To be honest, I am only a MU fan because of my partner. When we first started dating, a good 5-6 years ago, the only football i watched was the World Cup. It felt less superficial, as the talent had to be a footballer playing for his country and not players bought over. So to join the frenzy of EPL & champions league was not something i was very keen on, but as time passed by and as I saw the struggles and competitive spirit of all the teams and especially the fans, i turned to be a "supporting" fan but fortunately not a fanatical one :)
I was in London last year when they were having the community shield of MU Vs Portsmouth and we couldn't score tickets in time to watch. I went to the Wembley stadium anyways to get a feel of the atmosphere and went to the nearby pub to drink and watch the game - very ENGlish style. Needless to say, i grew accustomed to the game, so felt a bit sore that i havent' been able to watch a footie game LIVE.
So when news broke out of the MU Asian tour, my partner was so hyped up, he bought tickets for us tickets immediately. MU Vs Malaysia.....the last remembered when that happen, it was a 6-0 score. Although i did want to see more goals, the small patriotic side of me didnt want the Malaysian team trashed.....
We arrived at a reasonable good hour before a the game was to start, and we had a quick walk around the ASTRO stadium (which was build next to the stadium, featuring a lot of booth with different activity line-ups). The atmosphere was nothing like it was outside the Wembley stadium (i hate to compare but can't help it)........no people singing and cheering, but instead a typically malaysian crowd of all kinds....old, young,families,couples.....truly 1Malaysia. Tons of people already wearing the new launched MU jersey with the black V stripe in front. And little bit of the "kiasu" feeling that everyone was out to book good seats.
I was in London last year when they were having the community shield of MU Vs Portsmouth and we couldn't score tickets in time to watch. I went to the Wembley stadium anyways to get a feel of the atmosphere and went to the nearby pub to drink and watch the game - very ENGlish style. Needless to say, i grew accustomed to the game, so felt a bit sore that i havent' been able to watch a footie game LIVE.
So when news broke out of the MU Asian tour, my partner was so hyped up, he bought tickets for us tickets immediately. MU Vs Malaysia.....the last remembered when that happen, it was a 6-0 score. Although i did want to see more goals, the small patriotic side of me didnt want the Malaysian team trashed.....
We arrived at a reasonable good hour before a the game was to start, and we had a quick walk around the ASTRO stadium (which was build next to the stadium, featuring a lot of booth with different activity line-ups). The atmosphere was nothing like it was outside the Wembley stadium (i hate to compare but can't help it)........no people singing and cheering, but instead a typically malaysian crowd of all kinds....old, young,families,couples.....truly 1Malaysia. Tons of people already wearing the new launched MU jersey with the black V stripe in front. And little bit of the "kiasu" feeling that everyone was out to book good seats.
As there were security doing crowd control, we had to bluff ourselves into the centre sitting area right in the middle of the field, a nice centralized view of the field and both its goal posts. But since we were still not early enough, we had to sit on the stairs. It was standing in the stadium itself, that i really started to feel the vibe. The crowd cheering was infectious and i didnt see a Malaysian jersey in sight. But later on, we realised there was a small fan gathering - as you can see in the picture below.
As the MU players, came on it was exciting to see them .....but it was clear that everyone was slightly sluggish. Was it from the travelling? or from the weather? or from the food? I even saw someone carry one of those poster saying " Fergie, are you enjoying the nasi lemak?" (i cant remember the exact words but it was something along those lines) Funny funny malaysians.
As most know, the scored ended with a 3-2 win o MU. The Malaysian Team played well that day and it was nice to see even though most were all MU fans, they didnt fail to cheer the Malaysian team on. Special kudos to our Malaysian player - Amri Yahyah. Who's name i learned only after watching this match.
As this game was also Michael Owens debut, i was surprised that there were coutless fans cheering for him. He was definitely welcomed with open arms. I was slightly surprised since i have seen the ridiculous rivalry of players and everthing else competitor wise. Needless to say, Owen scored the final goal for MU's win.
After the game, we went back to Astro stadium and the activities had just started. Bands playing, ball stunts and even a futsal tournament. It was fun to stick around for a little bit just to see scene.
All in all, in was a great experience......but it has instilled my need to watch an EPL game live. I'm looking into some cheap flights to London :) or can i just make to South Africa for World Cup? A girl can dream...
p/s: That night, we visited the Sultan Lounge as it was known that the MU players were staying in Mandarin Oriental. Unfortunately, not a sight of any one of them. Then the next coming Monday night, it was down a pipeline that it was confirmed the MU players were gonna be at Sultan Lounge. I wasnt desperate enough especially since the news came so late, nearing the midnight mark. But my desperate partner went, and he took pictures with Van De Sar, Carrick and Ferdinand. Nice one.
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