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Corruption in football
According to Bernama (June 08, 2011) FAM Deputy President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said a police officer will be placed at FAM to check on corruption.
My mischief self was asking “ Why? To ensure that the practice is smooth and well managed.”
Just kidding.
In all honesty, I share the same sentiments as Tengku Mahkota “I am very disappointed as it will destroy our football. I don’t want a repeat of the big operations against corruption in 1995”
I think what Tengku Mahkota meant was that this will destroy our football even further. It really doesn’t need any help in going down the drains.
I remember asking an ex FAM officer whether corruption exist in Malaysian football. He asked me to show proof that it exists.
For those who say “NO, there is no corruption in football i.e Sepp Blatter, please read on.
In January 2006, then Luton Town manager, Mike Newell and then-manager of Queens Park Rangers, Ian Holloway alleged that backhanders (bribes) were rife in the sport. The Football Association subsequently held talks with the two managers and established an enquiry.
On 19 September 2006 the BBC current affairs television programme Panorama broadcast a special investigation into corruption in English football which had begun filming in August 2005.
"Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets" included footage shown of meetings between agents, managers and high ranking football club officials, filmed undercover by Knut auf dem Berge, a freelance coach posing as a prospective football agent. This footage purported to show agents and managers accepting backhanders and illegally "tapping-up" players under contract to other clubs.
These allegations included:
- That Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce, and his agent son Craig were alleged to have accepted "bungs" (bribes) from agents for signing certain players. Two agents, Teni Yerima and Peter Harrison, were secretly filmed, each separately claiming that they had paid Allardyce through his son. Allardyce denies ever taking, or asking for, a bung.
- Then Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is secretly filmed discussing the possibility of buying the Blackburn Rovers captain Andy Todd with agent Peter Harrison, which is illegal under FA rules. However, the programme merely showed Harrison approaching Redknapp and asking direct questions which Redknapp answered.
- Then Portsmouth first-team coach Kevin Bond, first team coach of Newcastle United when the programme was aired, is secretly recorded admitting he would consider discussing receiving payments from a proposed new agency involving agent Peter Harrison. This was the programme's description; it did not seem explicit from the extract broadcast. Bond was suspended and then sacked by Newcastle as a result of the allegations.
- Chelsea director of youth football Frank Arnesen is secretly filmed making an illegal approach or "tapping up" Middlesbrough's England youth star 15-year-old Nathan Porritt. Arnesen offers a fee of £150,000 spread over three years as an incentive to move, although he had been advised that it was 99.9% certain that Porritt would leave Middlesbrough. Both of these allegations are illegal under FA rules. Officials from Liverpool and Newcastle United were also implicated in attempts to sign Porritt.
- Agent Peter Harrison told the undercover reporter that, to secure transfer deals with Bolton, he bribed Sam Allardyce by offering to pay his son Craig. Harrison is a FIFA-listed agent, who is based in the north-east of England.
- That three different Bolton transfer signings involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce, some when he was contractually banned from doing any Bolton deals. Panorama alleged Bolton's transfer signings of defender Tal Ben Haim, midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce. Allardyce's son quit the agency business in summer 2006, and has admitted in newspaper interviews that his working as an agent might have cost his father the chance of becoming England manager.
- Agent Charles Collymore, is secretly filmed in the Panorama film, saying: "There's managers out there who take bungs all day long. I would say to you comfortably there's six to eight managers we could definitely approach and they'd be up for this no problem." Later, Collymore is named publicly for the first time by Luton Town manager Mike Newell as the agent who offered him an illegal payment. Collymore also represents England cricketer Simon Jones.
2006 was also a dark year for Italian football. Below is an extract from
Corruption in football
Written by Alexis Franke
“2006 was a dark year for the Italian football nation. The former manager of FC Juventus Turin, one of the most popular teams in the league, was accused of manipulating games with the help of corrupt referees, players and officials. As a consequence, the team had to dismount to the second league and its last two-championship titles 2005 and 2006 were withdrawn. The manager was punished to 5 years of occupational ban. In total, 26 officials were accused.”
Closer to home:
Pride of Malaysian football in the docks as coach is charged for match-fixing
Friday, 10 June 2011 08:40 JR Letchumanan (Klik4Malaysia.com)
Negeri Sembilan President Cup coach, Yusarman Yusof, 35, was charged with 21 counts of match-fixing by the Session Court two days ago, marking another unpleasant episode in Malaysian football.
He pleaded not guilty to giving RM24,900 as bribe to 11 players of the team between April 19 and 22.
Yusarman was accused of giving the players RM200 to RM2,000 each as an inducement to help and allow the Penang SDM Navy team to score in a match at the Bertam Stadium in Penang on April 21.
Eleven counts of giving bribes to fix a match were committed at the Cempaka Commercial Centre in Taman Cempaka, Senawang, at 5pm on April 22.
Nine counts were committed at the same place at 9pm on April 19, followed by another around Seremban at 10pm the same day.
My question is “Does corruption happen in top leagues like in the English Premier League and the Malaysian Super League?”.
Is the corruption in Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Spurs. Do players from these clubs do accept bribe to give away goals and games?
My thoughts are:
Corruption exists in lower leagues. I believe players, managers, officials, referees, agents and bookies are involved.
I cant seem to accept that world class players in the top leagues like Gerrard, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carragher, Lampard, Terry, Messi, Iniesta, Xabi, Eto, Sneider etc are on the take.
Maybe I am living in Lala land….. but I love the game too much to accept that bookies are involved and the passion that I have for football is based on something fake.
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php?option=com_content&vie
Tony Fernandes's bid for West Ham must be out of pure passion for the club. Or is it??????
Relegated West Ham will have its own challenges being in the Championship division coming season. It will enjoy lower TV rights money. But it is moving to the 60,000 capacity Olympic Stadium after next year. It has die hard followers that will never walk away from the club.
It still has a great academy and churns out star performers that gets bought over by the big club.
I have observed that most clubs are not good business. Like Man Utd and Liverpool. Only Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham have been turning profits in the top league.
West Ham value will be at its lowest now that it is relegated. Good time to buy right?
It will still churn out young stars that will be bought over by big clubs at top price. Just check out how many Man Utd players are from West Ham originally in the last 10 years. So the club will make money.
The chances are with Sam Allardyce as the new manager, he will bring up West Ham back to Premiership division after next season. The value will shoot up again.
So putting on the entreprenuerial hat, I too would bid for Westt Ham if:
1. I was a fan of that club
2. had a reasonable amount of money to buy and invest in a new mgt team (i will still keep Sammy)
3. if could later convince the British government to let me fly my award winning carrier to London where West Ham is located
4. then maybe sell the club at a higher price once the club goes back up to top flight
I know it is easier said then done, but it sounds very reasonable, doesnt it?
