14/11/2009
The day started in the usual manner. Me getting up at 4:30 in the morning, boarding the bus at 5:10, reaching site at 5:50, breakfast, work etc. But, it was not just 'any other day'. It had somthing in it that could make me drool all over myself. Something that I have dreamt off, perhaps not every day of the past 4 years, but certainly on days of every good football match I have seen.
If you think I was excited the past week, you should have seen me today. I was all over the place. Work was sloppy, the consultant even postponed some of day's agenda's on my account to the next day. Kind of him, yes. Add to that he dropped me to the stadium at 1615, ya, i did get off work a good 1 hour before time, thanks to my english boss, who just couldn't say no (although he did let in slip that if england loses, he'd kill me :)).
The FAN FAIR supposedly started at 1500. Was in full flow when I joined in. I have never been to a live game before, I had huge expectations for the match, but as for the fair, none. Taking into account what I expect of Qatar socially, What I saw, what I experienced, is beyond any words that I know of. Although alone at this time (couple of friends who were suppose to join me were running late), there was plenty to do. It had everything from footballing games like beach football, one o one, penalty shots testing accuracy and clocking speeds, a little pre match extravaganza on playstation, to a british (geeky looking) band (name, i still don't know), to the 3 cultural hubs (Eng, Brasil and Qatar), to multi-cusinies, to face painting (:D), to merchandise shops etc. The setup felt nothing less than a carnival (though, I cant say I have been to one before this).
My favourite parts of the whole fair were the samba dancing, the band (live music, how can i not like it ;)), a street football skill show by some english kids (amazing, what people can do with a football), a skills competition between the very same kids and a group of the traditional english guard (atleast in attire) *hillarious*, and o'course the face painting :) :D
The best part still was the care free attidude that everyone had, showing off what they can do, flaunting weird hair do's, innovative face paints, attires, with wide smiles and grins; boys gawking girls, girls responding with even bigger smiles than they previously had :D It did feel like heaven, with people exuding positive vibes, energy and happiness all around. I wished the day would never end.
That was then. But it was not about the fair. It was not about the whether Qatar is culturally active. It was not about if I like the English people (I have somehow grown fond of 'em here). It was about FOOTBALL.
I have had my share of gaping when I first saw the Khalifa Stadium and the Sports tower behind it from outside. But it was nothing in comparison to 'the hole' now evident on my face when I entered this humonguous structure, with beautifully laid out seats in a colosseum fashion and even more beautiful lush green pitch (TV don't do justice to football stadiums one bit, and this one is right up there).
The opening ceremony was nothing short of a spectical. I have seen videos of such events before, but anything live is so much more enthralling. You can make wonders from the combo of good ol' loud music and flashing bright lights. Add to that the synchronisation of the same with people and countless blue neon sticks in pitch black darkness, and you have a success on your hands.
After, followed the usual lineups, anthems and the kick off. And off we were. I always had a misconception in my mind that for any sport, watching the actual gameplay on TV is far better than from stands. Boy, I was in for a surprise. I could recognise each and every player (faces, jersey numbers or style) and follow each and every inch of a play, more than I ever could on the idiot box. The crosses, the headers, the tackles, the sudden acceleration by a player, the through passes, each and every other minute detail happening on feild was so much more vivid and expressive. And if you take into account the perfect mexican waves, the faint music, and the raucous crowd, well, i am short of words. It might not have been 90 mins of non stop cheering as in EPL, but i did "dig my teeth" into it.
As for the game itself, I am not going to break down much here since you must have gone through all the player ratings and most match reviews if you really were interested. However, I will add some arbitrary stuff here. Kaka(insanely Dashing, crowd favourite), Rooney(insanely strong, hot headed - yes, we did witness it), Nilmar (definitely my MOM). And you can guess Brazilian domination by the fact that English supporters started leaving the stadium at around 80th min citing traffic as the reason :D
I know that it wasn't the first teams, but there were enough quality players to make a decent game out of it. Besides, it had eveything, rough tackles, yellow cards, insane runs, insane skills (by Rooney and Kaka in particular), o'course the AWESOME GOAL, THE MISSED PENALTY (wtf, Kaka didn't take it. It would have been "cherry on the top" if he'd scored), THE SOUND OF HITTING THE WOOD WORK ( :) i prayed for this one) and BRAZILIAN VICTORY.
-------------------------
I know it has been a long post, straight from the heart. There is so much more that I could have written. So much more that I cannot express in words. I did have the time of my life and I hope you like the post. Do leave your comments.
P.S. Attaching the link to photos. Will be posting Videos soon.
The day started in the usual manner. Me getting up at 4:30 in the morning, boarding the bus at 5:10, reaching site at 5:50, breakfast, work etc. But, it was not just 'any other day'. It had somthing in it that could make me drool all over myself. Something that I have dreamt off, perhaps not every day of the past 4 years, but certainly on days of every good football match I have seen.
If you think I was excited the past week, you should have seen me today. I was all over the place. Work was sloppy, the consultant even postponed some of day's agenda's on my account to the next day. Kind of him, yes. Add to that he dropped me to the stadium at 1615, ya, i did get off work a good 1 hour before time, thanks to my english boss, who just couldn't say no (although he did let in slip that if england loses, he'd kill me :)).
