, I was starving and dying of thirst because they did not allow us to bring in our bottle of water. As if we will throw at the team we support!
[quote author=Y1 link=topic=34900.msg913376#msg913376 date=1248778285]
[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=34900.msg913372#msg913372 date=1248778141]
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[/quote]
Haha Farky, I was starving and dying of thirst because they did not allow us to bring in our bottle of water. As if we will throw at the team we support!
[/quote]
You might have thrown at the Singapore team.
[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=34900.msg913372#msg913372 date=1248778141]
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[/quote]
Haha Farky, I was starving and dying of thirst because they did not allow us to bring in our bottle of water. As if we will throw at the team we support!
[/quote]
You might have thrown at the Singapore team.
[quote author=Y1 link=topic=34900.msg913376#msg913376 date=1248778285]
[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=34900.msg913372#msg913372 date=1248778141]
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[/quote]
Haha Farky, I was starving and dying of thirst because they did not allow us to bring in our bottle of water. As if we will throw at the team we support!
[/quote]
You mean no beverages were sold??? That's pretty poor
[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=34900.msg913372#msg913372 date=1248778141]
[quote author=DHSC link=topic=34900.msg913340#msg913340 date=1248775734]
I was there! I guess we sat really close!
[/quote]
Did you see someone showing everyone around countless pictures of exotic food?
[/quote]
Haha Farky, I was starving and dying of thirst because they did not allow us to bring in our bottle of water. As if we will throw at the team we support!
[/quote]
You mean no beverages were sold??? That's pretty poor
[quote author=Y1 link=topic=34900.msg913388#msg913388 date=1248778652]
They were selling beer and mineral water as if they were diamond laden!
DH, I would not thow at them poor players. They were already half fightened out of their wit, maybe except your no. 15 who was trying to break Masher's leg several times and break Agger's back.
[/quote]
that's the norm at matches Y1. They sold a cup of fizzy drinks for RM5 in a Selangor-Kedah match last year and people where throwing themselves over it!
They were selling beer and mineral water as if they were diamond laden!
DH, I would not thow at them poor players. They were already half fightened out of their wit, maybe except your no. 15 who was trying to break Masher's leg several times and break Agger's back.
[/quote]
that's the norm at matches Y1. They sold a cup of fizzy drinks for RM5 in a Selangor-Kedah match last year and people where throwing themselves over it!
[quote author=reuque link=topic=34900.msg913431#msg913431 date=1248780172]
[quote author=Y1 link=topic=34900.msg913388#msg913388 date=1248778652]
They were selling beer and mineral water as if they were diamond laden!
DH, I would not thow at them poor players. They were already half fightened out of their wit, maybe except your no. 15 who was trying to break Masher's leg several times and break Agger's back.
[/quote]
that's the norm at matches Y1. They sold a cup of fizzy drinks for RM5 in a Selangor-Kedah match last year and people where throwing themselves over it!
[/quote]
I will not pay $S5 for a cup of cold water. That is RM12.50 each small cup!
[quote author=Y1 link=topic=34900.msg913388#msg913388 date=1248778652]
They were selling beer and mineral water as if they were diamond laden!
DH, I would not thow at them poor players. They were already half fightened out of their wit, maybe except your no. 15 who was trying to break Masher's leg several times and break Agger's back.
[/quote]
that's the norm at matches Y1. They sold a cup of fizzy drinks for RM5 in a Selangor-Kedah match last year and people where throwing themselves over it!
[/quote]
I will not pay $S5 for a cup of cold water. That is RM12.50 each small cup!
some great posts avmenon ;D
The massive sea of Red you saw in the pictures were basically the West and East Stands, there were huge empty patches in the North and South Stands to our left and right.I still think if they’d sold those tickets in Malaysia,we might have had a sellout.Oh well…maye next time…
Cost was a factor, as well...the Manc game was much cheaper.
We could only get tickets in the Kop, and as it was,there wasn’t room in the Kop stand to fart. We tied the banner to the railings,an official was kind enough to take photos for us.Of course, the sole Manc amongst us immediately began making snide remarks.‘The turnout for the United game was much bigger’‘There were no empty seats’‘Kallang Stadium was run-down, and didn’t have seats’
(I had to concede the last point tho)
But something happened after this.He saw fans streaming in, and all were chanting and shouting…there were supporters coming in on crutches, and a tiny man slowly passed us in a wheelchair.He was easily in his 80’s; and his pic is also up in Facebook.It was special; it was just more ‘familiar’.I had never seen anything like it, we were all friends.It was just so much more sterile in the Manc game.My resentment at being compelled to go for the Manc game vanished that very instant, I knew then that I’d have had to experience the dark side if I wanted to appreciate what WE had.
A few shouts, no singing...and nothing..Thank God I'm not a Manc.
We were all part of something special, truly a Red Army.The East Stand (ie the ‘Kop’) was by this time packed solid, and was even more jammed than the Manc game.I’d hoped that the crowd would at least have rivalled that game.It was then that I realised that one Red was worth 3 Mancs.It wasn’t about the numbers, and it never would be.Only a Red could understand what it means to support Liverpool Football Club.There was even an air of defiance.We weren’t the Premiership Champions, but we were still the best club in the world.I think that emotion spread to my friend’s Uncle; ie the guy who paid for my friends tickets.
My friend who died was his nephew, as was the snidey Manc.
There were some rival fans who came in team colours, but all earned loud jeers and boos…I later learnt that 2 fans were so stunned by people screaming ‘MAN U SUCKS MAN U SUCKS’ at them that they went and changed.. Allow me a little smirk at their expense.(Must have been the prat in the Owen shirt,as Y1’s suggested)yway,It was about 6.30 by this time, and the Uncle asked me if I could get someone to take the tickets…I was shocked at this,the game was 30 mins away.He said he didn’t want any money for it, but that more supporters should see this.
‘We don’t get this chance’
I then asked him if we wanted to keep at least one ticket for my friend who’d passed away...He said no; he’d have wanted someone to watch it in his place…and it didn’t matter who it was.It’s hard to explain,but something just clicked with him.Anyway, my wife managed to call her brother who agreed to rush there with his girlfriend to take the tickets.
