The buzzword last night was football. Even I, a diehard non-football fan, knows it. For the first thing my family did on returning home from dinner was - "turn on the TV".
It was the game between Singapore and Malaysia. And the last game in our National Stadium. For our grand olde dame is making way for a new stadium.
Though the game was not the English League, there were comments aplenty among the audience. Especially about the comments of the TV commentator as heard over TV...
For years, we have talked about uniting the people - with the Singapore Wave (like at the National Day Parade when Gurmit Singh shouts enthusiastically to us in the audience to stand up and wave wildly), with the Singapore Songs (which the students sing in school during the National Day period), and with the Singapore food (hence our Food Festival and everything food, even in stately museums, and Singaporean gatherings overseas). Well now it's confirmed - football unites us all too!
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The Sunday Times, Jan 28, 2007
Fans pack stadium to cheer Lions in last game there against Malaysia
By Alvin Foo
NEVER mind the rain or the heavy traffic.
Forget about the English FA Cup, too.
And so what if last night's Asean Championship semi-final second leg between Singapore and Malaysia was shown live on cable television.
For 55,000 fans, the place to be was the National Stadium, home of Singapore football.
They packed the stadium, shoulder to shoulder. It was a sight not witnessed since 2005, when another full house gathered to see Singapore lift the Tiger Cup, now called the Asean Championship.
The game also attracted several first-time fans, such as teacher Tammy Seah, 23.
She said: 'I came because this could be the last match between rivals Singapore and Malaysia before the stadium is torn down this year.'
But, unlike two years ago when the Lions strolled to victory with an early goal, last night's encounter went right to the wire.
The fans rode the gamut of emotions. And they enjoyed every minute of it.
Some, like housewife Yana Lee, 36, had come four hours before kick-off to beat the crowd.
Tailor Abdul Mubarak, 50, even shut his shop early.
He said: 'Rain or shine, I won't want to miss this. I'm not interested in Thailand or Indonesia. With Malaysia, it's a different story.'
Even some hard-core English Premiership fans could not resist the long-time Singapore-Malaysia rivalry.
Said student Ng Hongsheng, 16, a Manchester United fan: 'Even if United were playing at the same time, I would still be at Kallang.'
Families with toddlers in tow, school kids on a weekend outing and couples on a football date helped turn the arena into a sea of red 30 minutes before the match kicked off at 8pm.
They were joined by 2,000-odd Malaysian fans, who made their presence felt with flags and lusty cheers.
Said contractor Mohd Nasir, 51, who travelled from Kuala Lumpur: 'We've come from Perak, Kelantan and some even from Sarawak. It's a special occasion, well worth the long travel.'
All tickets were snapped up by 3pm, leaving hundreds of fans stranded.
By 7pm, a long line of cars formed on the roads leading to the stadium. This was compounded by Taiwanese pop group S.H.E having a concert next door at the Indoor Stadium.
At kick-off, the Kallang whimper, which had graced the earlier games, grew into a thunderous ovation. The Kallang Roar was back. So, too, the Kallang Wave.
But the fans were stunned into silence when Malaysia opened the scoring after 57 minutes.
They found their voices again only after Muhammad Ridhuan equalised.
From then on, the fans were kept on the edge of their seats as the game spilled first into extra-time and then to penalties.
Each Singapore spot-kick was accompanied by loud cheers. They jeered each time a Malaysian player stepped up.
The fans' joy was complete when Lionel Lewis' penalty save put Singapore into the final.
Yet, not all fans were impressed.
Said civil servant Julia Chan, 26: 'We were crap. Luckily, the other team were worse.'
No matter. The fans knew they were the 12th man for the Lions.
Agreeing, Football Association of Singapore president Ho Peng Kee said: 'Their presence made the difference.'
alfoo@sph.com.sg
BIDDING FAREWELL TO AN OLD FRIEND, 45,000 people were present at the National Stadium yesterday. The 34-year-old arena has hosted, apart from numerous soccer matches, one SEAP Games, two SEA Games, evangelist Billy Graham, pop star Michael Jackson and Pope John Paul II. -- 
