diehard....

Brunei, the Land of Unexpected Treasures.. never ceases to amaze me .... Read recently in the Singapore Straits Times ... “ The S-League recorded its biggest turnout for a match in 13 years yesterday. But, the football game was not played in Singapore. Some 10,583 fans attended the game at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Bandar Seri Begawan, as S-League newcomers DPMM beat defending champions Singapore Armed Forces FC 2-1”. Wow .. that’s almost 3% of our population...

I still remember and recall fondly the days we have almost 20,000 people in the Stadium supporting our national team in d M-League... that’s almost 6% of the population ... No matter what ... we will always hold the record of the biggest stadium in the world ... I laughed when I first heard this ... rupanya nda pandai panuh stadium ani ... hehehe. Well .. being a Brunei football fan now must be like walking on cloud nine (lawa tu lagu Bryan Adams ah) ... the DPMM FC is doing well .. top of the pile in the S-League...

Recalling back since I was first introduced to the national football scene way back in 1979 ... the first match Brunei played in the Malaysia Cup at Padang Besar (siok kali ah watching from the wodden stands... some people were watching from top of trees...) till now, it has been a roller coaster ride. The climax (lain bunyi nya hehehe) was the 1999 Malaysia Cup win. There were many lows... the days where there were hardly anyone in the Stadium but the hardcore ones ( I am one of them... a certain singing DPS was also one of them). Rain or shine .. win or lose we will be there... no matter what jemputans we had .. we will be at the stadium. A friend even went to the stadium right after his nikah ... I wonder what the wifey felt that time, football more appealing than the malam pertama? Hehehe ... But ironically, a friend once said he wished we kept losing.. less people watching meant less hassle to find a parking spot near the main gate. Hahaha .... atu baru ia supporting team and wishing teamnya kalah ...

Nowadays we have the EPL... everyone seems to be supporting some top team.. Liverpool has their approved legal licensed fan club, the Setan Club aka Man Utd got one albeit not a legal one.. the Chelskis may have one (do they?).. I wonder if there is one for Hull City or kelab orang sundar aka Sunderland?... some tempat makans are associated with the teams ... Le Stadium is the Kopites Liar... Restoran Kaka and Red Canopy are for the Setans .... Chelskis used to be at D Other Office ...

A die hard EPL club fan’s life is like being on Pusing Lagi ride ... the highs of the wins.. the lowest of low when the team lost to their bitter rivals... Imagine if the team lost, your mobile will be the most popular in Brunei .. belatupan with sms from your so called friends .. no matter if it is tangah malam buta.. Recently when my beloved team lost.. I got an sms from a friend in Mekah congratulating me as soon as the match ended.. I wonder was he doing his umrah or .... and that was 4 am in the morning hehee... A friend who is a fanatical supporter of the Setans will be hiding for a week if his team lost..

So what is my point? Hahah I dont know ... I guess I am just rambling about nothing...

But seriously.. (as if I can be serious), if we put our mind, heart and soul into something, we will do anything for it (I am not condoning criminal acts here)... just like being a football fan ... come rain or shine... win or lost... you will still be there giving your all.. even when the crowd has left ...