He missed about 10 mins, as did my wife who had to get him from the turnstiles.I guess I should have done it, but I couldn’t leave.We weren’t playing very well, but I didn’t want to miss a single second.The brother arrived with his girlfriend and sat on some step somewhere, there was no way he could have sat on the benches in the Kop stand.It really was like a Kop, we could all barely move.To be honest, I don’t really remember much of the actual game.Despite the goal, Voronin was shit.For much of the early stages, we weren’t playing well.The Manc chimed in with ‘United would beat them 10-nil’..Yossi played well, Babel was OK..N’gog, not so OK…but I did like some of the work shown by Spearing and Insua…
Masher was everywhere, of course
I’d like to say it was 90 minutes of sublime football, with passionate singing..but I wasn’t…it came and went in waves..We all kept singing tho, even if no one heard us…but it was more of chanting players names…Everytime the announcer mentioned the names of our stalwart players, the crowd erupted…Carra, Mascher….they just roared and roared…I’m sure the beer being sold helped matters a great deal, even if they were pretty pricy...Eventually though, the chants started…..’WE WANT TORRES WE WANT TORRES’….and immediately afterwards another group would chant for Xabi Aloso…’XA-BI AH-LON-SO clap clap…’ and again and again…Kuyt had come on by this time, to tumultuous applause….as had Reina..and then it happened…
The West Stand is closest to the player’s dugout…so we couldn’t really see being in the East Stand,but we heard loud shouting…and then the tell-tale blonde glint….TORRES!!!!!! ..he’s coming on!!
The stadium went mental…but better was to come….
I actually saw him get on the pitch before the announcer mentioned it…but I wasn’t sure….then we heard it…I forgot who he came on for….but the moment they said ‘number 14’, I swear to you…a roar the likes of which I’d never ever witnessed exploded, and it was a good thing Kallang Stadium wasn’t roofed….because it would have come down…even thinking about it now puts a lump in my throat..I didn’t even hear his name..(Since I actually do have a lump in my throat, its fitting)..The worries about Xabi and Mascher (who played from the start) seemed to vanish, even if just for a little while…XABI’S ON!!!!RAFA WOULDN’T RISK PLAYING HIM IF HE’S OFF TO MADRID…THAT MUST MEAN HE’S STAYING!!!!!!!!!
It was incredible, whilst the cheers for Torres and the rest were fantastic, the reception Xabi got was nothing short of incredible..the wife tells me that when they announced ‘no. 14’ I was bounding up and down the bench.Luckily I’d finished my beers already.(Hmm…that might explain why I’d had trouble remembering the words earlier)..We kept chanting and singing and shouting, and everytime Xabi touched the ball the crowd erupted..It was almost like the louder we clapped and shouted, the less likely he was to leave.The football was much better with the inclusion of our best players, and anyway Singapore was a weak team, as DHSC had confirmed last week.
The goals were streaming in,but the actual match was never important, it was always about the fans coming to see the Reds…eventually the final whistle blew…and my Manc mate turned to me and said ‘great game’…I don’t think he even understood the emotions going through our minds…but his cousin and Uncle did...I didn’t want to ever leave; we said our goodbyes…then the 3 of them slowly made their way out back to the hotel..the Uncle was feeling a bit light-headed from being boiled in The Lying Rag for 2 hours.
We just kept singing and shouting; eventually they played the Marsden ‘YNWA’ and we all just sang our hearts out…I hope they heard us for miles…I remember seeing Rafa and Sammy walk out to the middle of the pitch and applaud us…we just sang louder….
Eventually, we left too and re-joined the Red River trudging back to the MRT…I went through a whole range of emotions on the way back.
I was disappointed initially, this was something I’d been waiting for and had hoped for practically my whole life; having been unable to come to Singapore in 2001. I promised myself I’d come the next time I could, and I did...But it was over, and I didn’t want it to be over…From the time I bought the tickets in May, I’d been thinking about this day and looking forward to it the whole time…I didn’t know when I’d see our team again. Then I cheered up, and realised that I had done something I’d wanted to do for years, and that I WOULD manage to do it again, either by going to Anfield or even if they came to Thailand or Singapore again...Who knows?...Maybe they’ll even manage to come to Malaysia..Even though it’s pretty much a Scum stronghold, there’s huge Red support as well.
There are a lot of people (from all over South East Asia and Oceania) who couldn’t go for this game, and they’re probably quite gutted to have missed out. But they’ll get their chance sometime, as long as the Reds keep coming back.
A poster talked about how this whole Asian junket was little more than a money-spinning exercise. This is true to an extent, of course.
Flying half-way across the world to tropical heat and humidity to play some meaningless friendlies with a few decent, but mainly rubbish teams does nothing for the team’s performance in the League or Europe. And I’m glad that the team earns some money from this, it wouldn’t really be worth it otherwise. It also wouldn’t hurt us in terms of marketing and PR...But as I said in the same thread, I can’t quantify how much it meant to us to be able to see our boys in action; and to be part of the Red Army cheering them on...I’d dreamed all my life to be standing on the terraces and singing out YNWA with my scarf held aloft. And I did. (even if it was some cheap and cheesy ‘The Kop Comes To Asia†scarf)…I can’t put a monetary figure to that.
[Though I can put a monetary figure to the ENT yesterday who diagnosed my throat with severe inflammation…That’ll teach me to shout and scream when I had a sore throat.(Endoscopes are not nice things, incidentally)..Hopefully, my second appointment with the ‘scope in 3 weeks isn’t as discomforting….and doesn’t indicate anything serious..]
(That’s why I couldn’t put this up yesterday, sorry for the delays, Y1)
Like Roger, I think we’re all knackered, physically and emotionally…But for most of us who went, I think watching us in the flesh was a bit like watching an intangible love affair come to life..sounds a bit silly..but I think it’s apt...I was chatting to a 9 yr old Singaporean boy who’d come with his father; he clearly knew a lot more than his Dad, who’d just come to chaperone him..he was talking nonstop, he was so excited…Though I was probably as excited as he was.
