It was Wednesday morning. The kids woke up and started shouting "We're going to watch basketball match today! Yay!"
Joe-Joe walked over to our room and asked - "Are we going to watch basketball now?"
Dad/Mom: "No Joejoe. We're only going to watch it this evening."
Hahaha... anyway, the night came and all of us, together with Uncle Josh in his army uniform, trotted off to the Indoor Stadium.
When we reach there, we saw a 7-11 kiosk and decided to get a drink.
"2 Cups of Coke please".
The service staff filled up the empty cup with ice and passed them to me and said $6.
"What?!? What a rip off! $3 for a cup of small Gulp (not the Big Gulp)." (Incidentally, the Big Gulp is selling for $1.60 at a normal 7-11 shop).
"Yah! Rent expensive." The service staff replied with a smile.
oh well, I thought. What can you do when you have a monopoly at the Indoor Stadium, allowed to charge exorbitant prices and when the Indoor Stadium has a sign that says "No bottles, cans, ... etc allowed inside" (something to that effect - which means die die also must buy from the stall - either you buy at prevailing price or don't drink). As a consumer, I think that is so unfair when I am not given a choice! Anyway, for the sake of my kids, a parent is willing to be ripped off. Sigh. The things parents do for their kids.
Here's a picture of the family at the match...
look how excited we are... :-)
unfortunately, the match was not well supported, as in the stadium was barely filled. If we had a whole lot more people, the atmosphere will definitely be very very different - electrified if I may use that word. Everyone will want to come back and watch. Perhaps the Sports Council might want to sponsor and consider giving out tickets for the VWOs and schools and get the numbers in. And we'd like to encourage you to go for the match - it's really quite fun.
Honestly I went with reservations - thinking "What professional basketball in Singapore - you've got to be kidding...!" Besides, Sally and myself went there initally to support the Perth Wildcats. Cause both of us studied in Perth and we watched the basketball league and supported the Perth Wildcats and support the current coach - Scott Fisher - who was a player in Perth Wildcats in the mid 90s. So Wildcats were somewhat our home team.
It was quite funny... Sally and myself became schizophrenic during the match - switching from "Wildcats"!!!! and "Go Slingers Go!!!" within seconds. It was hilarious! But we came out Slingers Supporters! haha... even though they lost by 9 points. They are really not too bad. It was a fun and exciting affair... the game was pretty fast paced - like the NBA (24 sec shot allowance).
Slingers had a Mascot - a Merlion (the commentator was proud to announce that the Slingers is the only body in Singapore allowed by the Singapore Tourism Board to use the Merlion as mascot and so the Slingers are very proud of it). Here's a picture of the mascot with Joe joe (who wanted to take a picture with the Mascot but looked absolutely petrified standing next to "it").
The Slinger Girls and the Not up to Mark Commentator/Emcee
The Slinger Girls (the "professional" cheer leading group in Singapore). Have you
seen a cheer leading group using Chinese fans to do a dance to rav the crowd up? never right? but yeah -the Slinger Girls did... 1 or 2 of them did the cheer leading kicks (like what you watch on Bring It On) but really - a cheer leading group and Chinese fans ??!!??, we would rate them 3 out of 10. I think they've a long way to go... here's a photo to proof that it's true.
And to top it off, the emcee/commentator for the evening should have just kept his mouth shut or change another commentator. He was atrocious! At one point, when the crowd was not responding to the Slinger Girls, he said some stuff over the PA system (which should not have been said -"are there any h***** guys out there?" ?!?). I turned and looked at Sally and we both frowned and shook our heads. I'm thinking - this is a perfectly good family event (there're adults but there're also a lot of kids in the stadium) - and we have a unprofessional commentator going on at the background. I'm half the mind to complain and write to the Singapore Sports Council.
Other than the Slinger Girls and the horrible commentator, we had fun. The kids also had fun... Megan and Joe also started to learn how to chant - and shout "Defence - clap clap clap. Defence" Joe shouted and laughed until he had no voice. But by the 3rd period, the kids were kinda bored. So Joe started this little game, going around the chairs to push the cup holder into the arm rest. Megan will go around un-doing them. Both of them went round and round and had a good laugh. Take a look at the cheeky faces of the kids. Haha!
What an evening... One thing I can learn from this is that as a family, we must always create opportunities for the whole family to have fun together. A family that plays together, stays together. Such opportunities create memories that will always be etched in our mind, that will bind us together.
I recall Pastor Bea share, in our times of mentoring, the wonderful times she had with her dad, the family dinners she had with her dad and her brothers/nephews and nieces - where dad will impart his values, etc. Those are the moments that the family will always remember.
In the local movie "Singapore Dreaming", Dick Su and Yan Yan (siblings in the movie) were playing mahjong together. They were actually quarreling earlier in the evening over the funeral arrangements for their father. But over the mahjong game, they recounted the events/outings their dad had taken them when they were still kids and they both had a good laugh. You see - the memories they shared connected despite differences, despite sibling rivalry. But of course in the next moment, saddened by the reality that they will not have such opportunities anymore. Dad's gone.
I'm convinced that to build a healthy and strong family, you have to spend spend time as a family - to play and eat together. To pray together. That's how a family stay together and bond. If you do not have traditions in your families, create one. These memories make you. They will be a part of you.
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