Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts

Monday, July 06, 2009

A tale of 2 Michaels

I just realised I never did a proper dedication to that special guy, the guy who could walk backwards looking like he was walking forward, who could do gravity and friction - defying moves, and make grabbing crotches fashionable.

Michael Jackson - RIP.

While I wasn't really a big fan of him (my childhood idols were the Bee Gees and Take That, horrors), his music always seemed to stand out from the rest of the stuff that was playing on the radio. Who could forget the unmistakable opening basslines of Billy Jean? That, together with Thriller, Beat It and Bad became my favourite MJ songs.

Of course I never really saw the genius that was MJ until my dad brought home a hulking bulk of a LaserDisc titled - HIStory. It was the video version of the "best" album that was released at the time. Because that was before I had access to MTV, it would be the first time that I saw his dance moves and videos.

The video Thriller was actually quite hilarious to me, the bunch of dancing zombies surrounding that poor girl. It was MJ moonwalking on lighted tiles in Billy Jean that really made me go "WTF!!!!" (Of course being at such a tender age I probably went "WA LAO!"). Smooth Criminal was another video that made me feel as if I was watching a mafia movie, complete with white suits, top hats, flying billiard balls and the iconic Tommy Gun.

Sadly MJ slipped from my radar after that. His newer songs were nice and singable (Heal the World, Black or White) but never had that impact. Then the weird stuff started appearing in the news, the eccentric "Wacko" things he did, the child molestation etc. I never paid much attention to those other than a shake of the head "Tsk.. He kee siao liao..."

Then he died.
MJ will always be the King of Pop for my generation. Simply because Elvis and the Beatles were already dead when I was born, and nothing else after that can match MJ at his imba best. No, not even cry you a river Justin.

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Who's the other Michael?

Michael Owen.

I can almost hear the "CHEYY.." coming from you guys.

No he's not dead, he just joined Manchester United from poor ol' relegated Newcastle on a free transfer. Man, how cheapo can Alex get? Still, its a good deal! How can anything that you get for free not be a good deal?

I hope he teaches Berbatov and Anderson a thing or two about scoring.

Take that Liverpool fans!

P.S Any fellow Man United fans wanna camp along the Singapore River waiting for the Liverpool team to float by? Wearing the ManU jersey and waving fake BPL trophies at them? kekekeke

Friday, June 26, 2009

An ode to a Real Devil

Back when we were already champions

You were with the Hammers, fighting to stay up

We met on the last match of the season

And you single-handedly kept them alive in the League

Scoring a single goal that their fans will forever remember

We told ol' Fergie; "Sign him up!"

And he did

So began 2 years of loyal service

You fought for us

Chased for us

Heckled and closed down for us

Never gave up on us

And most importantly, scored for us

Who will forget those last ditch efforts?

The powerful strikes?

That wonderfully improvised back heel?

Then came the languid Berbatov

You found yourself on the bench

It must have been hard, watching from there

But when you came off it, you gave your all

The fans loved you

The players loved you

We told Fergie again; "Sign him up!"

But we were too late

Too late to mend your heart that was broken

We tried our best, but you thought us insincere

Its a pity that you chose to leave

Please, if you haven't already made up your mind

There'll be millions of us welcoming you back with open arms

I await your say, come first July

PS: Thanks for not joining Liverpool, but try to avoid Chelsea or Manchester City? We don't really like them either. I strongly suggest you consider Hull City, first-team opportunities won't be lacking there. You might be playing alongside Owen too, he'll complement you perfectly with his "charisma" and "looks".

Friday, June 12, 2009

An ode to a Devil

When we first saw you in action, it was magic

The stepovers, the flicks, the tricks, we insisted that the gaffer sign you on

From the land of Portugal you came, to brighten the terrible English weather

You sparkled at times, fell spectacularly mostly, and yet produced magic that confunded the best of defenders

Others said you were a cheat, a boy with a penchant for mischief and a terrible hairstyle

We said you could do it, gave you the number 7 after ol' Becks left

It was a tough few years, til the World Cups came

You tumbled on the ground, ol' Wazza let loose his breath and saw red

Then came the wink, the boos and the jeers

Wazza left it in the past, so did you, and with each boo you ran faster

With each jeer you thumped the ball harder

And finally you showed the world who you really were

Those blazing free-kicks, the lightning headers, feet that dazzled, speed to rival the roadrunner

And those goals, those wondrous 42 goals, and with it came cups, trophies and honours

Heads were turned, from Spain and hitherto.

You were drawn, yet stayed for another year

We were glad, but knew that you would eventually leave someday

And so you did.

Cristiano Ronaldo, we thank you for those magnificent displays that you put in for us. We will not miss you, nor will we rue your absence, but we truly wish you well.

Rio and Co. will be eager to have a go at you should we ever meet again.

P.S Tell Ruud that he left behind his old socks when you get there, will ya?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

In case you're wondering about the deluge of soccer-related posts, then obviously you're not a football crazy fanatic.

