AFF Suzuki Cup Final, 1st leg: Harimau 3, Garuda 0

Good grief.

I missed almost ALL of the match because I had to put a certain stubborn 2yo to sleep. But Dear Hubby watched it all and by the time I came out, the Tigers had scored three goals. THREE goals. Past an Indonesian team that had walloped us 5-1 in the group matches.

I was SO happy.

Man, the stadium was rockin'. It was 100,000 fans all decked out in their teams' colours - yellow for Malaysia and red for Indonesia. Some of the guys I knew from the local unofficial Liverpool FC supporters club I belong to were there at Bukit Jalil to cheer the Malaysian team on and they said it was just fantastic. A tad sweaty but fantastic. There was even a banner there that would make Liverpool fans smile "In Raja We Trust", a homage to the Malaysian coach, K. Rajagobal.

The only thing which marred our victory was some local idiots thought it would be a lark to shine lasers into the faces of the Indonesian players. The match had to be halted for about 8 minutes as the Indonesian players walked off. Whoever you laser-idiots are, please do us fans a favour by jumping off the nearest bridge. You are a national shame.

After the match, one of the boys said, "As fun as it is to support Liverpool or foreign teams during World Cups, nothing beats cheering for your own nation where you were born and bred." Well said, lad.

It's not over yet. We still have to play the Indonesians on their own turf on Wed and Gelora Bung Karno will be filled with thousands of fans urging their team on. It's going to be tough but hey, for the first time in so many years, I've actually got some hope.

MALAYSIA BOLEH!



Note:
Harimau (ha-ree-mau) is the Malay word for "tiger" and is a national symbol of Malaysia. This is why the national footie jersey is yellow with black stripes. Been told the lads wore the blue kit because they keep winning with it.
Garuda = mythical bird that is Indonesia's national symbol
Malaysia Boleh lit Malaysia Can is a pre-Obama national "yes we can!" slogan coined by our 4th Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir (sorry can't keep up with whatever title he has now)