Is that an orange cap?
THE SHAPE AND MEN'S HEALTH NIGHT RUN 2010
Did you all enjoy it? From what I saw you did.
I thought the temperature was much cooler than the Putrajaya Night Marathon. There was a cool breeze.
Jay Menon and Ferhad did a great job of MCing the Run.
I did not run as much I wanted to because I was coordinating the Zigman Challlenge. It was their final challenge before the Challenge offcially ends on the 12th of August.
I felt Twenty First Century Sports did a great job! Please let us know how you feel about the event.
Tham, one of our regular runners managed to get medal and he was very happy. He thought the run was well organized. Thanks man. The credit should go to Nithi, The Race Director supported by Prem, our Operations Manager.
Matter of fact all the part time crew and volunteers should take a bow too.
I must say the area around Palace of Justice looked really beautiful at night. It was a pleasure being there.
To all the runners, thank you for joining the Shape & Men's Health Night Run 2010.
My two cents worth in terms of improving the event:
1. Once the official has done with the technical briefing of the race to the runners, he/ she should allow the music to pump up the energy of the runners and the environment. I thought the energy dropped everytime the technical annoucement was made. I dont agree with the number of times the breifing was made. It really got the energy flat.
2.For those runners who ignored the race collections day or did not subsrcibe to the Race Kit Delivery service and was not able to to run or get your goodie bags, you maybe wondering why there was no collection on the event day at the venue. There is a good reason for it. We tried twice, during last year's Shape & Men's Health Night Run and Putrajaya Night Marathon 2010, to have race kit collection on the race day at the venue. While 80% of the participants had the decency and respect to collect the kits on time, there were several hundreds who at the very last minute before the race start, turned up and demanded for their kits.
They almost delayed the start for the thousands and thousands of runners who had gathered at the start area. On top of that, some demanded to change the running vest while it clearly states for manual collection, it states very clearly that it is while stocks last and it is first come first serve basis. I even had one lady who wanted to rip her vest because it was not her size. I checked the size she ticked on the registeration form and it was what we gave her. But she was not happy, so I offered her a pair of scissors to help her rip the vest but there was not going to be a replacement for her.
That experience left a really bad taste to the runners, volunteers, my team members and I. Therefore my team decided no more race day collection.
On a positive note, I would like to revisit the collection times during week days. I believe it should close later say about 8pm rather than 6pm. I will bring this up with my team.
hooHA!
I thought the temperature was much cooler than the Putrajaya Night Marathon. There was a cool breeze.
Jay Menon and Ferhad did a great job of MCing the Run.
I did not run as much I wanted to because I was coordinating the Zigman Challlenge. It was their final challenge before the Challenge offcially ends on the 12th of August.
I felt Twenty First Century Sports did a great job! Please let us know how you feel about the event.
Tham, one of our regular runners managed to get medal and he was very happy. He thought the run was well organized. Thanks man. The credit should go to Nithi, The Race Director supported by Prem, our Operations Manager.
Matter of fact all the part time crew and volunteers should take a bow too.
I must say the area around Palace of Justice looked really beautiful at night. It was a pleasure being there.
To all the runners, thank you for joining the Shape & Men's Health Night Run 2010.
My two cents worth in terms of improving the event:
1. Once the official has done with the technical briefing of the race to the runners, he/ she should allow the music to pump up the energy of the runners and the environment. I thought the energy dropped everytime the technical annoucement was made. I dont agree with the number of times the breifing was made. It really got the energy flat.
2.For those runners who ignored the race collections day or did not subsrcibe to the Race Kit Delivery service and was not able to to run or get your goodie bags, you maybe wondering why there was no collection on the event day at the venue. There is a good reason for it. We tried twice, during last year's Shape & Men's Health Night Run and Putrajaya Night Marathon 2010, to have race kit collection on the race day at the venue. While 80% of the participants had the decency and respect to collect the kits on time, there were several hundreds who at the very last minute before the race start, turned up and demanded for their kits.
They almost delayed the start for the thousands and thousands of runners who had gathered at the start area. On top of that, some demanded to change the running vest while it clearly states for manual collection, it states very clearly that it is while stocks last and it is first come first serve basis. I even had one lady who wanted to rip her vest because it was not her size. I checked the size she ticked on the registeration form and it was what we gave her. But she was not happy, so I offered her a pair of scissors to help her rip the vest but there was not going to be a replacement for her.
That experience left a really bad taste to the runners, volunteers, my team members and I. Therefore my team decided no more race day collection.
On a positive note, I would like to revisit the collection times during week days. I believe it should close later say about 8pm rather than 6pm. I will bring this up with my team.
hooHA!
THE BHP ORANGE RUN AT THE CURVE
Going to a run is becoming like attending a wedding.
Its like: should I go? Dont know anyone there? What will I wear? Who will I bump into? I should have shaved? Come ON MAN! Its a freaking Run.
The BHP Orange Run is my third run within a month. I am hooked to this sport.
Everybody should take up running. If your thinking about running injuries...well, think about stroke and heart attack from lack of exercising, over eating and over drinking. Get my point!
Anyway, 6.15 am, Sunday, 25th July 2010, I put on my Zigtech shoes and pinned my number bib B2266 on to my orange running vest go into my car and I was at the Curve carpark by 6.40am.
Parking was ample and easy. Cool!
Just as I walked onto The Curve walkway, there was already alot of excited people warming up and chatting.
I could sense this was going to be more of a fun run than a serious prize money type that Twenty First Century Sports organizes.
I actually like that it was free to enter the race. You dont get that anymore. I like the number bib quality and the information that you need to fill up at the back.
Thank God, my friend picked up my number bib from BHP's HQ in Damansara Mutiara. If it wasnt for him , I would not have taken part in the run since I would not have gone to pick up my number. By the way, anyone who registered and picked up the numner bib but did not turned up for the race, you have denied someone else an opportunity to have a great Sunday morning.
I also felt that quality was not a consideration when this Run was conceptualised. There was no proper start sign banner. The one that they had was SAD!
No barricades, no proper marshalling. Again the start of the race was not where the start/finish banner was. I saw that in the Energizer Night Race too. The start banner and the start area was about easy 400 meters away. Why?
Back to The Orange Run. I like its simplicity. Only 2 starts. One for women (all categories) at 7.15am and Men at 7.25am. There was no countdown. Just a air horn.
Most of the runners were in good spirits even though there no pomp n ceremony.
It is just an understanding that since it free, if there isnt any quality about the run, it is OK.
Everyone did 11KM. I like that too. It is easy. Just one route.
The route design was good. It had flat and also hills. Its good to challenge the runners that way.
The distance markers were sparse. I think I saw one at 2 km. And the next one at 9 km. They were so small I couldnt see them well. One was nailed to the tree.
