pianomania: THE WORLD CUP 2002 EXPERIENCE... SO FAR

THE WORLD CUP

EXPERIENCE 2022

... SO FAR

Long before I really discovered classical music, I had been following football. My interest goes back to the mid-1970s when the Singapore national team competed for the Malaysia Cup, and the thrilling World Cup qualifying round that took place in Singapore (the venerated old National Stadium, now demolished) in 1977. How I cheered for the likes of Quah Kim Song, Dollah Kassim, Mohamed Noh and Uncle Choo’s merry band of ballers. My first World Cup experience was in 1978, won by Argentina (even fervent prayers for the Netherlands did not work), and have been following the tournament ever since.

Nostalgia forbids me from giving up watching football totally. What happens during a World Cup year when you do not have cable TV at home or are unwilling to pay a ransom for subscription? My usual solution was to visit my Leeds-supporting brother Tou Yuen and enjoy his wide-screen TV. His apartment is under renovation, so where do I go now?

Note the banners representing
all the 32 national teams.

The perfect solution presented itself with free “live” screenings at numerous Community Clubs all around Singapore. The most convenient one for me was the Bukit Timah Community Club on Jalan Jurong Kechil, just a casual ten-minute walk from Bukit Timah Plaza. Having not visited the CC for ages (not since President Halimah Yacob was a humble back-bencher MP), I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it had been significantly upgraded. Screenings took place in its air-conditioned multi-purpose hall, capable of holding a few hundred people. And it was packed on the opening evening for England vs Iran.

I remember following the 2018 World Cup, watching the England vs Panama match in Georgetown, Penang at a screening hall in a converted warehouse. As I was the only (!!!) person present, there was zero atmosphere as Three Lions romped home 6-1. England vs Iran was to be a significant upgrade as well, where everyone present was alive to the action that unfolded.

There were children, grandparents and every sort of person in between. There had been food before the match, no alcohol (much like in Qatar) but free flow of coffee and hot/cold water was available. Children were busy at foosball during the half-time intermission, adults discussed merits of each team, and there was a generally congenial atmosphere all round. Handphone-holding punters and bookies were surprising nowhere to be found. (They mostly congregate at coffee shops, it has to be said.) I spotted an ex-patient and ex-church organist among the throng, and all could be forgiven for being a closet football fan once in four years.

Goals from either side were cheered with equal vehemence, and the underdog always received louder and more prolonged applause. I wore my England, Argentine and German copy jerseys on three successive evenings, and nobody questioned my allegiances. Everybody was here to have fun, and that was all that mattered.

Monday 21 November 2022

England 6 Iran 2

England dominance from the outset. Five different scorers, none of whom are named Harry Kane. Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka receives redemption with two superb goals. “Slabhead” Maguire should have gotten a penalty, but Iran get it instead. So is football coming home?

Tuesday 22 November 2022

Argentina 1 Saudi Arabia 2

First big shock of WC22. Argentina and Messi were slack, while Saudi back four as solid as the Black Stone. Nothing gets past it, unless its offside, or a Messi penalty. Two wonder goals from Alshehri and Aldawsari within four minutes will be celebrated forever.

Wednesday 23 November 2022

Japan 2 Germany 1

Second great shock of WC22. Almost a repeat of Shock #1. Fancied team scores first (also from a penalty), but the Samurai Blue mount a second half reply. This is not a kamikaze attack but a well coordinated response with super goals from supersubs Doan and Asano. The audience erupts with delight; Syonan-To, 1942 and all that have pretty much been forgotten.

So what about Goh Chok Tong's
grandiose dream for Singapore to play
in the World Cup Finals by 2010?

UPDATE:

Its 18 December, and I brought my wife along to Bukit Timah Community Club to witness the World Cup Final between Argentina and France. This has to be showcase final for all time, with swings of the pendulum and the most dramatic of endings. Argentina triumphed on penalties after extra-time ended 3-3. Here are some photos to close possibly the greatest World Cup of all time.