IT’S NOT JUST A GAME !

PASSION. One of the first things that is associated with sports. It is the common ground that unites players, fans, families and even nations. To a nation like Brazil or England, it’s football. In India, it’s cricket. The list goes on.

It is not uncommon for players and fans to feel dejected, angry and even cry when their team loses. Statement like “It’s just a game lah” irks me more than anything else. It’s not just a game! It’s the underlying sense of belonging and passion that inspires all fans to throng the stadiums in waves and to stay up late to cheer for their teams. For the players, it’s their reason to fight for the shirt. Just ask Wayne Rooney or the likes of Dato’ Soh Chin Aun, James Wong and Santokh Singh (and many more) closer to home. Everyone needs inspiration in life, some take it from books, some from historic events, some from personal life and some like me, from our teams. Everyone has ideals and for us it is our team. It’s not just Liverpool or Manchester United, it’s a part of our lives.

For example, there is more to football than 22 players on the field. It’s the fans and people behind the scenes who make the football experience possible. From the stadium keeper to the fans, from the players to the security guards. In the ongoing world cup, we see passionate fans from all over the world paint their faces, show up with colourful outfits to shout and cheer for their teams. The buzzing sound of the vuvezelas add excitement to the fiesta. Imagine if it’s just a game. There will be 22 players kicking the ball about without any sense of purpose. There’s no reason for fans to throng the stadiums or stay up late and for some miss school or work.  The world cup is one of the largest parties (if not largest) and the world celebrates together regardless of race, colour or religion.

Yes, it can be sometimes amusing or bewildering for people to understand why adults would cry and mourn over a match but then again, that’s the craze of the game. How else would you see a large numbers of adults crying at the same time? Best part of it, they couldn’t be bothered if you caught them in the act.

These games are more than a form of entertainment, they are a part of our lives and it does not feel good when someone says “aiyor, it’s just a game lar”. Of course, for someone who does not share the passion, it may certainly be difficult to understand the emotion. We all have some form of passion in our lives, so why is it that difficult to understand that a game can be more than just a recluse from the tensions of life. On a bigger picture, the game has many times proved to unite nations and break barriers far more effective than a bunch of people trying to solve things over meetings or using violence. Now you tell me, if it’s just a game.

The BIG Red Showdown

This match this Sunday can't get more exciting than this. There's so much to play for - Liverpool pulling all their strings to halt the Devils from winning their 19th crown therefore overtaking the Merseysiders. It just can't get any bigger than this for all football fans ! =)

There's a bit of a history between King Kenny & Sir Alex with the former successfully denying United the EPL crown in 1995 as manager of Blackburn. Fast forward, Ferguson has one over Daglish having beaten the Reds by a solitary goal when they met in the FA Cup earlier this year.

Reds fans awaits news if their 35million pound man , Carroll will be playing some part and the Devils may not have Sir Alex on the touchline after his rant on Mr. Atkinson.

Whichever sides you're on, this is all set-up for a mouth-watering clash between two of the fiercest rivalry in football. So which side are you on ? =)

EPL Masters Football Malaysia Cup 2011

The much anticipated Masters Football Asia is back in town! And it's much more exciting this year with the participation of legends like Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole, Bryan Robson, our own Zainal Abidin and many more! Stand a chance to WIN 2 tickets to watch them in action next Sunday, March 13th 2011 at Stadium Putra - Bukit Jalil courtesy from our friends at City Golf =)

All you need to do is to log on to their website http://www.citygolf.com.my/ and tell us when they hosting the "American Pool Contest" . All we need to know is the date and time of the contest plus a short reason stating why you'd like to watch your favourite players in action at the EPL Masters Football Cup. Send in your entries to our email (msian4sports@gmail.com) in the following order :-

Name :
Phone Number :
Answer :
Reasons for wanting to meet your favourite players :

You may win yourself additional VIP tickets to hangout with them in a closed event hosted by City Golf. Find out how by logging in to their website ;)

Goals Galore !

