yesterday i was with a friend at bugis before i went to meet her.

it was super chaotic. the whole world was down there buying presents and what not. i really pity the staff in charged of the free wrapping service outside action city. she had like bags and bags of purchases surrounding her, waiting for her attention. my friend said she told him helplessly he needed to wait 30mins, for self explanatory reasons. but i have to salute her remarkable attitude and spirit. throughout my witness of her ordeal, she was still smiling and explaining to custmomers, while her hands try to work wonders at lightning speed. besides, her boss didn't even get her a chair! she was like standing for hours. on christmas eve, no less.

anyway, the press finally brought to light the immense crowd trouble at the national stadium last sunday. i was there and i saw the riots first hand. it was very terrible. i sat near the border which divided the local fans and the away fans. and i left from the east entrance where the vietnamnese fans were walking out, only to be met with hundreds of locals waiting for them. screaming for their blood, quite literally.

vulgarities weren't spared. cigarettes butts were thrown at the vietnamnese, bottles, everything that could fly. worst still, there wasn't a single police outside the stadium in sight as this whole ordeal unwraps.

fights broke out as some of the vietnamnese flared up over the taunts, in-the-face insults and the stuff thrown at them and they retaliated. while fights also occured because some of the away fans figured the best chance of them getting out alive was to bulldoze and just make a dash out.

i pity the female vietnamnese fans who came. they must be really really traumatized. the atmosphere was very intimidating. the singaporean fans really look like they are going to tear the vietnam fans apart. our local boys were in huge numbers, loud, angsty and many others were armed with some sort of sticks.

i personally condemn the violence. but thats as far as i can say. its definitely not right behaviour and we owe the away fans a heartfelt apology. having said so, like i mentioned, during the game i was sitting very near the border that separated the two side of fans.

i have to say this. the crowd was at 55000. the most the away fans had was 3000-4000. yet throughout the game, they were singing, making alot of noise. thats football, thats spirit, fine.

but when vietnam took the lead late into the game and the home crowd was stunned into silence. the vietnamnese fans on the stands erupted, rightfully. however, they did dumb things. they faced towards the home fans, looked at us, they sing, they waved and they danced. it was taunting in our own den, complete with the sore feeling of potential loss. i could swallow it, but i noe alot of singaporeans among me cant. especially the boys who were all ready to fight. scuffles and fights broke out, but the police presence in the stadium separating the two sides managed to break them out all the time, albeit barely.

only for the vietnamnese fans to feel the wrath when they exit the stadium by themselves, without the presence of any security.

what an experience.