For the past few days, I have been following every game in a major sporting event happening in another country and it doesn’t involve kicking a ball or disqualifying Singapore swimmers for tardiness.
I’m talking about the 2010 Major League Baseball post-season play-offs.
Yes, I’m a baseball fan.
No, wait, don’t run away. This is not one of those columns where the writer is a fan of some esoteric thing (like playing Cafe World on Facebook) and tries to convince everyone else how interesting it is when really, no one cares.
No, this column is about how lonely it is to be a fan of some esoteric thing (like American baseball) and not having anyone to talk to about it.
OK, now you can run away.
If you’re still here, let me clarify a couple of points. I know American baseball is not really an esoteric thing. The sport has millions of fans around the world, but in Singapore, it might as well be on Okto after 8pm.
I also know that if I really want to, I could probably find someone to talk to about baseball on the Internet, like the guy at www.singaporesoxfan.com (except that I’m a Minnesota Twins fan).But it’s not the same.
How I envy football fans in Singapore ... I mean soccer fans ... I mean ... you know what I mean.
Even if you’re a fan of a faraway football team like Loserpool... I mean Liverpool, you can easily find someone to commiserate with when the Merseysiders are eventually relegated. I mean I can’t swing a corked bat without hitting a pitiable Reds fan in The New Paper newsroom.
But whose shoulder can I cry on when my beloved Twinkies are once again yanked from post-season competition by defending champions New York Yankees? No one cares.
Maybe I can go to The New Paper Sports Bar and cry in my drink, which has to be non-alcoholic because I’m a teetotaler. Perhaps a fruit mocktail.
And I’m somewhat comforted that Liverpool is being bought by the owner of the Boston Red Sox, long-time bitter rivals of the Yankees, the baseball equivalent of Manchester United.
You see? I’m able to appreciate the parallel because I’m a baseball fan. Like the Reds, the Red Sox had a disappointing year too - though not as sucky as Liverpool’s.Worlds are colliding. Singapore Loserpool fans may want nothing to do with baseball, but it looks like baseball is going to have a lot to do with Loserpool.
And still a baseball fan in Singapore walks alone.
Oh, I also love country music.
- Published in The New Paper, 10 October 2010
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