Kudos too to the Ozzies who’d come in, their journey far worse than ours…and we all chatted and talked like we were best friends..on the streets and in the stadium everyone who wore our colours were best friends and the shirts immediately earned some ‘hellos’ and thumbs up...Kudos too to the Hong Kongers, Indonesians, Filipinos and Singaporeans and everybody else who all made the stadium roar, and they weren’t really that quiet…It’s true tho that we were a little slow to start, for most of us, I think it was the culmination of a dream, but when the dream comes true, you’re initially a bit flabbergasted and don’t know what to do.
We began singing and shouting soon enough tho, and then we didn’t stop.
As for my wife, I think she understands my insanity a little better now…though I don’t think she’s a nut like me yet, even if she says she had a good time...I think it was Agger who commented that it all reminded him of Anfield; that alone makes it all worth it.
Walk on, Redmen.
I hope you come back to our shores soon.
(And now, I really feel like one)
Edit : I hope my friend watched it,even if he wasn't there.
Cost was a factor, as well...the Manc game was much cheaper.
We could only get tickets in the Kop, and as it was,there wasn’t room in the Kop stand to fart. We tied the banner to the railings,an official was kind enough to take photos for us.Of course, the sole Manc amongst us immediately began making snide remarks.‘The turnout for the United game was much bigger’‘There were no empty seats’‘Kallang Stadium was run-down, and didn’t have seats’
(I had to concede the last point tho)
But something happened after this.He saw fans streaming in, and all were chanting and shouting…there were supporters coming in on crutches, and a tiny man slowly passed us in a wheelchair.He was easily in his 80’s; and his pic is also up in Facebook.It was special; it was just more ‘familiar’.I had never seen anything like it, we were all friends.It was just so much more sterile in the Manc game.My resentment at being compelled to go for the Manc game vanished that very instant, I knew then that I’d have had to experience the dark side if I wanted to appreciate what WE had.
A few shouts, no singing...and nothing..Thank God I'm not a Manc.
We were all part of something special, truly a Red Army.The East Stand (ie the ‘Kop’) was by this time packed solid, and was even more jammed than the Manc game.I’d hoped that the crowd would at least have rivalled that game.It was then that I realised that one Red was worth 3 Mancs.It wasn’t about the numbers, and it never would be.Only a Red could understand what it means to support Liverpool Football Club.There was even an air of defiance.We weren’t the Premiership Champions, but we were still the best club in the world.I think that emotion spread to my friend’s Uncle; ie the guy who paid for my friends tickets.
My friend who died was his nephew, as was the snidey Manc.
There were some rival fans who came in team colours, but all earned loud jeers and boos…I later learnt that 2 fans were so stunned by people screaming ‘MAN U SUCKS MAN U SUCKS’ at them that they went and changed.. Allow me a little smirk at their expense.(Must have been the prat in the Owen shirt,as Y1’s suggested)yway,It was about 6.30 by this time, and the Uncle asked me if I could get someone to take the tickets…I was shocked at this,the game was 30 mins away.He said he didn’t want any money for it, but that more supporters should see this.
‘We don’t get this chance’
I then asked him if we wanted to keep at least one ticket for my friend who’d passed away...He said no; he’d have wanted someone to watch it in his place…and it didn’t matter who it was.It’s hard to explain,but something just clicked with him.Anyway, my wife managed to call her brother who agreed to rush there with his girlfriend to take the tickets.
He missed about 10 mins, as did my wife who had to get him from the turnstiles.I guess I should have done it, but I couldn’t leave.We weren’t playing very well, but I didn’t want to miss a single second.The brother arrived with his girlfriend and sat on some step somewhere, there was no way he could have sat on the benches in the Kop stand.It really was like a Kop, we could all barely move.To be honest, I don’t really remember much of the actual game.Despite the goal, Voronin was shit.For much of the early stages, we weren’t playing well.The Manc chimed in with ‘United would beat them 10-nil’..Yossi played well, Babel was OK..N’gog, not so OK…but I did like some of the work shown by Spearing and Insua…
Masher was everywhere, of course
I’d like to say it was 90 minutes of sublime football, with passionate singing..but I wasn’t…it came and went in waves..We all kept singing tho, even if no one heard us…but it was more of chanting players names…Everytime the announcer mentioned the names of our stalwart players, the crowd erupted…Carra, Mascher….they just roared and roared…I’m sure the beer being sold helped matters a great deal, even if they were pretty pricy...Eventually though, the chants started…..’WE WANT TORRES WE WANT TORRES’….and immediately afterwards another group would chant for Xabi Aloso…’XA-BI AH-LON-SO clap clap…’ and again and again…Kuyt had come on by this time, to tumultuous applause….as had Reina..and then it happened…
The West Stand is closest to the player’s dugout…so we couldn’t really see being in the East Stand,but we heard loud shouting…and then the tell-tale blonde glint….TORRES!!!!!! ..he’s coming on!!
The stadium went mental…but better was to come….
I actually saw him get on the pitch before the announcer mentioned it…but I wasn’t sure….then we heard it…I forgot who he came on for….but the moment they said ‘number 14’, I swear to you…a roar the likes of which I’d never ever witnessed exploded, and it was a good thing Kallang Stadium wasn’t roofed….because it would have come down…even thinking about it now puts a lump in my throat..I didn’t even hear his name..(Since I actually do have a lump in my throat, its fitting)..The worries about Xabi and Mascher (who played from the start) seemed to vanish, even if just for a little while…XABI’S ON!!!!RAFA WOULDN’T RISK PLAYING HIM IF HE’S OFF TO MADRID…THAT MUST MEAN HE’S STAYING!!!!!!!!!
It was incredible, whilst the cheers for Torres and the rest were fantastic, the reception Xabi got was nothing short of incredible..the wife tells me that when they announced ‘no. 14’ I was bounding up and down the bench.Luckily I’d finished my beers already.(Hmm…that might explain why I’d had trouble remembering the words earlier)..We kept chanting and singing and shouting, and everytime Xabi touched the ball the crowd erupted..It was almost like the louder we clapped and shouted, the less likely he was to leave.The football was much better with the inclusion of our best players, and anyway Singapore was a weak team, as DHSC had confirmed last week.
