This post is associated with the following anecdote to remind me of my happy childhood.
When I was a boy living in a small town during the years when TV was not even introduced, the football matches between different teams from nearby rubber estates were the highlights of my otherwise boring evenings. The sense of anticipation of such matches was intense for me and my childhood friends. Whenever the players who were standing in the lorries carrying them arrived, we would all be excited. It was even more so when the players entered the field.
It was interesting to note that there were bare-footed players. Life must have been tough tapping rubber then and a few players might not have the extra cash to buy a pair of football boots! Nevertheless, it was the love of playing football that mattered for the players whose sheer joy only an appearance on the field could bring. I must say I cherish the memory of them all, my unsung heroes.
It was during the play that the word ‘Centre’ was repeatedly being echoed. Whenever a winger had the ball under his control while advancing towards the opposite goalposts, the hundreds of standing cheering crowd would start shouting “Centre! Centre! ”.
They wanted the winger to pass the ball to the centre near the goalposts so that one of the forward players could head or kick the ball into the net. If the winger did not do so, he would be booed. This applied to players whose control of the ball was spoilt by opposing players coming from the back, as forward players would not be able to see what was happening at their back.
The spectators can see the whole picture of any game better than the players indeed.
3 November 2009
That is why we need people to tell us our mistakes and we should not be offended by their comments.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jin Neoh. That is the message.
ReplyDelete