SINCE Thursday, part-time taxi driver Vijayarengan Visvalingam has been busy being a full-time stalker.
The reason? His beloved Liverpool are in town and no means of seeing them can be discarded as being too out-of-this-world-crazy.
For instance, on Thursday afternoon with no access to the Changi Airport VIP Terminal where the Reds were to arrive, he parked his taxi by the roadside and waited with a "This is Anfield" flag sticking out his taxi's passenger seat window.
He certainly caught the attention of the Liverpool players as they passed him in their bus, and says with pride: "I was the first crazy fan to welcome them."
Crazy football fans are certainly aplenty in Singapore, judging from a recent contest by The Straits Times to find Singapore’s craziest Liverpool fan.
The front gates of Liverpool fan Haryati Abdullah's home.
PHOTO: Haryati Abdullah
Vijayarengan was one of the winners: he has Liverpool's honours tattooed on his back.
Vijayarengan is one of Singapore's craziest Liverpool fans.
ST PHOTO: Alphonsus Chern
Let's not forget first-prize winner Vikinisvaran Suppiah, whose wedding band has the word LIVERPOOL on one side.
So why are Singaporean football fans so fanatical? Why, when their relationship with these clubs are comparable to a long-distance one between love-birds?
Perhaps when it comes to football clubs, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Says Vijayarengan: "I 'stalk' them because they hardly come to Singapore."
It is certainly the case for me. Last Saturday, I gladly spent eight hours in a bus to and from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to watch my beloved United play there.
For 90 minutes, I could forget about being a reporter and became THE FAN.
When Owen scored the winning goal against the Malaysian XI in a "mere friendly", I jumped up and high-fived the Malaysian fan beside me.
Or perhaps the advent of cable TV and the Internet means we can nearly see our heroes, nearly touch them but ultimately, must comfort ourselves with hoarding those precious pieces of club merchandise that make us feel like we are there.
Indeed, one of the other contest winners is eight-year-old Zain Nasir who sleeps under the cover of a red blanket with the club crest.
And perhaps it doesn’t matter why we support the team, but that we support the team. It is as Visvalingam says: "Everyone has their own rock star, and mine is Liverpool."
Check out these nutty videos of Singapore's most ardent Liverpool fans:
Singapore fans show their love for Liverpool (Part 1)
Singapore fans show their love for Liverpool (Part 2)
Singapore fans show their love for Liverpool (Part 3)