The goals were streaming in,but the actual match was never important, it was always about the fans coming to see the Reds…eventually the final whistle blew…and my Manc mate turned to me and said ‘great game’…I don’t think he even understood the emotions going through our minds…but his cousin and Uncle did...I didn’t want to ever leave; we said our goodbyes…then the 3 of them slowly made their way out back to the hotel..the Uncle was feeling a bit light-headed from being boiled in The Lying Rag for 2 hours.
We just kept singing and shouting; eventually they played the Marsden ‘YNWA’ and we all just sang our hearts out…I hope they heard us for miles…I remember seeing Rafa and Sammy walk out to the middle of the pitch and applaud us…we just sang louder….
Eventually, we left too and re-joined the Red River trudging back to the MRT…I went through a whole range of emotions on the way back.
I was disappointed initially, this was something I’d been waiting for and had hoped for practically my whole life; having been unable to come to Singapore in 2001. I promised myself I’d come the next time I could, and I did...But it was over, and I didn’t want it to be over…From the time I bought the tickets in May, I’d been thinking about this day and looking forward to it the whole time…I didn’t know when I’d see our team again. Then I cheered up, and realised that I had done something I’d wanted to do for years, and that I WOULD manage to do it again, either by going to Anfield or even if they came to Thailand or Singapore again...Who knows?...Maybe they’ll even manage to come to Malaysia..Even though it’s pretty much a Scum stronghold, there’s huge Red support as well.
There are a lot of people (from all over South East Asia and Oceania) who couldn’t go for this game, and they’re probably quite gutted to have missed out. But they’ll get their chance sometime, as long as the Reds keep coming back.
A poster talked about how this whole Asian junket was little more than a money-spinning exercise. This is true to an extent, of course.
Flying half-way across the world to tropical heat and humidity to play some meaningless friendlies with a few decent, but mainly rubbish teams does nothing for the team’s performance in the League or Europe. And I’m glad that the team earns some money from this, it wouldn’t really be worth it otherwise. It also wouldn’t hurt us in terms of marketing and PR...But as I said in the same thread, I can’t quantify how much it meant to us to be able to see our boys in action; and to be part of the Red Army cheering them on...I’d dreamed all my life to be standing on the terraces and singing out YNWA with my scarf held aloft. And I did. (even if it was some cheap and cheesy ‘The Kop Comes To Asia†scarf)…I can’t put a monetary figure to that.
[Though I can put a monetary figure to the ENT yesterday who diagnosed my throat with severe inflammation…That’ll teach me to shout and scream when I had a sore throat.(Endoscopes are not nice things, incidentally)..Hopefully, my second appointment with the ‘scope in 3 weeks isn’t as discomforting….and doesn’t indicate anything serious..]
(That’s why I couldn’t put this up yesterday, sorry for the delays, Y1)
Like Roger, I think we’re all knackered, physically and emotionally…But for most of us who went, I think watching us in the flesh was a bit like watching an intangible love affair come to life..sounds a bit silly..but I think it’s apt...I was chatting to a 9 yr old Singaporean boy who’d come with his father; he clearly knew a lot more than his Dad, who’d just come to chaperone him..he was talking nonstop, he was so excited…Though I was probably as excited as he was.
Kudos too to the Ozzies who’d come in, their journey far worse than ours…and we all chatted and talked like we were best friends..on the streets and in the stadium everyone who wore our colours were best friends and the shirts immediately earned some ‘hellos’ and thumbs up...Kudos too to the Hong Kongers, Indonesians, Filipinos and Singaporeans and everybody else who all made the stadium roar, and they weren’t really that quiet…It’s true tho that we were a little slow to start, for most of us, I think it was the culmination of a dream, but when the dream comes true, you’re initially a bit flabbergasted and don’t know what to do.
We began singing and shouting soon enough tho, and then we didn’t stop.
As for my wife, I think she understands my insanity a little better now…though I don’t think she’s a nut like me yet, even if she says she had a good time...I think it was Agger who commented that it all reminded him of Anfield; that alone makes it all worth it.
Walk on, Redmen.
I hope you come back to our shores soon.
(And now, I really feel like one)
Edit : I hope my friend watched it,even if he wasn't there.
[quote author=Avmenon link=topic=34900.msg914689#msg914689 date=1248926491]
The massive sea of Red you saw in the pictures were basically the West and East Stands, there were huge empty patches in the North and South Stands to our left and right.I still think if they’d sold those tickets in Malaysia,we might have had a sellout.Oh well…maye next time…
(I thought all the tickets were sold out, according to their website! Was a bit disappointed about that but we soon made up for that with the great buzz)
Cost was a factor, as well...the Manc game was much cheaper.
(Yup, I think the Singapore tickets were 4 times more expensive. How much was the Bangkok tickets?)
We could only get tickets in the Kop, and as it was,there wasn’t room in the Kop stand to fart. We tied the banner to the railings,an official was kind enough to take photos for us.Of course, the sole Manc amongst us immediately began making snide remarks.‘The turnout for the United game was much bigger’‘There were no empty seats’‘Kallang Stadium was run-down, and didn’t have seats’
(I had to concede the last point tho)
(You are right, we were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the wooden planks. No seats.)
But something happened after this.He saw fans streaming in, and all were chanting and shouting…there were supporters coming in on crutches, and a tiny man slowly passed us in a wheelchair.He was easily in his 80’s; and his pic is also up in Facebook.It was special; it was just more ‘familiar’.I had never seen anything like it, we were all friends.It was just so much more sterile in the Manc game.My resentment at being compelled to go for the Manc game vanished that very instant, I knew then that I’d have had to experience the dark side if I wanted to appreciate what WE had.
A few shouts, no singing...and nothing..Thank God I'm not a Manc.
(The Manc atmosphere in KL was that passionless? Good to know.)
