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Terrence Voon
Sports Reporter
Not all were sore losers
December 31, 2008 Wednesday, 01:26 PM
Terrence Voon says locals also showed good sportsmanship at the AFF semi-final.
AMIDST all the high-profile clashes that took place outside the National Stadium on Dec 21, the day Singapore fell to a plucky Vietnam side at the Suzuki Cup semis, there were scenes of genuine sportsmanship that went unnoticed. Punches and water bottles may have rained down on some of the 3,000-strong Vietnam contingent that infamous day, but there were bouquets too, offered by Singapore fans who knew better. Immediately after the final whistle, several Singaporeans waded into the visiting fans in the grandstand area, not to pick a fight, but to shake hands with their rivals who had outsung them in the terraces. Even as hooliganism reared its ugly head later on, not all Singaporeans joined in the verbal and physical abuse. One example stood out. As the Vietnam team bus rolled out of the stadium, their players were seen singing and jumping in their seats, buoyed by their unexpected win over the Lions. One Singapore driver, blared his horn and wound down his window. But instead of an obscene gesture, he smiled broadly and gave the Vietnamese squad the thumbs up. He knew his team had been beaten fair and square. No more, no less. And he was generous enough to admit it. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the riotous pack who besmirched the name of local football when they blatantly attacked the Vietnamese supporters. Belatedly, the authorities have confirmed they are conducting a probe into the clashes. Better late than never, I say. But whilst we weed out and prosecute the troublemakers, do not forget that not every die-hard Lions fan was a sore loser on Dec 21. Some of us do know how to lose graciously. Tags: singapore, sports 
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I'm sure not all Singaporeans are sore losers.
....the same way that not all Palestinians want to shoot rockets to Israel.
.....the same way that not all Israelis want to attack Gaza.
But the fact remains that some Palestinian extremists did shot rockets to Israel. And the fact remains that IDF attacked Gaza.
The fact remains that a large group of Singaporeans attacked the Vietnamese.
Simply stating that NOT ALL Singaporeans are hooligans, while true, does not solve the issue.
A problem can never be solved if we dont admit there is a problem.
The one hiding behind that stupid moniker... Learn to substantiate whatever you have to say with valid points instead of spurious, immature name calling. Troll.
I don't believe this issue is dated - sportsmanship (or lack of it) is something that is present at every sporting game. In fact, after news broke that Singaporean fans were involved in a vicious brawl after the game - I am sure that like me, many Singaporeans were alarmed at the hostile and criminal behaviour that our fellow Singaporeans put up.
Terence's blog is a good reminder that even as we win graciously, we should also learn how to handle losing objectively and with the same amount of graciousness. Some Singaporeans extended this graciousness to the Vietnamese... and it is heartening that they did so.
The onus is on Singaporeans to be mature enough to accept that some of us did wrong in that brawl after the match's conclusion. We shouldn't be too ready to brush this aside because not only does it not reflect well on the maturity of our citizens, it connotes a nonchalant attitude in our citizenry towards lawlessness.
Our Lions have done us proud on the International stage. We're regarded as one of the best teams in Southeast Asia, having won the ASEAN tournament so many times. Our fans have even started returning to Kallang in full force. Our Lions have given us reason to cheer and they've done us proud in little ways - such as keeping cool heads despite a number of walkouts against our team.
Let's not degrade our boys' hard work on the pitch by a couple of irrational moments and an antagonistic, negative losing attitude. The Lions kept their heads up to the last minute, battling all the way. We shouldn't undermine them.
I refer to Terrence Voon’s article in Dec 31st’s Straits Times Sport Section, entitled “Probe into fan clashes”. I was seated in the Vietnamese section of the crowd that fateful Sunday and would just like to clarify some inaccuracies in that report. Contrary to what was reported in the Papers, Certis Cisco officers directed Vietnamese fans out of the stadium. The officers stood in a line and ushered the Vietnamese fans out of the stadium. It seemed the easy option, as the officers could then have “finished” their duty for the night and go home. The Cisco spokesman can try to hoodwink ST readers, but not the 3000 Vietnamese fans present that night.
The officers did not even escort the Vietnamese fans to ensure their safety as the latter were in fact being herded into the waiting mob of so-called Singapore fans. Many of the Vietnamese fans are university students of NTU here in Singapore, so language difficulties did not play a part, contrary to what the Cisco spokesman claimed. How can a simple instruction to stay put NOT be understood? Even a simple hand gesture would have been understood!
I, for one, refused to follow the instructions to leave the stadium at that moment. I went to the first row of seats, pulled out a red Singapore Lions supporters shirt from my backpack and pulled it over my white Vietnamese football jersey that I was already wearing. Only then did I feel safe enough to walk out of the stadium. Call me a coward if you must. At least I will own up to that. But to Cisco Certis, for goodness sake, your core business is providing safety and security services. And on that night, you failed miserably. Can’t you even own up to that?
Another example: Right after the incident at the bus stop, one Singaporean approached my friend just to say sorry for what had happened.
We always believe there are more nice Singaporeans than those who are not.
I do not see a point in publishing such article. It just proved that the writer has nothing else to write about. The AFF Suzuki Cup has long gone and the writer still talks about it. How 'lame' can he be? This type of article just reflects his personal views and should be posted in his personal diary. Write some thing fresh like 'ways to save during recession' or 'the war in Palestine'. Go get a life Terrence Voon.