BHP, you are an oil company. You are not in the environmentally friendly list, on top of that you nail trees. Hmmmm......in the name of cost saving?
I thought the traffic police did a reasonable job in managing the traffic in favour of the runners.
Wow! there some very rude motorists. They were like confronting the police.
I am not sure which way to go on this one. I feel sorry for the motorists because they are stuck in a jam of all days on a Sunday in front of their own residential area. Then there is also the safety aspects of the runners. I also feel sorry for the cops.
I actually saw one lady pointing her finger and telling a cop off. I was thinking, one slap by the cop and she will collapse. Not that it happenned, my mind just wondered.
I feel that organizers should inform the guards at the residential guard houses of the run and the traffic disruption.
A notice board should be put up early so that the residents are informed of it. I am sure once the residents are aware of the traffic disruption, they will be more understanding and plan their Sunday better.
The roads were not closed by the way. The route marshalls did well to manage the traffic too.
I saw some runners infront of me, running into the second lane without even considering whether there is traffic behind you.
Here, I encourage fellow runners not to take the road for granted. Please keep within the single lane. We must take responsibilty for our safety too. We cant put everything on the organizers. We need to play ball so that sponsors and organizers can have more confidence to organize more run for us.
For a 11km run, there were only 2 drink stations. One at 3km (I think) and one at around 8km (not sure).
Not enough lah! Look around and you will see that most of the runners are not highly active runners. They are more social runners. We need water, man!
One more drink station would have been great.
Having said all that, I enjoyed the route. It was mostly scenic. I managed to complete the whole run without stopping. I just kept running with 50 meters dash at the finish.
I DID IT! I DID THE 11KM IN 1 HOUR 18 MINS IN THE ORANGE RUN. I QUIETLY REJOICED WITHIN ME AND LOOKED FOR WATER. GOT MYSELF COUPLE OF REVIVE AND HEADED TOWARDS THE GOODIE BAG QUEUE. THATS WHERE I BUMPED INTO FREDA OF BFM. HAD A QUICK CHAT ABOUT NEXT WEEK'S SHAPE & MEN'S HEALTH NIGHT RUN 2010.
AND THEN, MY DREADED PET HATE... QUEUE JUMPING HAPPENED.
THERE WAS THIS GUY AND HIS WIFE JUST JUMPED THE QUEUE IN FRONT OF ME. I STOPPED MY CONVERSATION WITH FREDA AND ASKED THE UNCLE "DONT QUEUE JUMP LAH, EVERYONE ALSO TIRED"
HIS EXCUSE WAS THAT HE IS VETERAN. (MATE, YOU DONT LOOK LIKE ANYTHING PAST 60 AND YOU JUST RAN 11KM. SO SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER DAY!)
I WAS ALSO THINKING THAT MORE THE REASON FOR YOU NOT TO QUEUE JUMP, TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE TO YOUNG MALAYSIANS. HE WENT ON JUSTIFYING HIS ACTION, I JUST TURNED MY HEAD AWAY AND IGNORED HIM.
HE WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE, THERE WAS A FEW OF THEM. I DONT KNOW WHY, BUT MY EYES SEEM TO ZOOM INTO THESE SITUATIONS LIKE A SHARP SHOOTER. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE YOUNGER GENERATION WAS ACTUALLY QUEUEING UP PROPERLY. GOOD ON YOU!
Lets move on, I collected my goodie bag, headed towards the breakfast and drink area. Crowd management was s_ _h. But then agian it was actually a small area for 3000 runners to congragate for receiving free breakfast and drinks.
It was excellent to have cereal breakfast by nestle. A cocoa drink by Poweroot, (MILO watch out), free nasi lemak and hot cup of tea by Lipton. THANK YOU so much.
Just a note, I saw a lady (she had a organizer tag on and she is not from BHP) taking so many nasi lemak packets and putting it into her goodie bag. This lady just denied some others their breakfast. Shame on You! Why so greedy? Big family to feed is it?
Then, I bumped into more friends and one of them is a regular price winner. He was complaning about the prize money not being enough etc. I just told him to wake up and smell the roses. This is not a run targeting at people like you. It is for people like me to come and have FUN, be Healthy and to be with Friends and Family. You should not have come.
Its like: should I go? Dont know anyone there? What will I wear? Who will I bump into? I should have shaved? Come ON MAN! Its a freaking Run.
The BHP Orange Run is my third run within a month. I am hooked to this sport.
Everybody should take up running. If your thinking about running injuries...well, think about stroke and heart attack from lack of exercising, over eating and over drinking. Get my point!
Anyway, 6.15 am, Sunday, 25th July 2010, I put on my Zigtech shoes and pinned my number bib B2266 on to my orange running vest go into my car and I was at the Curve carpark by 6.40am.
Parking was ample and easy. Cool!
Just as I walked onto The Curve walkway, there was already alot of excited people warming up and chatting.
I could sense this was going to be more of a fun run than a serious prize money type that Twenty First Century Sports organizes.
I actually like that it was free to enter the race. You dont get that anymore. I like the number bib quality and the information that you need to fill up at the back.
Thank God, my friend picked up my number bib from BHP's HQ in Damansara Mutiara. If it wasnt for him , I would not have taken part in the run since I would not have gone to pick up my number. By the way, anyone who registered and picked up the numner bib but did not turned up for the race, you have denied someone else an opportunity to have a great Sunday morning.
I also felt that quality was not a consideration when this Run was conceptualised. There was no proper start sign banner. The one that they had was SAD!
No barricades, no proper marshalling. Again the start of the race was not where the start/finish banner was. I saw that in the Energizer Night Race too. The start banner and the start area was about easy 400 meters away. Why?
Back to The Orange Run. I like its simplicity. Only 2 starts. One for women (all categories) at 7.15am and Men at 7.25am. There was no countdown. Just a air horn.
Most of the runners were in good spirits even though there no pomp n ceremony.
It is just an understanding that since it free, if there isnt any quality about the run, it is OK.
Everyone did 11KM. I like that too. It is easy. Just one route.
The route design was good. It had flat and also hills. Its good to challenge the runners that way.
The distance markers were sparse. I think I saw one at 2 km. And the next one at 9 km. They were so small I couldnt see them well. One was nailed to the tree.
BHP, you are an oil company. You are not in the environmentally friendly list, on top of that you nail trees. Hmmmm......in the name of cost saving?
I thought the traffic police did a reasonable job in managing the traffic in favour of the runners.
Wow! there some very rude motorists. They were like confronting the police.
I am not sure which way to go on this one. I feel sorry for the motorists because they are stuck in a jam of all days on a Sunday in front of their own residential area. Then there is also the safety aspects of the runners. I also feel sorry for the cops.