We were all part of something special, truly a Red Army.The East Stand (ie the ‘Kop’) was by this time packed solid, and was even more jammed than the Manc game.I’d hoped that the crowd would at least have rivalled that game.It was then that I realised that one Red was worth 3 Mancs.It wasn’t about the numbers, and it never would be.Only a Red could understand what it means to support Liverpool Football Club.There was even an air of defiance.We weren’t the Premiership Champions, but we were still the best club in the world.I think that emotion spread to my friend’s Uncle; ie the guy who paid for my friends tickets.
My friend who died was his nephew, as was the snidey Manc.
There were some rival fans who came in team colours, but all earned loud jeers and boos…I later learnt that 2 fans were so stunned by people screaming ‘MAN U SUCKS MAN U SUCKS’ at them that they went and changed.. Allow me a little smirk at their expense.(Must have been the prat in the Owen shirt,as Y1’s suggested)yway,It was about 6.30 by this time, and the Uncle asked me if I could get someone to take the tickets…I was shocked at this,the game was 30 mins away.He said he didn’t want any money for it, but that more supporters should see this.
‘We don’t get this chance’
I then asked him if we wanted to keep at least one ticket for my friend who’d passed away...He said no; he’d have wanted someone to watch it in his place…and it didn’t matter who it was.It’s hard to explain,but something just clicked with him.Anyway, my wife managed to call her brother who agreed to rush there with his girlfriend to take the tickets.
He missed about 10 mins, as did my wife who had to get him from the turnstiles.I guess I should have done it, but I couldn’t leave.We weren’t playing very well, but I didn’t want to miss a single second.The brother arrived with a mate and sat on some step somewhere, there was no way he could have sat on the benches in the Kop stand.It really was like a Kop, we could all barely move.Yep, there were quite a few late comers who were standing on the stairs and ailse)To be honest, I don’t really remember much of the actual game.Despite the goal, Voronin was shit.For much of the early stages, we weren’t playing well.The Manc chimed in with ‘United would beat them 10-nil’..Yossi played well, Babel was OK..N’gog, not so OK…but I did like some of the work shown by Spearing and Insua…
Masher was everywhere, of course
I’d like to say it was 90 minutes of sublime football, with passionate singing..but I wasn’t…it came and went in waves..We all kept singing tho, even if no one heard us…but it was more of chanting players names…Everytime the announcer mentioned the names of our stalwart players, the crowd erupted…Carra, Mascher….they just roared and roared…I’m sure the beer being sold helped matters a great deal, even if they were pretty pricy...Eventually though, the chants started…..’WE WANT TORRES WE WANT TORRES’….and immediately afterwards another group would chant for Xabi Aloso…’XA-BI AH-LON-SO clap clap…’ and again and again…Kuyt had come on by this time, to tumultuous applause….as had Reina..and then it happened…
The West Stand is closest to the player’s dugout…so we couldn’t really see being in the East Stand,but we heard loud shouting…and then the tell-tale blonde glint….TORRES!!!!!! ..he’s coming on!!
The stadium went mental…but better was to come….That is putting it mildly, too mildly
I actually saw him get on the pitch before the announcer mentioned it…but I wasn’t sure….then we heard it…I forgot who he came on for….but the moment they said ‘number 14’, I swear to you…a roar the likes of which I’d never ever witnessed exploded, and it was a good thing Kallang Stadium wasn’t roofed….because it would have come down…even thinking about it now puts a lump in my throat..I didn’t even hear his name..(Since I actually do have a lump in my throat, its fitting)..The worries about Xabi and Mascher (who played from the start) seemed to vanish, even if just for a little while…XABI’S ON!!!!RAFA WOULDN’T RISK PLAYING HIM IF HE’S OFF TO MADRID…THAT MUST MEAN HE’S STAYING!!!!!!!!!
It was incredible, whilst the cheers for Torres and the rest were fantastic, the reception Xabi got was nothing short of incredible..Yup, so truethe wife tells me that when they announced ‘no. 14’ I was bounding up and down the bench.Luckily I’d finished my beers already.(Hmm…that might explain why I’d had trouble remembering the words earlier)..We kept chanting and singing and shouting, and everytime Xabi touched the ball the crowd erupted..It was almost like the louder we clapped and shouted, the less likely he was to leave.The football was much better with the inclusion of our best players, and anyway Singapore was a weak team, as DHSC had confirmed last week.
The goals were streaming in,but the actual match was never important, it was always about the fans coming to see the Reds…eventually the final whistle blew…and my Manc mate turned to me and said ‘great game’…I don’t think he even understood the emotions going through our minds…but his cousin and Uncle did...I didn’t want to ever leave; we said our goodbyes…then the 3 of them slowly made their way out back to the hotel..the Uncle was feeling a bit light-headed from being boiled in The Lying Rag for 2 hours.
We just kept singing and shouting; eventually they played the Marsden ‘YNWA’ and we all just sang our hearts out…I hope they heard us for miles…I remember seeing Rafa and Sammy walk out to the middle of the pitch and applaud us…we just sang louder…. That was emtional
Eventually, we left too and re-joined the Red River trudging back to the MRT…I went through a whole range of emotions on the way back.
I was disappointed initially, this was something I’d been waiting for and had hoped for practically my whole life; having been unable to come to Singapore in 2001. I promised myself I’d come the next time I could, and I did...But it was over, and I didn’t want it to be over…From the time I bought the tickets in May, I’d been thinking about this day and looking forward to it the whole time…I didn’t know when I’d see our team again. Then I cheered up, and realised that I had done something I’d wanted to do for years, and that I WOULD manage to do it again, either by going to Anfield or even if they came to Thailand or Singapore again...Who knows?...Maybe they’ll even manage to come to Malaysia..Even though it’s pretty much a Scum stronghold, there’s huge Red support as well. I think we might be able to fill Bkt Jalil too, given the cheaper price. Also, I am beginning to notice more Liverpool car stickers around KK. The girl I sat next too coming back from Singapore was at the match too. She said at least 200 tickets were sold in KK for the game!
There are a lot of people (from all over South East Asia and Oceania) who couldn’t go for this game, and they’re probably quite gutted to have missed out. But they’ll get their chance sometime, as long as the Reds keep coming back.
(We saw a group of Maritius fan with their flag walking pass. We gave them a loud cheer!)
