Happy for the Hools – What lessons the Crew can learn from them

These are just my opinions – if you feel offended reading any of the below paragraphs, just reach out to me and I’ll see if I can clear some stuff up. – Eddy

What a great Cup final it was yesterday. Great game of football, with two great sets of supporters in the stands (plus many neutrals), and a trophy at the end of it. This was cup football at its finest.

Why a Sailors fan was slightly leaning towards Hougang for the win

I won’t lie – even as a Sailors fan, I was supporting Hougang this final. Lesser of the two evils, I guess. And also, I think my long friendship with the Hools made me happy for them to see them finally get rewarded for their years and years of supporting the club. And who doesn’t love an underdog story! Everyone and their mother (and Singapore Pools) was predicting a Tampines win.

I also don’t really like Tampines Rovers, but my reasons for that shall stay private. I will share with you in person if you’re really curious.

Before this turns into a whole post discussing why I do not like Tampines Rovers, I must turn the focus of this post back to the Hools.

Perseverance and Passion

When it comes to local football supporter groups, I don’t think there is any debate. The Hools and the Ultras Eagles (fans of Geylang International) are the two loudest and most organised fan groups currently. They are very passionate, and they’ve been around for a long time. I have nothing but respect for their dedication and I hope that one day, the Crew will be able to come close to the Hools in terms of their organised support.

One Hool I am particularly close to is Merv. He may be a controversial figure (lots of people like to talk shit about him) but I will forever defend him because I know his passion for the club and for Singapore football is real. He also composed one (or maybe more) of the songs that the Hools use, “Satu Hati Satu Hougang”. It’s a song that’s so catchy I hate Merv for composing it because I sometimes find myself humming along to it and I hate myself for it haha. In my many conversations with him over the years, he’s been nothing but welcoming, and I appreciate that we can have this friendly rivalry in the stands, and come together to cheer whenever our national team plays.

I think the take-aways from my conversations with him are that it takes time and patience to build such a strong supporter culture, and that the spirit is all-important. Once the spirit is right (the “semangat” that Merv always lovingly refers to), and there is a connection between the club, the players, and the fans, then good things can be achieved. The co-ordination of the Hools’ chants, and their togetherness is not by accident. It’s hard work and painstaking growth that has taken place since 2010/2011. It’s more than a decade in the making.

But of course, followers of local football will know that week in week out, the Hools chant and chant but the club has not achieved anything of note in their history. Until last night, that is. I texted Merv to congratulate him first, and then the other Hools I knew as well. Shoutout to Alvin, Michael, Amsyar and many many others. Gutted that Sailors are not in the final, but so happy that these long-suffering fans have some reward at the end of a long period of pain.

“Plastics”

The Crew is often referred to as being plastic fans, or glory-hunters. This is of course, an unfair tag, given that a large number of the Crew have actually started off as Home United fans who stuck with the club despite the rebranding and privatisation.

Even if they are new fans, I am not sure that we really need to attach such negative labels to Singaporeans who bother coming to a game. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I feel. People laud LCS for their marketing efforts – the pyrotechnics, the increased social media presence, the merchandising, and all that, but surely the point of all this is to attract new fans. But when the new fans turn up, they are labelled as “plastics” – what gives? Must we shame our fellow Singaporeans who decide to attend our games because there is now a much better matchday experience?

(erhem, aside to certain club’s Chairman who calls us plastic at every opportunity and somehow found it appropriate to sneak this same reference in into his obituary to the late FAS President Lim Kia Tong)

No. Let’s welcome these new fans, to whatever club they want to support. Be it Geylang or Hougang or Albirex or Tampines, why are we giving labels to people? Surely whether or not they are plastic depends on whether they will stick with their club through thick and thin. LCS imploded spectacularly this year, so let’s see whether the Crew sticks around next year, or if everyone just gives up. I know where I’ll still be next year, and the years after that.

Let’s support each other

There’s a reason I am bringing this up now. I was so encouraged that the brilliant cup final last night sparked so much interest. Tampines and Hougang both played a part in ensuring that at the end of the night, local football was the winner. The goals were of a very good quality, and both teams played positive, flowing football.

The action even sparked a Reddit thread in r/Singapore that is doing quite well. Do check it out here (https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/yzz59p/why_you_should_watch_local_football_its_actually/). Clearly the writer of that post is super passionate about local football, so much so that he’s decided to write a whole post about it to encourage his fellow Singaporeans to come down to a game.

Now, I call upon all of us, Sailors fans included, let’s welcome these new fans. Let’s not gatekeep. Let’s make them feel welcome, and grow all our supporter clubs. And please, when they are small, let’s not shame them or compare them all the time to the Hools / Ultras Eagles. If I had a dollar for every time people told me that the Crew’s drumming is not good, I’d be a very rich man.

Honestly, I applaud our drummers for daring to step up and drum, when noone else is volunteering. Perhaps those who squawk loudest should volunteer to help if it means so much to them haha. I know they are not the best, and they know it too. However, we are still a very young fan club, and having gone through times with Home United Supporters Club where I was part of maybe 4 or 5 fans chanting – I am so glad to see where we are now.

With the support of our own fans, and fans from local football in general, I am sure the Crew can grow to become a better matchday presence. If you’re reading this and you’d like to join us to chant, please come and have a chat with me! Or if you’re shy, just sit near us at games, and try to follow along! Most of our chants are available in The Crew’s instagram stories archive.

To round off, congratulations Hougang United, and especially to the Hools. Enjoy your few months of glory – our Sailors will be back to get you next year!