I actually saw one lady pointing her finger and telling a cop off. I was thinking, one slap by the cop and she will collapse. Not that it happenned, my mind just wondered.
I feel that organizers should inform the guards at the residential guard houses of the run and the traffic disruption.
A notice board should be put up early so that the residents are informed of it. I am sure once the residents are aware of the traffic disruption, they will be more understanding and plan their Sunday better.
The roads were not closed by the way. The route marshalls did well to manage the traffic too.
I saw some runners infront of me, running into the second lane without even considering whether there is traffic behind you.
Here, I encourage fellow runners not to take the road for granted. Please keep within the single lane. We must take responsibilty for our safety too. We cant put everything on the organizers. We need to play ball so that sponsors and organizers can have more confidence to organize more run for us.
For a 11km run, there were only 2 drink stations. One at 3km (I think) and one at around 8km (not sure).
Not enough lah! Look around and you will see that most of the runners are not highly active runners. They are more social runners. We need water, man!
One more drink station would have been great.
Having said all that, I enjoyed the route. It was mostly scenic. I managed to complete the whole run without stopping. I just kept running with 50 meters dash at the finish.
And thats where it felt flat. There was no timer, for me to check my finishing time. So I had to roughly calculate using my handphone watch. I started at 7.25 am (air horn time) and the clock on my handphone showed 8.43am at the finish. Calculate, calculate... ah (see bleow, ITS WRITTEN IN BIG CAPS TO EXPRESS MY EXCITEMENT!)
I DID IT! I DID THE 11KM IN 1 HOUR 18 MINS IN THE ORANGE RUN. I QUIETLY REJOICED WITHIN ME AND LOOKED FOR WATER. GOT MYSELF COUPLE OF REVIVE AND HEADED TOWARDS THE GOODIE BAG QUEUE. THATS WHERE I BUMPED INTO FREDA OF BFM. HAD A QUICK CHAT ABOUT NEXT WEEK'S SHAPE & MEN'S HEALTH NIGHT RUN 2010.
AND THEN, MY DREADED PET HATE... QUEUE JUMPING HAPPENED.
THERE WAS THIS GUY AND HIS WIFE JUST JUMPED THE QUEUE IN FRONT OF ME. I STOPPED MY CONVERSATION WITH FREDA AND ASKED THE UNCLE "DONT QUEUE JUMP LAH, EVERYONE ALSO TIRED"
HIS EXCUSE WAS THAT HE IS VETERAN. (MATE, YOU DONT LOOK LIKE ANYTHING PAST 60 AND YOU JUST RAN 11KM. SO SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER DAY!)
I WAS ALSO THINKING THAT MORE THE REASON FOR YOU NOT TO QUEUE JUMP, TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE TO YOUNG MALAYSIANS. HE WENT ON JUSTIFYING HIS ACTION, I JUST TURNED MY HEAD AWAY AND IGNORED HIM.
HE WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE, THERE WAS A FEW OF THEM. I DONT KNOW WHY, BUT MY EYES SEEM TO ZOOM INTO THESE SITUATIONS LIKE A SHARP SHOOTER. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE YOUNGER GENERATION WAS ACTUALLY QUEUEING UP PROPERLY. GOOD ON YOU!
WE MAY HAVE 4 SETS OF TWIN TOWERS, LONGEST BRIGDE ETC ETC, BUT WE WILL NOT BE A DEVELOPED NATION WHEN OUR MENTALITY IS STILL LINGERING AROUND THE 3 RD CLASS LEVEL. NO WONDER OUR SINGAPOREAN NEIGHBOURS LOOK DOWN AT US SOMETIMES. CAN WE BLAME THEM?
Lets move on, I collected my goodie bag, headed towards the breakfast and drink area. Crowd management was s_ _h. But then agian it was actually a small area for 3000 runners to congragate for receiving free breakfast and drinks.
It was excellent to have cereal breakfast by nestle. A cocoa drink by Poweroot, (MILO watch out), free nasi lemak and hot cup of tea by Lipton. THANK YOU so much.
Just a note, I saw a lady (she had a organizer tag on and she is not from BHP) taking so many nasi lemak packets and putting it into her goodie bag. This lady just denied some others their breakfast. Shame on You! Why so greedy? Big family to feed is it?
Then, I bumped into more friends and one of them is a regular price winner. He was complaning about the prize money not being enough etc. I just told him to wake up and smell the roses. This is not a run targeting at people like you. It is for people like me to come and have FUN, be Healthy and to be with Friends and Family. You should not have come.
The sponsor spends so much effort in making it possible for thousands of Malaysians to have a great Sunday morning and for free and all you do is to b_ t_h about the money.
No worries. All in all, I had a great time. I am sure most of the runners did too.
THANK YOU BHP FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN!
THANK YOU BHP FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN!
HOOHA!
My virginal 10km Run
THE ORANGEMAN'S EXPERIENCE
Registration and Race Kit Collection (event eve)
I registered for the race after a little deliberation whether to take part or not.
After 3 weeks I decided to go ahead with it and run in the 10km.
When I registered I wasn't even ready for a 5 km run. Matter of fact I am still not ready as I am writing these today. It is 26th june and run I tomorrow.
One of the reasons to delay the registeration was the RM45.00 price tag. Abit steep for a 10km however I went ahead because I wanted to be part of the Stan Chart KL Marathon.
There was a buzz around it. Even though alot of runners were very upset for what happenned last year ,this year 16500 have registered. 4500 more runners.
I really wanted to find out and feel the Runner's experience. So here I am writing about it on the KL Marathon to date.
I have been following all the other pre event hypes that follows the event itself.
It is a stange feeling. My anxiety and excitement started when I actually registered.
I even had buyer's remorse having paid RM 45.00 for a 10km. I told myself it better be good.
That depends on two things:
- how it is organized and
- myself; how I prepare myself mentally and physically
How it is organized: I can only share my feelings from what happens from pre event to post event.
So far, it has been great. The online registration was easy. The race kit collection was smooth. Thank god it is in a closed and air conditioned environment. My kit was ready and I did not have any problems.
It felt abit cumbersome that I needed to pick up the kit manully but I did it anyway. Even picking up the kit required me to plan my day.
I thought opening the counters at 12 to 10pm on Thursday and Friday was a good idea. But counter operating times from 11am to 6 (or is it 8pm) on a Saturday was not sitting well for me. I would have preferred an earlier start of 8am. I reckon alot others would have preferered that too as there was a queue building up from 8am at the collection centre in Stadium Titiwangsa.
Anyway, the race kit collection was superb. They opened up the counter at 9 am (2 hours earlier) and just using the IC to verify you details was excellent.
I like how they had a sample on how to fix the timing strip to your shoe. They also had a video on how to fix it and what the race day bag should contain. Quite good.
