Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Malaysia's Best World Cup


Apparently, Ukranians are not familiar with their national anthem. That got me warbling on ours without hitting the right notes. At least I knew the lyrics (although it didnt sound lyrical). Take my word for it.

Since we're only going to make the WC Finals sometime in the 2020s, coinciding with our Long Vision and notwithstanding our Short Execution skills, our best WC todate was the 1982 edition. The Tabung Rakyat, which put the finances of RTM to shame, was the best thing that happen to us since paper thin tosei. We were not only spared Osim's prancing horses but Shebby too. Back then, he was just Serbegeth Singh.

Although I didnt contribute to the Tabung as I was a mere student with raging hormones, I felt immense pride everytime Negara Ku was played before the live feed. It was the original long winded rendition but you knew everyone was singing it aloud from the Mamak to Melaka.

The football was excellent too. The best Brazillian team, a brilliant French team and the resilient Italians. I didnt like the Germans for their workmanlike approach but hate sure fueled the passion. Now, they that they have discovered flair and displayed vulnerability, the Germans have become likeable.

This WC's drama is yet to unfold. I suspect the definitive moment would be when Shebby finally makes the right prediction.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

aiyo, shebby!! perhaps we should make bets on him???

and what is that osim prancer crap? doesn't even mimic proper horse riding techniques. jiggle! jiggle!!
What an asinine contraption!!

[V]landa said...

do not mock/insult the iGallop!!!

Anonymous said...

You mean the Tabung Rakyat was to pay for the Wurl Kap's live feeds?

Shebby gets on my tits although the only things on my mind about the Wurl Kap these days are: (1) Canavarro's 6-pack abs; (2) Cristiano Ronaldo's iliac crest; and (3) Zinedine Zidane's botak spot. :P

Lily G said...

My favourite WC is 1998. Obviously.

My worst is this year - 2 mins past the Eng vs Swe match.

Poor sod will never play for England again. Nor come back to Liverpool.

Sobs.

an0nymous-ign0ranus said...

now tell me, is mr serbegeth singh an irish or a scottish? there are times when i thought he sounded more like irish/scottish than a punjabi man trying to talk crap about football.

Ariel said...

Babe.. i see you have taken our grip online...

I think shebby is just a very confused man la....

kejap scottish, kejap irish... rasa nak tampar pun ada sometimes!

Keropok said...

Shabby Singh boleh tahan la, and about 3 out of 10 times I can agree with him.

I hear about 1982, but was't even aware of football beyond Selangor and Pestabola Merdeka back then. Then came 86', Maradona and Tivi-tiga... the rest, as they say, is history.

sic6sense said...

good afternnon,

cant seem to find anything on the Tabung Rakyat. If I can remember, I think there was 'unrest' on the streets when the first round matches were not shown and Malay Mail (being the people's paper :p) responded by initiating a tabung where the public donated for the livecasts.

On Shebby, I'm warming up to him. I noticed he's begining to laugh at the absurdity of some of his predictions. Got pie on your face, might as well eat it.

On iGallop, like lily had mentioned, i'm amazed that it got through the censorship board. Progress??

an0nymous-ign0ranus said...

the tabung, was it for the 1982 world cup?

on the iGallop ad, it was not the censorship board (LPF) that approved it. it the ad was approved at all, then it would have been the folks at the MInistry of Information who want to remain relevant and powerful and useful, the very same people who harp on the dearth of budaya timur on other stations.

sic6sense said...

babe, 1982. I'm surprised its approved at the Ministry level. Takde keje lain ke?

vic said...

am surprised there was not one comment on the photo...hmmmmm. Its a nice photo.

Yes, the Tabung Rakyat was set up cos the Gomen or RTM didnt have the money (supposedly) to pay to get the life feeds. So the rakyat came out with the cash. Just like how the velodrome at Perak came about.

My fave comment by Shebby would be something that went along the lines of... "Allback wont shine. He isnt good enuff. Over the hill. Rio and Terry were too good..blah blah blah"

And the rest is history.

sic6sense said...

but vic, would you do her, 4 legged and all?

vic said...

if yes, pervert.
if no, no sense of adventure or willingness to try something new.

i am the former.