For The Love of The Game

It’s no secret that there’s always a battle going on over who’s in charge of the remote control in a small family with only one telly. That is also what happened in my home for the last three years. I had that battle with my sisters during my bachelor era although only in small frequency since I studied in a boarding school. Now it’s my wife’s turn. We had a peaceful pact before but since the programme on TV keep changing all the time, the pact becoming ineffective.

I don’t really know what started my flirt affection with football because I only had it in the last ten years ever since I started to play Championship Manager in my pc during the college years. At first I barely know the system of play let alone the beauty of the game, but the devotion beginning to boost each year gone by. Now it comes to the phase when my wife can sum it up in one sentence: If Manchester United win, she’s safe. That is because every time a bad patch going on for my beloved team I would be all grumpy and rather fuming the whole lot all day. Funny that she always wants to hide in the closet whenever the game started, but I guess that’s just sarcastic exaggeration.

So when I woke up at 2 o’clock this morning and found my team playing against its most bitter enemy in the shape of those graceless Arsenal twats, drowsiness replaced by uncontrollable and unexplainable anxiety and suddenly I was fully awoken. And without a rival fighting for the remote since Ira was soundly sleeping I can enjoy the amusement to the fullest. The game itself showed every quality that is to like about football. It got controversies, male testosterone with high flying and crunching tackles, luscious class of dribbling and close control. Leadership, wit, and passion battled each other in the field for 90 minutes.

And the most pleasing thing is that Manchester United winning it with a rout of a thriller 4-2 score line. Over the years the fixture has been riled with infuriated rivalry. From last year’s Battle of Old Trafford to the Pizza Gate incident back in October, there have been punches given back and forth. But this time the hype really is rewarded with some of the best tussle ever seen in a football match.

By the point it was all over, the alarm bell to wake me up has passed 5 o’clock so it’s about time to take my shower and get ready for work. When I get to decide what to wear today I stumbled across my Red Devil replica shirt and remember thinking, 'Hm… it'd be cool wearing it just to winding up the other lot... well, why not?'. A few eyebrows were indeed raised today in the office seeing me with the red top but I just went on smiling and gave a winning smirk especially to the bunch of ‘Anything But United’ brigade blokes over here.

Hehehe, the bragging right is mine today, mate.

The One With The Memorable Quotes

We know them all too well. We’ve been watching them together for more than eleven years. They define the ‘must’ in “must see TV”. Indeed, we’re talking about the gang of six, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler. Yeah, Friends, for ten years, their life’s, love’s, and wacky antics have provided the water cooler buzz on each morning we had our coffee break or in between dinner talks. From Fun Bobby, The Ugly Naked Guy, to Joy’s big break as Al Pacino’s stunt butt, we’ve enjoyed the ride all played to the haunting refrain of Phoebe’s quirky tune ‘Smelly Cat’.

All the stars in the show has brought to life the character we get to know and love. But ten years is a long time and a lot has changed including our favourite ‘Friends’. Now that it’s already ended, it seems something has been missing. Gone are the days of curiousity of whether Ross and Rachel will be together again or whether Chandler will stuck between a rock and a hard place once more.

The show has moved beyond success to cultural icon status. And with final episodes already aired for almost a year ago, The Gen X fans who has turned from 20 something to 30 something along with the cast, still find a way to rejoice some of the re-runs from their own vcd or dvd collections.

From the get go, the show has grabbed attention from fans to critics and ultimately has been one of the phenomenon of the nineties. Can you remember when Chandler said, “You have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance.” Or when Rachel scream, “Hey, just so you know: it's *NOT* that common, it *DOESN’T* ‘happen to every guy,’ and it *IS* a big deal.” And Joey’s stupid remark, “It's a rented tux. Okay? I'm not gonna go commando in another man's fatigues.”

I think everybody saw a little bit of themselves in each one of the six character. It also represents all the different sides of who you might be, or even the various different type of people that you know of. I would look at my friends and said, ‘Oh my god, that is so Ross’ or a friend of mine who always compared herself with Monica’s type of neurotic.

One of the show’s most remarkable accomplishment is that for the whole decade, it was always funny. Everyone still have their own most favourite moment. That look or line that can still make you laugh out loud. Well for me, I would have to say my most favourite scene was when Joey and Chandler had an argument and Joey end up wearing all Chandlers clothes and do some lunging. Man, that is some funny stuff.

Friends may not literally the most seen or the ultimate best in TV show but surely it has some special place in the niche of the people my age. It’s not exactly profound or even breakthrough these whole series, but whenever I felt a little been under the weather or almost jaded, I just reach on to the cupboard and there they are ready to pick me up and make me laugh. I think Joey said it best when him and Chandler are about to split from the apartment. “It’s the end of an era”.