A poster talked about how this whole Asian junket was little more than a money-spinning exercise. This is true to an extent, of course.
Flying half-way across the world to tropical heat and humidity to play some meaningless friendlies with a few decent, but mainly rubbish teams does nothing for the team’s performance in the League or Europe. And I’m glad that the team earns some money from this, it wouldn’t really be worth it otherwise. It also wouldn’t hurt us in terms of marketing and PR...But as I said in the same thread, I can’t quantify how much it meant to us to be able to see our boys in action; and to be part of the Red Army cheering them on...I’d dreamed all my life to be standing on the terraces and singing out YNWA with my scarf held aloft. And I did. (even if it was some cheap and cheesy ‘The Kop Comes To Asia†scarf)…I can’t put a monetary figure to that.
[Though I can put a monetary figure to the ENT yesterday who diagnosed my throat with severe inflammation…That’ll teach me to shout and scream when I had a sore throat.(Endoscopes are not nice things, incidentally)..Hopefully, my second appointment with the ‘scope in 3 weeks isn’t as discomforting….and doesn’t indicate anything serious..]
(That’s why I couldn’t put this up yesterday, sorry for the delays, Y1)
(No problem mate, it was worth the wait.)
Like Roger, I think we’re all knackered, physically and emotionally…But for most of us who went, I think watching us in the flesh was a bit like watching an intangible love affair come to life..sounds a bit silly..but I think it’s apt...I was chatting to a 9 yr old Singaporean boy who’d come with his father; he clearly knew a lot more than his Dad, who’d just come to chaperone him..he was talking nonstop, he was so excited…Though I was probably as excited as he was.
(There were a few young ones behind me and they were giving their all. Saw an American boy on the way out and we asked who did he supported, Singapore or Liverpool. He said Liverpool of course! We all high fives)
Kudos too to the Ozzies who’d come in, their journey far worse than ours…and we all chatted and talked like we were best friends..on the streets and in the stadium everyone who wore our colours were best friends and the shirts immediately earned some ‘hellos’ and thumbs up...Kudos too to the Hong Kongers, Indonesians, Filipinos and Singaporeans and everybody else who all made the stadium roar, and they weren’t really that quiet…It’s true tho that we were a little slow to start, for most of us, I think it was the culmination of a dream, but when the dream comes true, you’re initially a bit flabbergasted and don’t know what to do.
We began singing and shouting soon enough tho, and then we didn’t stop.
As for my wife, I think she understands my insanity a little better now…though I don’t think she’s a nut like me yet, even if she says she had a good time...I think it was Agger who commented that it all reminded him of Anfield; that alone makes it all worth it.
Walk on, Redmen.
I hope you come back to our shores soon.
(And now, I really feel like one)
[/quote]
Cheers. The emotions are welling up from within by just reading through this
The massive sea of Red you saw in the pictures were basically the West and East Stands, there were huge empty patches in the North and South Stands to our left and right.I still think if they’d sold those tickets in Malaysia,we might have had a sellout.Oh well…maye next time…
(I thought all the tickets were sold out, according to their website! Was a bit disappointed about that but we soon made up for that with the great buzz)
Cost was a factor, as well...the Manc game was much cheaper.
(Yup, I think the Singapore tickets were 4 times more expensive. How much was the Bangkok tickets?)
We could only get tickets in the Kop, and as it was,there wasn’t room in the Kop stand to fart. We tied the banner to the railings,an official was kind enough to take photos for us.Of course, the sole Manc amongst us immediately began making snide remarks.‘The turnout for the United game was much bigger’‘There were no empty seats’‘Kallang Stadium was run-down, and didn’t have seats’
(I had to concede the last point tho)
(You are right, we were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the wooden planks. No seats.)
But something happened after this.He saw fans streaming in, and all were chanting and shouting…there were supporters coming in on crutches, and a tiny man slowly passed us in a wheelchair.He was easily in his 80’s; and his pic is also up in Facebook.It was special; it was just more ‘familiar’.I had never seen anything like it, we were all friends.It was just so much more sterile in the Manc game.My resentment at being compelled to go for the Manc game vanished that very instant, I knew then that I’d have had to experience the dark side if I wanted to appreciate what WE had.
A few shouts, no singing...and nothing..Thank God I'm not a Manc.
(The Manc atmosphere in KL was that passionless? Good to know.)
We were all part of something special, truly a Red Army.The East Stand (ie the ‘Kop’) was by this time packed solid, and was even more jammed than the Manc game.I’d hoped that the crowd would at least have rivalled that game.It was then that I realised that one Red was worth 3 Mancs.It wasn’t about the numbers, and it never would be.Only a Red could understand what it means to support Liverpool Football Club.There was even an air of defiance.We weren’t the Premiership Champions, but we were still the best club in the world.I think that emotion spread to my friend’s Uncle; ie the guy who paid for my friends tickets.
My friend who died was his nephew, as was the snidey Manc.
There were some rival fans who came in team colours, but all earned loud jeers and boos…I later learnt that 2 fans were so stunned by people screaming ‘MAN U SUCKS MAN U SUCKS’ at them that they went and changed.. Allow me a little smirk at their expense.(Must have been the prat in the Owen shirt,as Y1’s suggested)yway,It was about 6.30 by this time, and the Uncle asked me if I could get someone to take the tickets…I was shocked at this,the game was 30 mins away.He said he didn’t want any money for it, but that more supporters should see this.
‘We don’t get this chance’
I then asked him if we wanted to keep at least one ticket for my friend who’d passed away...He said no; he’d have wanted someone to watch it in his place…and it didn’t matter who it was.It’s hard to explain,but something just clicked with him.Anyway, my wife managed to call her brother who agreed to rush there with his girlfriend to take the tickets.