What I did not like was that the organizer relented to some selfish participants ( a couple) who just strolled pass the rest of us who were waiting since 8 am or earlier for the counter to be opened and forced the issue to release their race kit to them.
I think for an overall enhanced runner's experience, we too as runners must play ball and respect other runners and make a joyful one for everyone.
To that couple, why cant you wait like others? Why so rude?
Organizers, I suggest you don't give in to one person and then close the counter to others. It looks bad on you even though you were only being helpful.
By the way, I heard there were stuff ups by the organizer too. You know where you went wrong, so improve.
Ok.... Anyway, the volunteer at the counter was friendly and efficient. Thank you.
I must say the volunteers looked professional with the standard event tee shirt on. Class.
The race day bag was alright I suppose. It was wasnt of the quality that the runner's get in Stan Chart Singapore.
I really like the number bib. Nice colour, my name on it. It clearly states that it is 10km run, luggage tag space and water proof.
I saw the vest but put it away as I already decided to wear my orange vest.
The race guide booklet was very comprehensive with good information.
The NB voucher was not a big deal for me as I already have Reebok's ZigTech.
So far so good guys!
Pre run preparation
When I went back home, the race kit collection became a family affair. My wife took the things out and said that running bib was impressive . So was the race guide booklet. She took the NB voucher and wanted to pass it on to her nephew. This was 2pm.
But my mind was preoccupied with other things. Like ... why am I doing this? I did not train at all. I drank too much beer during my cousin's wedding only last weekend in Kulim. I was having late nights watching the world cup.
Can I actually complete the 10km? Why did I want to be a hero and join the 10km? I should just try the 5km. The kids fun dash distance will be better suited for me.
What prompted me to do this? I don't know. I suppose I just wanted to experience what a runner goes through.
I was even planning what vest to wear (being the orange man and all). My head needed shaving, what time shall I do that? at night or in the morning? Shall I drive there and park illegally somewhere or should I get the LRT. What time to wake up? Can I bail out?
I don't care if my wife thought I am a chicken. I don't see her running!
What if I embarrass myself by not completing my run. It was really ego bruising to think of it since I was an elite sportsman in school that produced great Malaysians like Dr. Jegathesan, the late Mokhtar Dahari, The Sidek brothers, and Nithi the race Director of Putrjaya Night Marathon.
STOP! Enough beating myself up.
By the time I got out of my deep pondering of what IFs, it was time to watch the world cup.
So I watched the first half and decided to do the right thing.
I went to bed at 11.30pm and had a really good sleep for at least 1 hour. Then it was all over. I was sleepless in KL.
I forced myself to shut my eyes. An my eyes followed my intructions only for my mind to chatter like a monkey. So I quickly got up and watched Ghana knock USA out.
And then a lucky break... it started to rain. And it was torrential. I now have a reason to not to go for the KL marathon. heavy rain lah... nanti saya jatuh sakit (I might fall ill).
This was about 4.45 am.
My heart was happy hearing the very loud pitter patter of the rain drops. Matter of fact I was secretly hoping for a hailstorm or even snow blizzard (yup, pigs can fly).
How selfish am I? I am hoping for the worst to happen without any consideration for the organizer, sponsor and thousands of runners who really wanted to be part of the event rain or shine.
That when it dawned on me that I shall overcome my own demons. I will be there. I found my legs getting up from the sofa and a few meters later collapsing on my bed.
mmmm...... not good. So I forced myself to think of things to inspire and motive me. Martin Luther King appeared in front of me and said "I have a dream and you are in it. Now get out of it and go for the marathon"
Ooops... sorry my man. I woke up with great fervour, changed and got into my car and drove in that rain to bangsar LRT. By the time I parked my carpark and walked to the station the rain stopped and I was ready to conquer the 10km.
When I stepped into the LRT it was a sea of runners. Everybody sort of acknowledges each other quietly with an understanding of " You too uh!"
Before I could get off the LRT at Wan Jamek me mate, Amy calls me and the first thing she says is "Where are you?" Like I was not going to turn up!
Told her that I am heading towards her and I ran to the starting point as it was 6.45 am.
I went straight into the containtment area and waited for the 7am start time.
The Run Itself
At sharp 7, I took my first step towards conquering my doubts of completing the 10km. Thats when it hit me.
The energy of the people who are running with you is something special. There are no coincidences in life and its not by chance that these 7 thousand people are running with me.
The excitement and thrill of running despite your mind games is characther building.
I had a bollywood movie going on in my head by the time I reached the 3km mark.
It was 'why life is so unkind', why are the bad guys winning?' If you are wondering who are the bad guys, they are those who are still sleeping in their warm beds.
When am I going to have the lucky break (translated to where is the freaking water station, cant anyone see that I am dying of thirst). By the way,I have only completed 3km now.
Then as all great Bollywood movies, good overcomes the bad. The much awaited drink station appeared. I drink 100 plus like I never did before.
That gave me the energy to continue hestitantly to go past the 5th km.
The win over evil was short lived. By the time I hit the 6.5km I was already looking forward to the finishing line.
Hearing the MC and music around the corner would be great, thank you.
NO......the next turn I took in my journey was an uphill that was going on forever and forever.
And just as I thought it was over another uphill stares at you.
The bad guy is winning over me. Just as I told myself I don't care about the qualifying times, the finisher medal and the ego boosting bragging right, something happenned within me.
Something in me pushed both my legs forward 1 step after another. I think this is were you find yourself out. Are you strong or weak. Are you made of qualities that will ensure success?
So I find out that a run is just not a run. It is a test of character. It is about achieving the goal you set out. It is about meeting people. It is about expressing yourself. hooHA! Express Your Excitement. It was heavenly when I reached the next drink station.
This is when the good guy (me) began to believe that GOOD will Prevail. Only one thing missing in this mental movie.......
A damsel in distress! for me to rescue and become a hero.
No such luck since all the damsels I saw were running past me and I was in distress.
By now I was already sure of completing the 10km distance. Now was the question of can I do it within the qualifying time of 90 minutes?
At the 2nd drink station not only did I drink water but had a quick shower too. I just poured water on me in preparation of a dash towards the finishing line and being awarded a finisher medal.
I started to quicken my pace. As when I reached the Bank Negara traffic lights my heart was pounding with excitement. The bollywood movie disappeared and I began to visualize myself at the finish line and some hot F1 girls cheering me on. F1 girls in a road race? Why not? Imagination is free!
I kept my pace and stretched out to see where people in fornt of me were heading towards. How many were in front of me? I saw thousands ahead of me and I thought I was hallucinating.
That cant be possible. I am sure I am in the top 10% of the runners. Yeah! right.
Nevertheless, I kept picking up my pace. I am almost home.
