Voices: TODAY publishes my letter........

Have not been updating my blog for a few months………….. I hope to do it regularly in future, as somehow my writing skills have received a boost from one of the local newspapers. Never really expected my article to be published, but it was grossly edited. Nevertheless, u can read it below if keen. It’s about a sport which I love dearly. Been watching the sport since 9 years old.

TODAY article

This is the actual article submitted to TODAY newspaper. You may compare.
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Hi Mr Leonard,

I read your article today (10 Nov 07) and would like to reflect my views as below. Hope you and your SPH newspapers can understand the feelings of loyal followers of the Kallang Roar.

Shame on FAS:
You lamented about the lack of supporters. But have you really looked into ticket prices? The prices are not cheap as compared to previous matches (except for the testimonial match with Australia ). I feel the prices were not justified.

Firstly, the FAS should not charge higher prices for an old stadium which is to be demolished soon. It does not mean World Cup Qualifiers have to be more expensive. There is no logic.

Secondly, did you know that only Secondary School students and those from ITE were allowed to buy the student ticket price of $3? JC and tertiary level students had to pay $10 for admission. It might have priced some youngsters out. If you were a regular at Kallang Stadium, you would realize that youngsters form a significant part of the audience. This might be one of the reasons the attendance was only a meager 6,606.

Thirdly, the early bird pricing is not attractive enough. Most spectators who travelled to Jalan Besar Stadium to buy tickets in advance had to pay for additional transport charges. With the traveling time and transport fees involved, the early bird prices were not tempting enough unless these buyers were truly die-hard fans.

Shame on Media:
When you said that there were not enough supporters to cheer the Lions, did it ever occur to you that you (mass media) were part of the problem? I had been following the mass media very closely the few days before the match and discovered that there was not much coverage on the Lions’ preparation. (Only 1page or less than that just before the match.) Do not blame the fans when your bosses are not supportive of local football.

The TV stations didn’t even bother to do a delayed telecast. The usual time slot for LIVE S-League matches at the time of the match was used to broadcast “Bend it like Beckam” movie. Isn’t a world cup qualifying match involving the national team worthy of greater spectator interest than a funny movie or s-league match? There was also no live commentary of the match via radio. I recall that the football-crazy Malay radio channel used to cover matches even though there was none on the English or Chinese station. I’m a male Chinese in the mid 30s by the way.

I also remember the Malaysia Cup days when the New Paper actually dedicated several pages before each big match, interviewing the players and coaches from both sides, showing team formation and statistics, etc. It actually helped to whet the appetites of fans. Now it seems only the English Premier League deserve such a coverage.

In neigbouring countries like Indonesia or Thailand , almost every match involving the National Team will be telecast LIVE, whether they are playing locally or overseas. Of course there are many factors why LIVE coverage is possible, one of the major reasons is sponsorship. The TV stations would also provide daily coverage if possible on the team’s preparations. That’s why the mass media play a very important part in building up the game and raising public awareness.

One of the reasons why the Malaysia Cup days were so successful was because a lot of people actually became avid supporters of local football after much publicity from the mass media. Before that, they knew nothing about the game or the players.

In light of Singapore Government’s eager desire to bid for the Youth Olympics 2010, I think the rest of the population still have a long way to go in terms of sports awareness, not just about football. The mass media should play a proactive role in promoting sports coverage, such as resurrecting the sports channel, improve coverage of local sports people and telecast more LIVE events on various sports, not just football. Try not to think of profitability always. How about treating this as a wholesome national project?

Thanks for reading this email. I believe most of the message is not nonsensical. Hope you can at least thank me in writing such a lengthy response.

Jim, Bedok.
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