He missed about 10 mins, as did my wife who had to get him from the turnstiles.I guess I should have done it, but I couldn’t leave.We weren’t playing very well, but I didn’t want to miss a single second.The brother arrived with a mate and sat on some step somewhere, there was no way he could have sat on the benches in the Kop stand.It really was like a Kop, we could all barely move.Yep, there were quite a few late comers who were standing on the stairs and ailse)To be honest, I don’t really remember much of the actual game.Despite the goal, Voronin was shit.For much of the early stages, we weren’t playing well.The Manc chimed in with ‘United would beat them 10-nil’..Yossi played well, Babel was OK..N’gog, not so OK…but I did like some of the work shown by Spearing and Insua…
Masher was everywhere, of course
I’d like to say it was 90 minutes of sublime football, with passionate singing..but I wasn’t…it came and went in waves..We all kept singing tho, even if no one heard us…but it was more of chanting players names…Everytime the announcer mentioned the names of our stalwart players, the crowd erupted…Carra, Mascher….they just roared and roared…I’m sure the beer being sold helped matters a great deal, even if they were pretty pricy...Eventually though, the chants started…..’WE WANT TORRES WE WANT TORRES’….and immediately afterwards another group would chant for Xabi Aloso…’XA-BI AH-LON-SO clap clap…’ and again and again…Kuyt had come on by this time, to tumultuous applause….as had Reina..and then it happened…
The West Stand is closest to the player’s dugout…so we couldn’t really see being in the East Stand,but we heard loud shouting…and then the tell-tale blonde glint….TORRES!!!!!! ..he’s coming on!!
The stadium went mental…but better was to come….That is putting it mildly, too mildly
I actually saw him get on the pitch before the announcer mentioned it…but I wasn’t sure….then we heard it…I forgot who he came on for….but the moment they said ‘number 14’, I swear to you…a roar the likes of which I’d never ever witnessed exploded, and it was a good thing Kallang Stadium wasn’t roofed….because it would have come down…even thinking about it now puts a lump in my throat..I didn’t even hear his name..(Since I actually do have a lump in my throat, its fitting)..The worries about Xabi and Mascher (who played from the start) seemed to vanish, even if just for a little while…XABI’S ON!!!!RAFA WOULDN’T RISK PLAYING HIM IF HE’S OFF TO MADRID…THAT MUST MEAN HE’S STAYING!!!!!!!!!
It was incredible, whilst the cheers for Torres and the rest were fantastic, the reception Xabi got was nothing short of incredible..Yup, so truethe wife tells me that when they announced ‘no. 14’ I was bounding up and down the bench.Luckily I’d finished my beers already.(Hmm…that might explain why I’d had trouble remembering the words earlier)..We kept chanting and singing and shouting, and everytime Xabi touched the ball the crowd erupted..It was almost like the louder we clapped and shouted, the less likely he was to leave.The football was much better with the inclusion of our best players, and anyway Singapore was a weak team, as DHSC had confirmed last week.
The goals were streaming in,but the actual match was never important, it was always about the fans coming to see the Reds…eventually the final whistle blew…and my Manc mate turned to me and said ‘great game’…I don’t think he even understood the emotions going through our minds…but his cousin and Uncle did...I didn’t want to ever leave; we said our goodbyes…then the 3 of them slowly made their way out back to the hotel..the Uncle was feeling a bit light-headed from being boiled in The Lying Rag for 2 hours.
We just kept singing and shouting; eventually they played the Marsden ‘YNWA’ and we all just sang our hearts out…I hope they heard us for miles…I remember seeing Rafa and Sammy walk out to the middle of the pitch and applaud us…we just sang louder…. That was emtional
Eventually, we left too and re-joined the Red River trudging back to the MRT…I went through a whole range of emotions on the way back.
I was disappointed initially, this was something I’d been waiting for and had hoped for practically my whole life; having been unable to come to Singapore in 2001. I promised myself I’d come the next time I could, and I did...But it was over, and I didn’t want it to be over…From the time I bought the tickets in May, I’d been thinking about this day and looking forward to it the whole time…I didn’t know when I’d see our team again. Then I cheered up, and realised that I had done something I’d wanted to do for years, and that I WOULD manage to do it again, either by going to Anfield or even if they came to Thailand or Singapore again...Who knows?...Maybe they’ll even manage to come to Malaysia..Even though it’s pretty much a Scum stronghold, there’s huge Red support as well. I think we might be able to fill Bkt Jalil too, given the cheaper price. Also, I am beginning to notice more Liverpool car stickers around KK. The girl I sat next too coming back from Singapore was at the match too. She said at least 200 tickets were sold in KK for the game!
There are a lot of people (from all over South East Asia and Oceania) who couldn’t go for this game, and they’re probably quite gutted to have missed out. But they’ll get their chance sometime, as long as the Reds keep coming back.
(We saw a group of Maritius fan with their flag walking pass. We gave them a loud cheer!)
A poster talked about how this whole Asian junket was little more than a money-spinning exercise. This is true to an extent, of course.
Flying half-way across the world to tropical heat and humidity to play some meaningless friendlies with a few decent, but mainly rubbish teams does nothing for the team’s performance in the League or Europe. And I’m glad that the team earns some money from this, it wouldn’t really be worth it otherwise. It also wouldn’t hurt us in terms of marketing and PR...But as I said in the same thread, I can’t quantify how much it meant to us to be able to see our boys in action; and to be part of the Red Army cheering them on...I’d dreamed all my life to be standing on the terraces and singing out YNWA with my scarf held aloft. And I did. (even if it was some cheap and cheesy ‘The Kop Comes To Asia†scarf)…I can’t put a monetary figure to that.
[Though I can put a monetary figure to the ENT yesterday who diagnosed my throat with severe inflammation…That’ll teach me to shout and scream when I had a sore throat.(Endoscopes are not nice things, incidentally)..Hopefully, my second appointment with the ‘scope in 3 weeks isn’t as discomforting….and doesn’t indicate anything serious..]
(That’s why I couldn’t put this up yesterday, sorry for the delays, Y1)
(No problem mate, it was worth the wait.)
Like Roger, I think we’re all knackered, physically and emotionally…But for most of us who went, I think watching us in the flesh was a bit like watching an intangible love affair come to life..sounds a bit silly..but I think it’s apt...I was chatting to a 9 yr old Singaporean boy who’d come with his father; he clearly knew a lot more than his Dad, who’d just come to chaperone him..he was talking nonstop, he was so excited…Though I was probably as excited as he was.