Wooooow.... hold on, what the ....?
Why are the runners in front of me running in the opposite direction of the finishing line?
Turn back people.. its this way. FOLLOW ME!
Sh..! The organizers decided to play a cruel game. They get you to smell the finishing line but you cant taste it just yet.
Just as I was beginning to quietly swear in four letter words a fellow runner said it out loud. My sentiments exactly my friend.
Ok...now its war. I will not relent. I will not give up! I am Rambo. You drew first blood.
When I turned into Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, my excitement came back. This time for good. I could feel the finish line, I could taste it. I am almost there.
As I "sprinted" pass Colisuem, I had a smile on my face. I was thinkig about blogging about my experience as a runner.
There were thousands in front and a few more at back of me. It did not matter. What mattered was I am about to achieve my goal.
As I made my way through the last 50 meters of the run, I zig zagged pass other battle hardened runners. I was reliving my glory days as a X-country and middle distance runner for Victoria Institution.
"hoooooHAAAAA!" I shouted as my stepped on the finshing line, the timing chip beep went off and I knew I had conquered not only my first 10km run but also my denoms ,my doubts and my mind.
I finished my race in 1 hour 15 minutes (unofficial). What a time! Not bad for a 46 year old who did not train that much.
The most I did was 4.5 km about 3 weeks ago. Only last weekend I was at my cousin's wedding in Kulim and eat so much food, drank alot and partied 3 nights in a row.
What a moment for me? All my sporting achievements during my school days came back to me. I was so proud when I received my finisher medal. It was a moment to cherish. Too bad I had no one to take a photo to forever immortalize this feeling of excitement and accomplishment.
Ahh...! The universe was listening. Out of the blue, Rachel from Reebok text me and ask if I was around, I said Yes, we meet and we got married. Just kidding. She took my photo because coincidently I was wearing Reebok's latest running technology call ZigTech.
What is the key to my success you ask?
Possibly:
- My wife gave me this gel call "Umh" by Agel. I took one at the 1km and second one at the 6.5km.
- My new shoes ZigTech by Reebok.
- Determination or plain stubborness.
- Being an active sportsman during my younger days.
- Self Confidence.
- Driven by a goal.
- Friends to motivate me (thanks Amy, Rienna, Sui Peng, Yus).
- Good looks (hehehe).
Please note: Before run off saying I am biased, I am not sponsored by Agel or Reebok.
I realize that a running event is not about the distance itself. Its about self motivation, its about discipline, its a journey, sacrifice, personal best, going beyond boundaries, its character building, the energy, making friends, balancing your daily tasks, about decision making, lifestyle balance, mental strength, and FUN AND EXCITEMENT.
By the way, all this excitement for 10km. Imagine if I was doing the 21 or the 42km. It will be like winning an OLYMPIC gold medal.
To all the marathoners. You are special. You are my hero. You are a SUPERSTAR.
hooHA!
There wont be a world cup for them
Naga,
I hope you dont mind me putting this email up in hooha.asia
I feel that it is appropriate to reflect that while the world celebrate football's holy grail, some of us are left in misery.
If only the boys below were given a "fair go"
The OrangeMan
Maans Chando...
They (Ozs) play as if they have a chip on their shoulders....they play rough and robust to compensate for their sheer lack of skills and agility...hence I do not participate with them since it`s not worth the possible injuries... I do play once in awhile with an Asian team which has sprinkles of Ozs who are more sane and humble....
Remember how the Malaysia of our days used to give these Ozs a thumping at Merdeka tournament...look at where they are and where we are....sad indeed da...
Man, in my view if only Malaysia had carried on at that pace and “merdeka spirit” in soccer, we too could be in the WC today don’t you think so??
I grew up in Loke Yew as you all know....and I have experienced the pure talents in soccer that was there among some of the Indian boys who were from poor families....2 guys that stood out and could have been even better than any Malaysian (even Mokhtar!) were Segar and Marimuthu.....
Segar used to draw a crowd of adults every time he turned up to play...even though he was hardly 11 or 12 years old....he was immensely talented, raw and exciting...he could thump a 20 m first timer after chesting the ball from corner kicks even at that age...malay, chinese and Indian men from around the neighbourhood would turn up just to see the dazzling skills of “Sey-ga”...he could easily beat 3-4 players on the run at full speed and take shots with both feet from anywhere within the penalty box. Sey-ga or “Bomba Segar” as he was used to be called since his father was a fireman with the Jln Shaw Fire Brigade, never excelled in studies for obvious reasons....he eventually went to San Peng school and played for some Div 2 FAS clubs with no real mentoring or grooming of his precocious talents...eventually he failed his SRP and started working as a labourer at DBKL and today Segar is labourer at the Shah Alam Stadium. I am sure he often sadly reflects as to “what could have been if only...”
Marimuthu ( who strangely also had a family pet name, Segar!), was 3 years older to me.He was my immediate neighbour at the flats and he had a mother who was mentally insane and a father who was an alcoholic. He was the youngest in the his large family and had 5 older brothers and 2 sisters and used to resemble Michael Jackson. 3 of his brothers used to be involved in gangs and one was a clear suspect at a murder of a chinese man (this man was chopped to pieces)...whereas the other one was an acute drug addict.
Despite hailing from such a family, he was a tremendous runner from a very young age and focused very much on soccer. He too started playing with a very famed club VOC, who were is FAS Div 1 back in the 70s, at a very young age of hardly 16 if I am not mistaken. Such was his talent, that M Chandran, who was coaching Selangor at that point of time, became interested in him. By the time he was 18 or 19 he was called into the Selangor squad to train with them and impressed Chandran greatly ( bear in mind that Selangor at that point of time was primarily the great Malaysian team)...however he did not persist because of the lure of drugs and alcohol from his neighbourhood and eventually started with occasional indulgence with drugs...that slowly but surely led him in a downward spiral...though eventually married, all fell apart progressively.
I bumped into Marimuthu back in the late 90s ,who was then scavenging the dumpsite of the Tawakal hospital, when I went over to visit my mother who was admitted there at that time. There was this scraggy man, haggard and beaten by life stumbling across to me and crying out my name since he recognised me whereas I could not make out who he was....it was so sad and finally I had to part ways with him and gave him RM20 since he was really in need. News reached us some months later that he was found dead at a dumpsite from drug overdose...what a sad ending and I will always remember him for his Michael Jackson looks and brilliance of being able to control the ball with his head while running at speed across a full length of a field....
Guys, I don’t know why I am led to share about these great players, whom I have been privileged to have grown up with.....perhaps this is what the spirit of World Cup does to us....to celebrate the beauty and brilliance of players all over....though many have passed through life never really having had the privilege to shine as they ought to be.......