What a week of English football ! Free flow of goals , upsets and some controversial decisions spiced up the weekend. Man Utd had their winning streak broken by Wolves but other teams (except for Man City) failed to make ground with the leaders.A very disappointing day at the office for Arsenal who lead by 4 goals in half time only to let Newcastle fight back for a dramatic draw. I for one, thought the game was wrapped up at half time and fearing the worst for the Geordies. Never would I have expected a 8 goal thriller ! As usual, Wenger pointed his fingers at the officials instead of questioning the team's mentality. The red card for Diaby was truly deserved after he stupidly threw Barton to the ground. No doubt about that. Even with 10 men, I thought Arsenal is good for the win. Heck even with 9 men, they should know how to hang on. No disrespect to Newcastle but they're not Barcelona.

Man Utd lost to Wolves was rather surprising but then again the relegation threaten team has already beaten the likes of Liverpool & Chelsea this season. Most satisfying for me is the hard fought victory of Liverpool over Chelsea. All the hype surrounding Torres fulfilling his "destiny" of scoring against his old team did not materialized and he was taken off in the 66th min after a quiet game. Soon, Liverpool scored thanks to Meireles who is proving to be quite a good striker of the ball.

All in all, it was a good weekend of football. Looking forward to more surprises and entertainment.

Walk on Torres....Walk On .

The manner Torres walked out of Liverpool left much to be desired. He publicly spat in the faces of the club and its supporters who loved and worshiped him. A club who took the chance to sign him from Spain amidst his questionable goal scoring record (despite a huge potential) and turned him into a world class player he is today. The supporters who sang his name and accepted him as one of their own. I wonder how would Rafa feel about his departure?

Judas ?

Sights of fans burning his jersey outside Anfield sums up their disappointment & frustrations. He left the club in a lurch with no choice and desperation. The least he could do is wait till the summer. No one will blame him for leaving then but it's the manner in which he chose to leave that left a bad taste in the mouth of Liverpool and its fans. Having said that, 50 million pound for a player who hasn't performed in the last year or so is a very handsome sum. It's hard to say no for many clubs with that kind of money.

So in came Suarez & Carroll with the money. A strikeforce paid by Chelsea for Liverpool. Perhaps it's not a bad deal after all - trading a striker for a strikeforce. Only time will tell. On the other hand, Newcastle probably ended up with the worst part of the bargain - losing their top striker to Liverpool and not able to replace him in time.

Future of Liverpool ?

So everything is set up for a cracker of a game this Sunday ! Expect a fiesty match and in the words of Torres - "It's destiny to score against Liverpool" . Will there be more burning of jerseys by the Liverpool supporters? Remember Torres, they hate you so much because they loved you even more.

The Great Wall of China

Choong Wei once again came short to beating Lin Dan in the Korea Open 2011. Lin Dan was there for the taking after being stretched by Taufik Hidayat & Simon Santoso in earlier rounds. He was clearly not at his best in this tournament and it was a good opportunity for Choong Wei to finally beat him in a major tournament. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. Could this be an indication that Choong Wei will never beat Lin Dan in major competitions ?

A Step Too Far ?

Congratulations Malaysia for winning the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. I must admit, I've not expected them to reach the semi-finals more so winning the tournament after a being convincingly defeated by Indonesia in the first match. Kudos to the our young guns. They deserve it after showing hard work and dedication on the pitch.

However, the move by our government by awarding a public holiday to celebrate the victory is something up for debate. No harm in celebrating the win for arguably the most popular sports in Malaysia but surely awarding a public holiday is going a step too far...at least for me. I'm still puzzled at the decision and find it hard to justify the extra day off. Not to undermine the victory, but I don't remember a public holiday being declared after Nicol won her first World Championship or Lee Choong Wei winning the All-England ?

Perhaps celebrations and rewards using good sense in this case is suffice to spur the team to greater heights?

Champions of SEA