If you feel like giving up, DON'T!

Times can never be tougher, but if anyone of you feels like giving up, don't. 

photo courtesy of Ko Po Hui

S.League. Not going to be a poorer cousin, someone claimed to be. Apparently, after 2 months or so into the 2012 season of the S.League, it seems that not only has it become a poorer cousin. It seems that it is kicked out of the family altogether.

From the looks of it, the promises made earlier were nothing but empty promises. It seems that the S.League is left to fend on its own with a few dedicated personnel really running the show to the best of their abilities.

It seems that even the players now know that they cannot compete given the exodus of stars to form another team. The Young Lions looked like mere pussycats as compared to Harimau Muda in the league and we don't need to guess why. And it looks to get worse as the season goes by.

Meanwhile, the foreign clubs like DPMM and Harimau Muda are slowly enjoying wins after wins, easily dispatching some of the clubs with easy wins.

In the mainstream front, it looks as if "there isn't enough space" for our very own domestic league anymore. If the work of a reporter is to just sit at home and summarize what they see on S.League TV, then might as well the mainstream media hire a primary 4 kid to do that job!

Exciting S.League games are relegated to mere snippets, sharing a column with redundant golf news from god knows where.

The eastern derby between Geylang and Tampines apparently did not have enough to be made a story out off but a report card of a foreign league can be beautifully slotted in the papers.

A few weeks back, 8000 was at the Jalan Besar Stadium for a football game. A few weeks later, only a paltry crowd of 800 cheered on Tampines Rovers in a continental cup game. Spillover they claim it would be.

Meanwhile, clubs have been putting in tons of effort to try and draw crowds in. Balestier has sprung up a few surprises in the attendance statistics and Albirex has been ever professional in the day to day running of the clubs. The lads in Geylang United have been running on  passion and effort alone to drive the club back to where it used to be. Tanjong Pagar too have been getting themselves involved in the community they are in and so is every club in general. Vivocity tie ins, blood donation drives, football clinics and what have you.

In general, the competition has become more and more competitive with surprising results and performances that mean the world to these players.

But sadly, no stories on these efforts were enough to be picked up. " We write what readers want to read" they might say. Again, spillover? What spillover?

Sure, it hasn't been perfect. Sure, some criticisms are really valid. But our league doesn't deserve this.

It is only a matter of time that fixtures of S.League will clash will the team that is of the interests of many. Owh wait, it already is. Spillover? Or should it be called cutting into the already small market and forcing people to choose? Yeah right, spillover!

At the time of this post, many players in the S.League may be disappointed and down. But if you feel like giving up, don't!

Times have never been tougher but you need to carry on your hard work and your dedication. Keep the spirit alive and the flame burning.

If the administrators interested in only money don't care, if the media don't think "you are worth the space", if the haters ridicule or laugh at you, then pay no attention to them.

Because there are many out there that still do care......

This post is dedicated to :
1. The S.League and club personnel who have given their all in ensuring that the league survives
2. The S.League players who have given their all in the games they play and the training sessions that underwent.
3. The photographers, the bloggers and the WRITERS FROM THE ALTERNATIVE MEDIA who have willingly and passionately write about the S.league.
4. And the loyal fans who have stayed to support the S.League and their clubs.