I hope you dont mind me putting this email up in hooha.asia
I feel that it is appropriate to reflect that while the world celebrate football's holy grail, some of us are left in misery.
If only the boys below were given a "fair go"
The OrangeMan
Maans Chando...
They (Ozs) play as if they have a chip on their shoulders....they play rough and robust to compensate for their sheer lack of skills and agility...hence I do not participate with them since it`s not worth the possible injuries... I do play once in awhile with an Asian team which has sprinkles of Ozs who are more sane and humble....
Remember how the Malaysia of our days used to give these Ozs a thumping at Merdeka tournament...look at where they are and where we are....sad indeed da...
Man, in my view if only Malaysia had carried on at that pace and “merdeka spirit” in soccer, we too could be in the WC today don’t you think so??
I grew up in Loke Yew as you all know....and I have experienced the pure talents in soccer that was there among some of the Indian boys who were from poor families....2 guys that stood out and could have been even better than any Malaysian (even Mokhtar!) were Segar and Marimuthu.....
Segar used to draw a crowd of adults every time he turned up to play...even though he was hardly 11 or 12 years old....he was immensely talented, raw and exciting...he could thump a 20 m first timer after chesting the ball from corner kicks even at that age...malay, chinese and Indian men from around the neighbourhood would turn up just to see the dazzling skills of “Sey-ga”...he could easily beat 3-4 players on the run at full speed and take shots with both feet from anywhere within the penalty box. Sey-ga or “Bomba Segar” as he was used to be called since his father was a fireman with the Jln Shaw Fire Brigade, never excelled in studies for obvious reasons....he eventually went to San Peng school and played for some Div 2 FAS clubs with no real mentoring or grooming of his precocious talents...eventually he failed his SRP and started working as a labourer at DBKL and today Segar is labourer at the Shah Alam Stadium. I am sure he often sadly reflects as to “what could have been if only...”
Marimuthu ( who strangely also had a family pet name, Segar!), was 3 years older to me.He was my immediate neighbour at the flats and he had a mother who was mentally insane and a father who was an alcoholic. He was the youngest in the his large family and had 5 older brothers and 2 sisters and used to resemble Michael Jackson. 3 of his brothers used to be involved in gangs and one was a clear suspect at a murder of a chinese man (this man was chopped to pieces)...whereas the other one was an acute drug addict.
Despite hailing from such a family, he was a tremendous runner from a very young age and focused very much on soccer. He too started playing with a very famed club VOC, who were is FAS Div 1 back in the 70s, at a very young age of hardly 16 if I am not mistaken. Such was his talent, that M Chandran, who was coaching Selangor at that point of time, became interested in him. By the time he was 18 or 19 he was called into the Selangor squad to train with them and impressed Chandran greatly ( bear in mind that Selangor at that point of time was primarily the great Malaysian team)...however he did not persist because of the lure of drugs and alcohol from his neighbourhood and eventually started with occasional indulgence with drugs...that slowly but surely led him in a downward spiral...though eventually married, all fell apart progressively.
I bumped into Marimuthu back in the late 90s ,who was then scavenging the dumpsite of the Tawakal hospital, when I went over to visit my mother who was admitted there at that time. There was this scraggy man, haggard and beaten by life stumbling across to me and crying out my name since he recognised me whereas I could not make out who he was....it was so sad and finally I had to part ways with him and gave him RM20 since he was really in need. News reached us some months later that he was found dead at a dumpsite from drug overdose...what a sad ending and I will always remember him for his Michael Jackson looks and brilliance of being able to control the ball with his head while running at speed across a full length of a field....
Guys, I don’t know why I am led to share about these great players, whom I have been privileged to have grown up with.....perhaps this is what the spirit of World Cup does to us....to celebrate the beauty and brilliance of players all over....though many have passed through life never really having had the privilege to shine as they ought to be.......
Something really Special coming Your way!
I was at Astro today doing a shoot for a brand new football chat show for next season. You are probably thinking " what another freaking football chat show". Yes, I thought so too until I went for the pilot shoot. I have to say to my infinite sursprise. It was so much fun. I am sure you will enjoy it too.
What transpired was something special. It was special because of the passion, love and enthusiams shared by football fans both male and female. I cant share much neither can I put up any photos for now. I am asked to keep it SECRET!!!!
But I will share one thing with you... the Sports fan, the Football fan. What I did was to share your stories, your views and I represented your passion. You were REPRESENTED.
I will be doing more and more of meeting up with you and we will have our own chats and stories. You never know. You might be on the show yourself. I was so excited and wrote to my friend Jason Dasey, the producer of the show, on how I felt about the show.
Below is the email that I sent to Jason. I sometimes wish that words can be accompanied by the energy of excitement and fun as it would be if I were sharing this in person with you.
hooHA!Jason,
What an audition it was? What a show its going to be!!!!!!!
SilIy me, it was NOT an audition. It was friends having a
‘Ball” of a time with each other.
To me it was a dream come true sitting at the same table
with Dez Corkhill and Scottie O talking and
sharing football stories and facts.
It is what most Malaysians would love to do. Chat about
their favourite
game, their favourite clubs, their favourite players, their
favourite goals, most hated team..... you get my
drift.
And of course all of the opinions were RIGHT!!!
I could not keep my mouth shut when I went back home
and told my wife what I did at 9am on Friday morning of 21st May 2010.
She got excited too. I think she was happy that I wasn’t
with some other girl. Sorry.. I disgress.
By the way, wasn’t the energy between us great?
I must say Linora, Edleen and Muhaini (hope I spelt it
right) did a great job hosting us fellas.
Jason, you really gave some fantastic topics to chat and
debate on.
The team did a great job with lighting and camera set up
etc.
It was nice to meet Nick John. Roshan... well, he was
being a Roshan.
I am just going on and on and on.
Mate, The chat show was fun, informative, it was fiery, it
was entertaining and sometimes controversial.
In short, it was storying telling at its best.
hooHA! to you all!
Thank you.
PS: those of you who piked out. You missed out on something special.
Anand (Theorangeman)
What transpired was something special. It was special because of the passion, love and enthusiams shared by football fans both male and female. I cant share much neither can I put up any photos for now. I am asked to keep it SECRET!!!!
But I will share one thing with you... the Sports fan, the Football fan. What I did was to share your stories, your views and I represented your passion. You were REPRESENTED.
I will be doing more and more of meeting up with you and we will have our own chats and stories. You never know. You might be on the show yourself. I was so excited and wrote to my friend Jason Dasey, the producer of the show, on how I felt about the show.
Below is the email that I sent to Jason. I sometimes wish that words can be accompanied by the energy of excitement and fun as it would be if I were sharing this in person with you.
hooHA!Jason,
What an audition it was? What a show its going to be!!!!!!!
SilIy me, it was NOT an audition. It was friends having a
‘Ball” of a time with each other.