(There were a few young ones behind me and they were giving their all. Saw an American boy on the way out and we asked who did he supported, Singapore or Liverpool. He said Liverpool of course! We all high fives)
Kudos too to the Ozzies who’d come in, their journey far worse than ours…and we all chatted and talked like we were best friends..on the streets and in the stadium everyone who wore our colours were best friends and the shirts immediately earned some ‘hellos’ and thumbs up...Kudos too to the Hong Kongers, Indonesians, Filipinos and Singaporeans and everybody else who all made the stadium roar, and they weren’t really that quiet…It’s true tho that we were a little slow to start, for most of us, I think it was the culmination of a dream, but when the dream comes true, you’re initially a bit flabbergasted and don’t know what to do.
We began singing and shouting soon enough tho, and then we didn’t stop.
As for my wife, I think she understands my insanity a little better now…though I don’t think she’s a nut like me yet, even if she says she had a good time...I think it was Agger who commented that it all reminded him of Anfield; that alone makes it all worth it.
Walk on, Redmen.
I hope you come back to our shores soon.
(And now, I really feel like one)
[/quote]
Cheers. The emotions are welling up from within by just reading through this
Thanks,Mike.
You're right,btw...it was the Official Supporters Club distributing the song sheets, not East of Anfield 8)
No idea about the Bangkok prices, but the Singapore tickets were about double the price of the KL prices for the Manc game...tho the main reason is of course the currency exchange.
The normal seat prices in KL would have been about 19 pounds and the Singapore game would have been about about 45 pounds.
You're right,btw...it was the Official Supporters Club distributing the song sheets, not East of Anfield 8)
No idea about the Bangkok prices, but the Singapore tickets were about double the price of the KL prices for the Manc game...tho the main reason is of course the currency exchange.
The normal seat prices in KL would have been about 19 pounds and the Singapore game would have been about about 45 pounds.
I know a couple of friends who went for the KL Manc game. They never did talk much about it. I wonder whether they even know how to sing any songs except for glory glory man utd.
Since you were at both match, it was good to know the difference in passion. So when Man U do go through another 26 years of wilderness like before, I now know most of their support will disappear. Can't wait for fergie to retire.
Since you were at both match, it was good to know the difference in passion. So when Man U do go through another 26 years of wilderness like before, I now know most of their support will disappear. Can't wait for fergie to retire.
[quote author=Avmenon link=topic=34900.msg914698#msg914698 date=1248930585]
Thanks,Mike.
You're right,btw...it was the Official Supporters Club distributing the song sheets, not East of Anfield 8)
No idea about the Bangkok prices, but the Singapore tickets were about double the price of the KL prices for the Manc game...tho the main reason is of course the currency exchange.
The normal seat prices in KL would have been about 19 pounds and the Singapore game would have been about about 45 pounds.
[/quote]
The cheapest Manc ticks went for RM58 while our cheapest was $88=RM200+.
I know because a group of friends planned to have an outing between us (GF included). I told em to stuff it, I'd rather cut my balls. Got some stick back with them saying "Cmon this is a quality footy match, you don't get this often". I wasnt gonna have any of that shit.
I still am waiting for the silver lining to all this though 🙁
Thanks,Mike.
You're right,btw...it was the Official Supporters Club distributing the song sheets, not East of Anfield 8)
No idea about the Bangkok prices, but the Singapore tickets were about double the price of the KL prices for the Manc game...tho the main reason is of course the currency exchange.
The normal seat prices in KL would have been about 19 pounds and the Singapore game would have been about about 45 pounds.
[/quote]
The cheapest Manc ticks went for RM58 while our cheapest was $88=RM200+.
I know because a group of friends planned to have an outing between us (GF included). I told em to stuff it, I'd rather cut my balls. Got some stick back with them saying "Cmon this is a quality footy match, you don't get this often". I wasnt gonna have any of that shit.
I still am waiting for the silver lining to all this though 🙁
[quote author=reuque link=topic=34900.msg914707#msg914707 date=1248932833]
[quote author=Avmenon link=topic=34900.msg914698#msg914698 date=1248930585]
Thanks,Mike.
You're right,btw...it was the Official Supporters Club distributing the song sheets, not East of Anfield 8)
No idea about the Bangkok prices, but the Singapore tickets were about double the price of the KL prices for the Manc game...tho the main reason is of course the currency exchange.
The normal seat prices in KL would have been about 19 pounds and the Singapore game would have been about about 45 pounds.
[/quote]
The cheapest Manc ticks went for RM58 while our cheapest was $88=RM200+.
I know because a group of friends planned to have an outing between us (GF included). I told em to stuff it, I'd rather cut my balls. Got some stick back with them saying "Cmon this is a quality footy match, you don't get this often". I wasnt gonna have any of that shit.
I still am waiting for the silver lining to all this though 🙁
[/quote]
So I was right, our tickets are almost 4 times the manc tickets.
Quality football between Man U & Malaysia? hahahahaha
[quote author=Avmenon link=topic=34900.msg914698#msg914698 date=1248930585]
Thanks,Mike.
You're right,btw...it was the Official Supporters Club distributing the song sheets, not East of Anfield 8)
No idea about the Bangkok prices, but the Singapore tickets were about double the price of the KL prices for the Manc game...tho the main reason is of course the currency exchange.
The normal seat prices in KL would have been about 19 pounds and the Singapore game would have been about about 45 pounds.
[/quote]
The cheapest Manc ticks went for RM58 while our cheapest was $88=RM200+.
I know because a group of friends planned to have an outing between us (GF included). I told em to stuff it, I'd rather cut my balls. Got some stick back with them saying "Cmon this is a quality footy match, you don't get this often". I wasnt gonna have any of that shit.
I still am waiting for the silver lining to all this though 🙁
[/quote]
So I was right, our tickets are almost 4 times the manc tickets.
Quality football between Man U & Malaysia? hahahahaha
Which part of the East Stand were you sat at ?
Near the left fencing area ?
Near the left fencing area ?
A selection of my photos plus one nicked off the web.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2031242&id=1157582638
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2031242&id=1157582638
- Status
