It's not just about winning, but being gracious
Lee Hui Seng
Ucapan Tahniah! Congratulations and well done, Malaysia for lifting the Suzuki Cup for first time in 14 years!! We are certainly proud to be Malaysians again. Now for the World Cup and Olympics qualifiers and to take on the world! This is only the start of the journey....
We may have won the AFF Suzuki Cup and convinced PM Najib to declare a public holiday on Dec 31, 2010, but we need to educate some of our fans on general behaviour etiquette in stadiums, that is, not throwing litter everywhere and not creating tension between neighbourly and friendly nations, by pointing lasers at opposing players.
It's been a long, long time since we last witnessed a public outpouring of passion, support and fervent cheering by our fans. I still remember as a 14-year-old kid in 1978, there was no internet, no live matches on TV, only radio commentary by RTM Radio, but I would huddle around the radio to listen to live broadcasts of our exploits against South Korea, and I could remember every single player from the goal keeper to the forward line, from Arumugam to the back four comprising of Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, Abdah Alif, Yunus Alif, then the 2 stout midfielders Wong Choon Wah and Shukor Salleh to frontliners Mokhtar Dahari, James Wong, Hassan Sani and Isa Bakar.
In those days, its 1Malaysia all the way, not only 1Malaysia in terms of the composition of players, but also 1Malaysia in terms of the composition of the fans. Let's have more non-Malays watching our football and sepak takraw matches involving Malaysia teams, and let's have more Malays watching badminton and basketball matches involving Malaysian team. Let's keep it going.
I am all in favour of media stirring up this passion and working up the masses by writing articles in media on topics like 'Roles supporters play in development of sports in the country.' I have seen how Koreans as Red Devils travel round the world to support their soccer team, all using their own pocket money. That's what sheer volunteerism, patriotism and passion for sports is all about, without being asked to do the necessary.
If we, a nation of 27 million, are to harbour any genuine hopes to organise the ultimate 'Mother of all Sports events' like the Asian Games and Olympics, we must drill into the heads of our fans that fair play and winning through gracious virtues is the order of the day. Gone should be the days when we shoot laser light into opponents' eyes...
Ucapan Tahniah! Congratulations and well done, Malaysia for lifting the Suzuki Cup for first time in 14 years!! We are certainly proud to be Malaysians again. Now for the World Cup and Olympics qualifiers and to take on the world! This is only the start of the journey....
We may have won the AFF Suzuki Cup and convinced PM Najib to declare a public holiday on Dec 31, 2010, but we need to educate some of our fans on general behaviour etiquette in stadiums, that is, not throwing litter everywhere and not creating tension between neighbourly and friendly nations, by pointing lasers at opposing players.
It's been a long, long time since we last witnessed a public outpouring of passion, support and fervent cheering by our fans. I still remember as a 14-year-old kid in 1978, there was no internet, no live matches on TV, only radio commentary by RTM Radio, but I would huddle around the radio to listen to live broadcasts of our exploits against South Korea, and I could remember every single player from the goal keeper to the forward line, from Arumugam to the back four comprising of Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, Abdah Alif, Yunus Alif, then the 2 stout midfielders Wong Choon Wah and Shukor Salleh to frontliners Mokhtar Dahari, James Wong, Hassan Sani and Isa Bakar.
In those days, its 1Malaysia all the way, not only 1Malaysia in terms of the composition of players, but also 1Malaysia in terms of the composition of the fans. Let's have more non-Malays watching our football and sepak takraw matches involving Malaysia teams, and let's have more Malays watching badminton and basketball matches involving Malaysian team. Let's keep it going.
I am all in favour of media stirring up this passion and working up the masses by writing articles in media on topics like 'Roles supporters play in development of sports in the country.' I have seen how Koreans as Red Devils travel round the world to support their soccer team, all using their own pocket money. That's what sheer volunteerism, patriotism and passion for sports is all about, without being asked to do the necessary.
If we, a nation of 27 million, are to harbour any genuine hopes to organise the ultimate 'Mother of all Sports events' like the Asian Games and Olympics, we must drill into the heads of our fans that fair play and winning through gracious virtues is the order of the day. Gone should be the days when we shoot laser light into opponents' eyes...
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