I'm a part of history!

The date to remember : 30th June 2007. Venue: National Stadium.

It was a significant day for most Singaporeans as it was the closing of the Grand Old Lady. Sadly but truly, the National Stadium will be torn down to make way for the new sports hub. There were 2 friendly matches to spark the day. Singapore Ex-Internatiional vs M'ysia Ex-International and the highly anticipated match between Singapore and Austrialia which feature stars from the EPL namely Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Mark Schwarzer & Lucas Neil.

What matter to me was not the match but the purpose to be a part of history. I remembered my mum told me that my dad brought her to the National Stadium when she was expecting me. That should be in 1974. The Stadium was opened in June 1973. By bringing my dad to the National Stadium, it completed the begining and the end of the Grand Old Lady.

Apart of that, the Stadium also brought many memories. From the Sea Games to the Merlion Cup to the Malaysia to the World Cup qualifier and to the Tiger Cup. My fondest memories was during the 1990s. When Singapore played Selangor in 1990, we won 4-0. Alistair Edwards was named the Man of the Match. After the final whistle, he came up to the VIP box to received the trophy and it was then I took the stairs down to the stadium track to take a photograph of him holding the trophy. I was certainly proud coz there were so many people asking me for the photo after that and I appeared on National TV. Hahaha.

One more memories was an exhibition match between Singapore Selection and HK celebrities. During halftime, my ticket was selected to particpate in a penalty kick. The goalkeeper? Eric Tsang. I was about to take the kick when I saw him coming off his goal to narrow his angle but I placed my shoot low toward his left and the ball went into the net. The crowd applauded. Another occasion was I was having training with then Tiong Bahru FC at the National Stadium. All these were sweet memories.

After the match, there was the lighting of the cauldron for the last time and the some moments back to the past. It was such an emotional night. I did shed some tears when the host Mark and Brian Richmond brought us back to the past. Of course, there were the fireworks.



As my dad and me exit the stadium, my dad requested to take some photographs....I can also see the sadness in him. I also took one photograph with him during the halftime break. I will certainly regret if i did not pose a picture with him.

We had Teochew porridge before I went home. The time? 12am. Though it was late, I enjoyed the time with my dad. It has been 2 years since I went to watch a match with him.