The FAN FAIR supposedly started at 1500. Was in full flow when I joined in. I have never been to a live game before, I had huge expectations for the match, but as for the fair, none. Taking into account what I expect of Qatar socially, What I saw, what I experienced, is beyond any words that I know of. Although alone at this time (couple of friends who were suppose to join me were running late), there was plenty to do. It had everything from footballing games like beach football, one o one, penalty shots testing accuracy and clocking speeds, a little pre match extravaganza on playstation, to a british (geeky looking) band (name, i still don't know), to the 3 cultural hubs (Eng, Brasil and Qatar), to multi-cusinies, to face painting (:D), to merchandise shops etc. The setup felt nothing less than a carnival (though, I cant say I have been to one before this).
My favourite parts of the whole fair were the samba dancing, the band (live music, how can i not like it ;)), a street football skill show by some english kids (amazing, what people can do with a football), a skills competition between the very same kids and a group of the traditional english guard (atleast in attire) *hillarious*, and o'course the face painting :) :D
The best part still was the care free attidude that everyone had, showing off what they can do, flaunting weird hair do's, innovative face paints, attires, with wide smiles and grins; boys gawking girls, girls responding with even bigger smiles than they previously had :D It did feel like heaven, with people exuding positive vibes, energy and happiness all around. I wished the day would never end.
That was then. But it was not about the fair. It was not about the whether Qatar is culturally active. It was not about if I like the English people (I have somehow grown fond of 'em here). It was about FOOTBALL.
I have had my share of gaping when I first saw the Khalifa Stadium and the Sports tower behind it from outside. But it was nothing in comparison to 'the hole' now evident on my face when I entered this humonguous structure, with beautifully laid out seats in a colosseum fashion and even more beautiful lush green pitch (TV don't do justice to football stadiums one bit, and this one is right up there).
The opening ceremony was nothing short of a spectical. I have seen videos of such events before, but anything live is so much more enthralling. You can make wonders from the combo of good ol' loud music and flashing bright lights. Add to that the synchronisation of the same with people and countless blue neon sticks in pitch black darkness, and you have a success on your hands.
After, followed the usual lineups, anthems and the kick off. And off we were. I always had a misconception in my mind that for any sport, watching the actual gameplay on TV is far better than from stands. Boy, I was in for a surprise. I could recognise each and every player (faces, jersey numbers or style) and follow each and every inch of a play, more than I ever could on the idiot box. The crosses, the headers, the tackles, the sudden acceleration by a player, the through passes, each and every other minute detail happening on feild was so much more vivid and expressive. And if you take into account the perfect mexican waves, the faint music, and the raucous crowd, well, i am short of words. It might not have been 90 mins of non stop cheering as in EPL, but i did "dig my teeth" into it.
As for the game itself, I am not going to break down much here since you must have gone through all the player ratings and most match reviews if you really were interested. However, I will add some arbitrary stuff here. Kaka(insanely Dashing, crowd favourite), Rooney(insanely strong, hot headed - yes, we did witness it), Nilmar (definitely my MOM). And you can guess Brazilian domination by the fact that English supporters started leaving the stadium at around 80th min citing traffic as the reason :D
I know that it wasn't the first teams, but there were enough quality players to make a decent game out of it. Besides, it had eveything, rough tackles, yellow cards, insane runs, insane skills (by Rooney and Kaka in particular), o'course the AWESOME GOAL, THE MISSED PENALTY (wtf, Kaka didn't take it. It would have been "cherry on the top" if he'd scored), THE SOUND OF HITTING THE WOOD WORK ( :) i prayed for this one) and BRAZILIAN VICTORY.
-------------------------
I know it has been a long post, straight from the heart. There is so much more that I could have written. So much more that I cannot express in words. I did have the time of my life and I hope you like the post. Do leave your comments.
P.S. Attaching the link to photos. Will be posting Videos soon.
Some prob with link attachment with the blog. Here goes --> http://picasaweb.google.com/dynamite1/BrasilVsEnglandFanFairAndTheGame#
ReplyDeleteWhenever I saw cricket matches in stadium, I always though what could be better than this? The mere description of the football pitch here answers me!! Hope I get a chance soon to witness something of such stature and for the writing, if you can make the reader miss the event, you sure have done a great job!:)
ReplyDelete@gulli you have made my day :) i never thought i could write remotely like this but here I am, and i always thought that u, ritesh and junna would perhaps be the 3 people who will definitely analyze my blog and help me get better...
ReplyDeleteI am really glad that this post worked out the way u said it to have worked out.. if we wud hav talkd in person.. i cant imagine wht i wud hav created :) (none of this is what you can call "exxageration" :))
abe harry foda be..i cud sense every bit of excitement and fun u went thru dat day.. and it was not long or at least did not seem long.. maza aaya padh ke.. and now I AM FEELING JEALOUS ;)
ReplyDelete@babu it seemed long while I was writing... you want me to add more :) match ko toh main itna elaborate kar sakta hun naa ki tu soch bhi nahi sakta.. 90 mein se 50-60 min toh ugal hi dunga ;) n u really missed it during euro man..
ReplyDeleteeuro se yaad aaya.. 1 line tht i hav missed.. adding now :)
faadu likha hai....ekdum faadu...i could actually hear the crowd roaring and imagine the mexican wave and the lights and the sound ....when reading it...bhai aur likh aise posts...another hidden talent "success"
ReplyDeletearre ekdum mast likha hai....as for football i m feelin jealous par koi na...hopefully kabhi ikathe epl ka match dekhne ki opportunity milegi....and yeah "SUCCESS!", and a big 1 at that...
ReplyDelete@lun :D success \m/
ReplyDelete@rags i owe it to u.. sabse zyaada.. u were d 1 who introduced me to football... and the rest is *wow* nxt stop --> EPL :)