I was there watching my favorite game … I was live on the Television… There were moments when I was off my seat… I was enjoying every second…
I’am referring to the football match between Australia and Palestine, which I attended.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup was being held in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) from January 5 to February 1, 2019. While the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain were hosting the games, some of them were also to be held at the Rashid Stadium, Sharjah. Hence, it comes as no surprise that I would be watching a game there.
I’am a massive football fan of the English Premier league (EPL), following Newcastle United and Manchester City. Of course, this was not a club tournament, but, games played representing nations. It could be compared to the Euro, and hence, it is all about pride, all the way and therefore, the enthusiasm to watch them live.
Being an Indian, I was proud that India had qualified for this tournament. India was a powerhouse in Asia in the sixties, and it finished runners-up of the 1964 tournament. But things went quickly downhill, and with the popularity of cricket increasing, it obviously meant a decline in interest in the beautiful game. India did qualify for the 1984 and 2011 editions of the game, but, had failed to make any notable impressions.
But, things improved thereafter and Indian football started reaching milestones, such as, breaking into the top 100 in the overall team rankings, and being an undefeated team for 12 games (with 11 wins and 1 draw), second and next best to only the World Champions, Germany.
The introduction of the glamorous Indian Super League (ISL) had propelled the popularity of the game to dizzy heights, with fans returning in large numbers. With this, a new crop of youngsters emerged and their hard work was rewarded with India qualifying for this year’s AFC Asian Cup event.
The delight was doubled when India defeated Thailand, 4-1, in their opening game. It was just the start we required and for me, it served as a catalyst to watch a game at the Rashid stadium.
Although, none of the India games were to be played at the Rashid stadium, but, I was keen to watch one game played by Australia.
Australia came into the tournament as the defending champions and they had lost their first game. This only meant that they had to win the next game to stay alive in the tournament.
Meanwhile for a few months till then, the Rashid stadium was getting ready for this multinational event, and I was watching the developments at the stadium while travelling to and fro from office. The metro that I use to commute would go beside the stadium giving an aerial view of the stadium and therefore the happenings.
They relayed the pitch, painted the seats, stands and walls, installed a new score board and a giant television screen. The future was obvious, promising excitement, entertainment and fun. The crimson red stadium would shine in the bright sunlight reminding me each time that I should watch a game there.
It was like watching a documentary on Television, about the build up to the Asian cup, 2019.
And so, when the right time arrived, I went to one of the bunkers (a dirty white colored rectangular iron ticket booth) that was stationed in front of the stadium, to buy tickets for the game.
The lady at the ticket counter, a cheerful Filipino lady with a smiling face, enquired politely about the game which I would prefer to watch. I asked her if the tickets for the Australia vs Palestine game were available, for which she gave a startled smile because, I was neither an Australian nor a Palestinian, moreover, to watch their game at a neutral venue.
She immediately dived into her system and peered at the screen for what seemed to be longer than a few minutes. There was yet another cheerful smile on her face as she probably found her result, and then, gleefully informed me about its availability. I booked the tickets. She wished me a good game and I thanked her.
Match Day.
I had invited one of my friends from the Art of Living (AOL) center. We were late by at least one hour and my friend gave an equivalent worried look. There was a long two-pronged queue in front of our gate.
The gates were open three hours before the game, and we knew that coming late was a blunder. It looked as if the crowd was outside and not at the inside of the stadium. Many had come late. I later thought that it was not our fault or in realty, maybe we overlooked certain situations.
I had thought we could just walk into the stadium, but, we never realized that the game was being played over the weekend and therefore, the crowd. Anyway, we were late and that was the fact.
The game started at the scheduled time and people started to complain. Some of them were even demanding a refund. There were a couple of mounted cops to check a possible outbreak of commotion.
Then, we heard a loud cheer from the stadium. Somebody had scored a goal. This was quickly followed by another cheer. Somebody told that Australia had scored twice. An Australian gang cheered and sang. Two goals and we had missed them both.
Meanwhile, the crowd was moving at snail’s pace and we feared that we would miss the game entirely. The queue crawled and with much time lost, we reached inside. We quickly checked our sections for our seats, when the steward informed us to sit anywhere we may please. So much chaos to just sit anywhere, we thought.
By the time we took our seats, the game had just a few minutes left for the first half to complete. Even before the crowd had completely settled down, the first half was over. Australia had taken a lead of 2-0.
But the atmosphere at the stadium was beautiful, with both sections of the crowd cheering and entertaining themselves. All were excited and joyous, and I felt that a mad streaker would run across the stadium. But, nothing of that sort happened. The camera would whiz past our heads and everyone would cheer.
The second half began.
It was an interesting half and Palestine was playing a spirited game and many times it looked that they would score. But the Australian defense was strong and standing tall. Then there was a quick counter attack by Australia, but, they too were denied all the while. This happened several times and there were ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ from either sections of the crowd. The Gaffer of either teams would motivate their lads to perform well from the side lines.
Many had not seen the first half goals and most were pleading for a goal by any of the teams. A Mexican wave would sometimes pass by. In between the camera would pass us, which would generate a loud cheer from the crowd. I would look at the giant screen hoping that I was on it.
For one moment of the match, or maybe for a minute, the camera just stopped focusing our section of the crowd. We were excited at the prospect of being seen on the giant screen. Again, almost automatic, I was viewing the screen to see if I were on it, when I missed the entire drama.
It was the 90th minute of the game and in extra time, when the substitute Apostolos Giannou, who had come-in for the scorer Jamie Maclaren, thumped in an unmarked header. I was out of the screen when I heard a roar, and all I could see was the ball bounce and hit the net.
It was a goal! and I jumped off my seat with my fist in the air. Australia had scored and I had finally seen a goal (almost).
The game rolled on for a few minutes until the final whistle. Australia won the game 3-0. Both the teams acknowledged the crowd and we walked out of the stadium.
Outside a man was standing with a placard that read “I collect used tickets”. I handed him our tickets. I was ruing over the fact that I missed to witness the complete game and that final goal that I forgot to ask him why he was collecting used tickets. By then, we had reached the parking lot.
Overall it was an amusing experience that I enjoyed. I must say, being an avid football fan, the euphoria was of course better than watching it on television.
Until the next game…
The Log 