DID you watch the game pitting Liverpool against Singapore? Who did you cheer?
The British football team, I am quite sure.
After all, you had paid $88 or $188 to pay homage to your heroes, from Torres and Carragher to Alonso and Kuyt.
You must be pleased with the eventual score: 5-0.
Maybe, you were hoping for a far bigger winning margin and for angelic-looking Torres to score a hattrick.
Yes, I like to see goals being scored too — and at least two attempts which bulged the Singapore net were beautifully executed.
But I am not sure if it was easy for some fans to root for the Reds against another team in red — Singapore.
Rooting for the Reds. ST PHOTOS: Caroline Chia
It's not every day that you want another side to beat, even crush, your own national team, even if last Sunday’s game was an inconsequential one.
There is such a thing called pride for your local team and loyalty to your national flag.
I think I am not alone when I say that there must be a fair number of spectators that night at the National Stadium who had mixed feelings seeing Liverpool romp to a comfortable win.
It's not that I think the Singapore national team should be sheltered and kept away from strong opponents.
They should, of course, take on all comers, but when they play at home, the players deserve the vociferous support of fans.
And homegrown fans have, in the past, showered them with adulation.
But, against Liverpool, the Lions found themselves in the peculiar situation of many fans hoping for a goal deluge against them.
You could say the Lions had lost right from the referee's whistle to start the game.
Some may even say the Lions were mere practice fodder for the Reds and sacrificial lambs for the slaughter.
It was not a pleasant sight.
What could have been done differently to keep everyone happy, whether you are a diehard Liverpool or Singapore fan?
We could have sent out a team called, say, the FAS Selection, or some other irrelevant moniker, with pretty much the same players roped in.
Then, the result would not have mattered, and how the fans behaved would not seem insulting to the Singapore players.
And I would have been able to cheer on Liverpool but without feeling terrible feeling I was a traitor to the Lions.