Football Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“It’s Saturday night; we should go out and watch a movie or something? Why do you want to stay home and just see this 22 stupid men chasing for that one ball. Don’t they have 2 balls of their own to take care of?”

Sounds familiar doesn’t it.? Well I had my fair share of trying to explain why 22 men wearing shorts are chasing that one ball and try as hard as they can to put it inside that square thing they call a goal post. And then the hassle of explaining what defenders do, what midfielders do(in addition I have to explain the difference of a defensive and an attacking midfielders), the offside rules, difference between a direct and indirect free kick and why they have to hug each other when they score a goal…..”it is such a gay thing to do……and they are sweating….eeuuwww…”…hmmm….. don’t ask me who this girl is. I would be happy to explain why United have to wear a blue jersey when the official jersey for United is red and all the rules and the name of that cute young man using no 18…….after the game…NOT during the game when your team is a goal down.

Then comes the part where she is complaining that we don’t love her as much as football. We don’t even have time to actually explain why we are so into this game call football all around the world …well they call it soccer in America(those weird Yankees)….hmmm…..”I can explain to you after the game ok baby…..No No…..u just don’t want to let me in…u just don’t want me to understand”…..Oh my God…..help me….where did that come from.

When we do try to explain it maybe during a car ride back from work or to a movie….”cam mane u nak expect me to faham now….I can’t visualize and it is too confusing lah….can we talk about how you feel about me for a change”……hmmmm…..that’s it….I give up…

But why do men are so passionate about this game? Why do men (90% of male population in Malaysia maybe. got that figure after adding then subratcting then dividing them with the male friends around me so close enuff) would be willing to stay up all night sampai kerja the next day muka cam bantal (especially during demam World Cup…next year…wohoo…go England), have arguments and fights (those were foolish young days..Hmmm) or even cried (I didn’t….no I didn’t) for this game call football…….

Simple….believe it or not…each and every men….old, young, fat, thin, bald, rock kapak hair….dream of being one of those 22 stupid men...cheered by thousands and thousands of screaming fans….making that save from that certain goal from Raul, heading that ball over Drogba to deny him the chance to score, tackling Stevie G for the supremacy in the middle of the field, crossing that pin point cross to Ronaldo to head in the ball and yes…the ultimate….scoring that winning goal to give your team the world cup or the FA cup or any cup……those 22 players are actually fulfilling our dreams….we are cheering for them cos we wanted to be cheered like them…we want to be them….but not everyone of us are blessed with the talent and also the opportunity to be the next Rooney, Ronaldo or Ronaldinho

I always wanted to be a footballer….a damn good one but sports are not always a good choice for a career here in Malaysia especially football. I played football for my school…and back then we don’t even get a proper jersey….it’s a t-shirt basically but I was beaming with pride when it was given to me. No 8 during my primary school….wanted to be that German player…Karl Heinz Rumenigee (not sure abt the spelling of that last name….anyone who knows...???)…and at that time…I don’t even own a football boots (borrowed from my cousin)….but hey….I was playing for the school…hahahahaha….secondary school….competition to be in the school team was harder….and also the pressure of doing well in school….and how my mom doesn’t like a boy wearing spectacle to play contact sports….but despite all that, I played for the school team…well..more like warming the bench for almost 2 years and just realize…. I am not good enough…hard to swallow…hard to accept but that’s reality….so I quit the team and played rugby instead…hahahahaha…but my love for football….does not end there.

Just ask any guy friends you have, why do they have to pick a certain number when they play? What does that number on the back of their jersey represents? For me, it is no 16 because it’s Roy Keane no. Always wanted to be as good as him but so far it is just a no on the back of my jersey, haven’t helped me much on my playing skills…hahahaha..but its Keane’s no 16…my hero (ok ok…everyone by now knows how I idolize this man). The striker always wanted that no 9 or 10 because it has always been associated with great strikers like Pele, Maradonna, Lineker, Owen, etc....and the reason that we pick this number because when we are wearing no 7 ke..no 10..ke no 16 or no 99 ke….we wanted to be the shadow of the great players who wore this numbers…..

Like I said, not everyone dianugerahkan talent, peluang or support they needed to make football as a career. People like me, can play but not good enough, can tackle the ball but lack conviction, can hit the ball but not hard enough, can defend but selalu hilang concentration….so we end up as fans, supporters…fanatic or moderate, your choice but for me, those 22 stupid men are actually realizing my dream and maybe a few other guys out there. When I am watching the game, I feel like I am one of them, I feel like I am part of the team, in my case, part of that United squad. When they are loosing, I want to be the one who dribble 5 players and score or the one that heads the ball into the net instead of Ronaldo (if he just heads that all properly, we could won that Villarreal game)….screaming and crying with them when we won the European Cup in 1999…I feel the disappointment, I feel their frustration, I feel their happiness, I feel their aggression…cos I am part of the team…I am one of them…..

Gilakah….they don’t even know you? Yeah…they don’t know me but each of the players represent me and what I wanted to be. Dreaming and wishing I am them…and they know that each of them represent us, the fans and supporters….and yeah, they don’t share the millions they earn but to me, cukuplah if they go on the field and play…realizing a dream that most of us men who love football in this world, doing something you love and getting paid for it….

So the next time, if any guy or gal who wants to understand why your partner, hubby, fiancé, boyfriend, son or anyone in fact who cried for their team when they lost, who screams their head off when their team scored……just ask them who is their favourite player, pretend that player is your partner, hubby, fiancé, boyfriend, son or anyone you love…….u will then and there understand why we should stay at home watching the game on Saturday nite…………………………………………………