TOMORROW IS THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL !!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited, I've already run 2 simulations using FIFA 09 (with yours truly controlling Man Utd). The results so far? 3-1 and 2-0 in Man U's favour, both including a wonderful free-kick goal scored by Ronaldo. A sign perhaps?

The results are obviously very biased.

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I discovered 2 very interesting websites this week, thanks to Lifehacker.com and the How-to-Geek.

1) www.nintendo8.com

Play 100% authentic, classic N64/Gameboy/Sega games at this site! The games are powered by Java, so I doubt you can save that Pokemon game. I've been playing Super Mario Bros, Dig Dug and Megaman =)

2) www.socwall.com

Absolutely stunning wallpapers from every genre possible, a godsend if you love changing wallpapers everytime you boot up your PC.

Friday, May 22, 2009

I know this is somewhat belated but...

Manchester United are BPL Champions! Again!

But I bet we all knew that was gonna happen last Sunday. Save for those rabid Liverpool fans hoping for the impossible *cue evil laugh*

Looking forward to the Champions League final against Barcelona. Probably gonna go to work late just to catch it =) Dunno why UEFA must schedule on a weekday; half of the world's economy will probably freeze that following morning or something.

... end soccer ramble.

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Can't wait to get my NTU matriculation card. No not because I can't wait to start school, I just wanna throw away my Singtel mobile plan and jump ship to the green side. Unlimited SMS student plan ftw! Together with Maxonline and cable I'd get the Hubber discount too!

And I hope to get a new phone too, mine's becoming chui-er by the day. An E63 or something with a QWERTY keyboard, I'm tired of trying to type out long SMSes using predictive texting that isn't so predictive. No touch screen phones though! Surprised right? For all my techieness touch screen is one technology I'll never embrace wholeheartedly.

Yes I'm an anti-fingerprint, anti-smudge freak. If you've ever seen my laptop, you'll know why. Its almost 3 years old, made of cheap, easy-to-smudge glossy black plastic and I have friends who say it looks new. Ritualistic cleaning ftw! If I had an iPhone I'll probably wear out the screen from too much rubbing .

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To hall or not to hall, that is the question?

Monday, March 16, 2009

Saturday Bloody Saturday....

I never thought I'd ever experience being taunted by my Liverpool loving friends.

For the past 4 years through JC and NS, it was always US, the Red Devils, not the Reds, doing all the taunting and suan-ing. When Ferdinand scored with a volley, we laughed at them (a defender scoring against Liverpool! With his FOOT to boot!). When O'Shea scored in the dying minutes, we chuckled at the cruelty of it all. When we drew square, we always believed that our superior team had an off day.

Somehow 2008/2009 has been a different season.

When Torres scored, we cringed at the untimely stumble by Vidic.
When Evra hacked down Gerrard, we shouted our disbelief, until the replay confirmed our fears. When Gerrard subsequently slammed home the penalty, we cried at the near miss of Van der Sar's diving hands.
When Giggs, Scholes and Berbatov were subbed in, we prayed and hoped.
When Vidic pulled down Gerrard, we hid our eyes, hoping the card would be a nice shade of yellow.
When the red was shown, we slumped in our seats, all hope lost.
When Aurelio curled in the free kick, we hid our faces, embarrassed by the keeper's immobility.
When Dossena chipped Van der Sar, we laughed, not at all in mirth. At his staring, hapless figure as the ball bounced slow-mo into the net.

It has been a bloody Saturday in Manchester.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

confetti



Manchester United: Champions of England, Champions of Europe!


update: the performance timing for tomorrow has been changed to 6.45 instead of 6.15!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Big Match!

Manchester United versus Barcelona at Nou Camp in the Champions League Semi-finals!

According to a reliable source, whenever a big match is coming, the team which is prominently featured in local newspapers (i.e Straits Times and New Paper) the day before (i.e today), that team will lose.

So thank you, editors of The New Paper, for dedicating so many pages of your sports section to Barcelona and how they can defeat Manchester United.

I'll eat my jockey cap if we lose.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-0!

I'd say Mr. Bennett helped us score those 2 goals in the 2nd half by sending off Mascherano for being a loud mouth. He was really Liverpool's best player, blocking shots and making tackles, if only he could keep his mouth shut.

Update: I'll be going to India this October! The land of the perfect naan and curry! LOL.

Will be supporting Charlie battery for 23 SA's live firing exercise in India. Not exactly looking forward to it, since taking over from Kevin will entail lots of tedious paperwork, anxious standbys, tiring outfield exercises and preparation work. I'd definitely prefer to shake leg in Singapore and wait for ORD, but of course, as boss puts it, "You can't call yourself a gunfitter if you haven't seen the gun fire."

Not that seeing the Pegasus fire will be exhilarating (I heard it looks absolutely hilarious). But working with the Peggys will be one of my motivations for this trip - love their stupid looking, mosquito/tortoise shape. And that coughing engine sound with the rattling exhaust! Really sounds like an ancient motor car. I'll probably laugh throughout my work LOL.

Ok all that crap about motivation is fake. Everyone knows my REAL motivation will be that perfect plate of crisp, yet fluffy, yet abit chao da, authentic naan!