The SEA game football semifinals where our home team was involved was a match much waited for by all.That was last week but people are still talking about it today.
I was not overly excited about it at first. May be because I am not a die hard football fan. I am not a guy.
I was prompted to watch because there was so much talk about it in the media and that the home team somewhat was looked down on by the opposing team. Our team was not good enough to play against them. It was not their challenge or so they said. They were showing off their superiority even before the game perhaps to make us feel small.
Of course this got me riled up. Its the patriotism in me , I think, although I have to agree that our football is still lagging behind compared to some others in the region. My humble opinion.
As they say the ball is round so anything can happen during a match. My heart and soul went out for our boys.
I missed watching the first half. Watched the second half game only.
As I watched I thought our players were slow and directionless, passes seemed to be wild. The sending and the receiving players lacked coordination. I don't know much about football but I was angry instead of enjoying as I have enjoyed watching some football matches before. And the thousands of spectators in the stadium were chanting and cheering. What were they cheering for? There at home I was staring at the tv getting more agitated every minute.
As the game progressed I was getting more emotional because the players were unable to attack effectively. Though the defense was quite ok our center players were not creative enough and not showing their skills. Some played as if their minds were somewhere else. The ball in their possession so easily got poached by the opponent. It looked like every minute was a struggle for our team.
Their show that night was giving me a stress.
Or was I expecting too much.
And I understand. Our boys played hard and have given their all. They were under a tremendous pressure to deliver. The whole nation was watching and want them to prove. Surely they knew what to do but what they did was always foiled by the more aggressive and robust opponent. Would you want to be in their shoes?
As playing time was coming nearer to close I was delighted our team managed to score a goal with a header. It was not a spectacular one but then it was enough, it was still a goal. I felt relieved.
At this time at zero one down the opponent did not give up instead upped their effort and became more aggressive and our players? They made me more stressful. They looked , to me, so vulnerable. O please . . .
The game continued and the extra time given ticked away so very slowly. It was a torture watching when the opponent got a corner kick and I thought fate was going to change in the last few minutes. Gasp! Lucky the attempted goal went over and outside. If not you can get a heart attack.
Only when the final whistle was blown did the stress and tensions subsided.
Watching football live telecast, not necessarily watching it in the stadium can also take you up on to an emotional roller coaster. Fun or torture?
The boys did not disappoint us. Lets wish them good luck in the finals tonight.
You see from what is on paper people predict and form opinions. But on the day of reckoning the unexpected can happen as in this semifinals.
Sometimes what one team says about the opposite team is well understood . It is just to play psychology on the opponent. It was all about tactics. Only the supporters and people like me may get misunderstood that for talking big and so we feel slighted. We want them to eat back their words.
Anyway your showing of disdain towards people may drive them to device a better and more effective way to counter - be it in sports in politics and in any rivalry.
Be a good sport!
bye . . .
