Things to Do with My Son - Watching Football

My son remarked one day when we passed Likas Stadium that he wanted to watch football at the stadium.

I used to watch Sabah Football Weekly without fail in the 90's and early 2000 but was disenchanted by the game fixing scandal that caused the careers of some players in the team.

I was definitely curious how the team was doing so I got myself the New Sabah Times to check. The team third, tied on points with the second team, had two games left with one home game on the 16th July 2010 against Melaka (lower recess of the table).

I then decided to attend and bring along my seven year old son the experience of attending a real game. Now you must understand when I used to attend we had partisan capacity crowd of 35,000 with number seats. We had to arrive about an hour before the game.

Today it is very different, we left the house 30 minutes before the game time. Found a parking at the Asrama right next to the Stadium.When I bought the ticket for RM12, I found out that 14 year olds and younger get in for freeeeeeee. There was maybe about a thousand people max, very different from the old days.

The game started with the usual lineup and handshaking. Kickoff and Sabah had an early lead and I was expecting a thrashing. However the defense decided to give away a goal. I am still upset with the No. 2("Buuuuuuuuudddooooh!!!!!!") And as usual I started shouting at the opponent, at the Sabah players (especially that idiot No.2) and of course the referee. Somehow I have this ability to transform into another person when I watch games (even on TV at home). Sabah scored two more goals before the half ended with the score 3-1. We left early to beat the crowd to get some food and drinks and of course the toilet (which was smelly but clean!).

So while waiting for the second half I ask Tristan how he found it so far. "You freaked me out dad! you shout so loud." Maybe slightly out of embarrassment, however I told him to get used to it!

I became a fashion police when I photographed a guy wearing a purple jacket with fake fur collar. Ooi buddy this is a tropical country but then again a free one. Must be a Prince fan!

The second half was eventful with Sabah scoring 5 more goals to make it 8. However they did let in another silly goal. To be fair no.2 wasn't at fault.

The standard has definitely dropped but it is the second tier league. I am happy to note that they do have a good back bone in the team - the goalie, 1 or 2 defenders, the midfield is strong but sometimes really lazy to cover for the defenders and the strikers are decent. Looking forward to next season.