To me it was a dream come true sitting at the same table
with Dez Corkhill and Scottie O talking and
sharing football stories and facts.
It is what most Malaysians would love to do. Chat about
their favourite
game, their favourite clubs, their favourite players, their
favourite goals, most hated team..... you get my
drift.
And of course all of the opinions were RIGHT!!!
I could not keep my mouth shut when I went back home
and told my wife what I did at 9am on Friday morning of 21st May 2010.
She got excited too. I think she was happy that I wasn’t
with some other girl. Sorry.. I disgress.
By the way, wasn’t the energy between us great?
I must say Linora, Edleen and Muhaini (hope I spelt it
right) did a great job hosting us fellas.
Jason, you really gave some fantastic topics to chat and
debate on.
The team did a great job with lighting and camera set up
etc.
It was nice to meet Nick John. Roshan... well, he was
being a Roshan.
I am just going on and on and on.
Mate, The chat show was fun, informative, it was fiery, it
was entertaining and sometimes controversial.
In short, it was storying telling at its best.
hooHA! to you all!
Thank you.
PS: those of you who piked out. You missed out on something special.
Anand (Theorangeman)
HooHA! Get Together!
 I am glad the national athletes joined us because we asked questions like... what part of the foot do you use when running up or down the hill... Apparently... it depends on what you are comfortable with and what comes naturally to you. For the him, he uses the heel to run uphill. They also took us through some stretching exercises before and after the run/jog/walk. Each streching exercise lasted between 10 to 20 seconds. It was cool.  The Orange Man's story Talking about cool. It was a fantastic feeling when I overcame my mind and body to get out of the bed at 5 am and it was pouring down with rain. My first reaction was " OK. Time to go back to sleep. No one is going to come anyway!" Then within milliseconds I responded. Yes, I responded by saying "I am going to overcome this mental barrier. I will be at the park running rain or shine" So I dorned on my orange running vest and tights. I looked good (at least to me). I like to thank my wife for joining me in the jog with my daughter. I actually thought she was going to pull the blanket over her head and go back to sleep. But NO!.. she got up like a flash and looked out the window. Mentioned something about the rain and started getting ready and prepared my daughter's (Vanshika) milk and pampers ready. Then I shipped my family into my car and drove to the park. During my drive there, I felt special. You know... waking up early, being committed to exercise in the rain etc. And when i got there... Surprise! Surprise! when I saw some uncles and aunties (60 year olds) walking around the park with their umbrellas. So I got out of my car.... and IMMEDIATLEY I felt the rush of the fresh air into my lungs. My life source, my energy, my inner spirit was dancing with great joy when I opened my arms and felt the rain on me. Took me back when I was a child.. where there was no care... no limitations.. no FEAR! Remember those days? Where nothing mattered. We were unstoppable, weren't we? The only thing we had to manage was our parents. We had to convince them that allowing us to play longer was good for them. Remember that? Well... thats how I felt when I was jogging and walking around the park. Yes. it was raining but that made it even better. I felt like my aura of negative energy and thoughts got washed away by a godly shower! My eyes were bigger, my smile was wider, my heart stronger and my steps bolder. The green leaves were intensive. I was seeing the world with crystal LED clarity. All this for free.  I feel good! dada!dada!dada! You know I would now! So good ! So good! Ayeeeiiiiiii!!!!!(James Brown Song) I felt so good I want to do it again. You wanna feel like that? You wanna join me? Join my team and I on 24th April 2010 (Saturday) at Taman Lembah Kiara at TTDI. We will start our warm up at 7.30am. The park is great...so bring your family, friends and breakfast and lets have a picnic after that.  Click here to view more photos in the gallery. hooHA! The OrangeMan |
I cried on 31st Dec 2009
Why? Because I saw MAGIC unfold in front of me.
On the Oprah show.. Yes people, I am a big fan of the Oprah show.
Oprah had a show on all the brightest and most talented kids she has met.
One of them was a tiny Filipina girl, age 17/18, who loves singing.
She appeared on Oprah show about a year a ago. I don't know how Oprah came to hear about this girl from the Philippines who lives with her home and brother.
They have no home or car of their own. But Charice PEMPENGCO (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charice_Pempengco) loves singing.
Someone heard her sing and sent a note to Oprah's producers, and long behold she was on the show.
She sang Celine Dion's song "My Heart Will Go On" and I happen to watch that show in 2008.
She was fantastic. Oprah had tears listening to this girl and was awed by this little Charice.
To see something so great coming out of something so tiny.
Guess who pops up via satellite and softly tells her that it was beautifully sang.
The diva Celine Dion herself.
You should see Charice's joy and excitement. She was trembling with disbelief.
To put the icing on the cake, Celine promises Charice that they will sing together in one of her concerts at the Madison Square Garden.
A year later, after "being found by Oprah" and singing all around the world including singing with legends like Andrea Bocelli (opera), Celine Dion, and a movie role in the Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel (yes its spelt that way)...she reappears on Oprah.
This time with her own song written by the legendary songwriter Diana Warren and produced by another legend David Foster.
Charice belted out this song called "A note to GOD"
I was actually working on www.hooha.asia in my home office and I had my TV volume in my living room just loud enough to hear what was going on.
I do that for the Oprah show (only) because there are some great hooHA moments in that show that I don't want to miss.
And thank god I did that because I saw Charice sing that song.
Sorry she was not singing, she was touching my life with her song, with her voice and lyrics.
Here I am on the 31st December 2009, preparing to go to the One Mile Dash New Year Bash and being mindful about all the goals that I want to achieve in 2010.
I was thinking about how am I going to grow as a person in 2010. What and how am I going to give to society through my services?
And this girl about 4 foot tall and 17 years old, through her song, made me cry. Uncontrollable tears. I had tears just rolling down my eyes (I am still tearing as I am writing this article).
The song was, to me, about what life has given me and taught me. How I sometimes forget to be grateful for my blessings and gifts.
The song is also about hope. To Charice who came from a poor unknown place in the Philippines and experienced domestic violence just less than 18 months ago is singing in front of the world achieving her dreams... gives me hope.
So, I am grateful that I had the TV on, saw Oprah, watched Charice sing and had the humility to cry to acknowledge the emotions that I was feeling. I willed myself to step into 2010 with hope and dream.
So, what has this got to do with sports or hooha.asia, you ask?
Sports is about hope and dreams. Sports lift you up. Charice's story and singing is about hope becoming a dream becoming a reality.
I wish you all
"HOPE", "DARE TO DREAM", "HAPPY NEW YEAR", "HOOHA!!!"
Be a superstar on hooHA! "HOPE", "DARE TO DREAM", "HAPPY NEW YEAR", "HOOHA!!!"
THE ORANGE MAN
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