And so... Singapore has finally brought back the Gold medal. ONE gold medal to be specific. It was an awesome Nation bonding moment. I even set my alarm clock to wake up early Saturday morning so as to watch the swim and I am not the only one.
CONGRATULATIONS JOSEPH SCHOOLING! :)
We are all incredibly proud of you and I am already looking forward to the swimming legacy that you would potentially leave behind. Singaporean or not, any athelete or successful individual who has made it such that they are the best in the world is someone worthy of celebration. What more someone who is so close to heart?
This journey has just started and already my friends and I are talking about heading down for Tokyo 2020 as there is finally something to cheer for. Keep at it.
And just as soon as we have a nation that bonded together when Schooling won, barely hours later, I start to see signs of a nation divided. We have cries that the ruling party, PAP, is trying to take credit for schooling's win, and the fact that they have provided near to no support and in fact, were potentially a derailer as Schooling was due for NS.
Suddenly, there are cries about folks abusing the success of Schooling and seeking to capitalize on it. Whether it's the PAP or businesses. There are also cries that there are other Singaporean Olympians who have suffered and given up so much for their sport and yet, received little support from the Singapore government. With the money being spent on Foreign Talents.
I feel this strong need to also throw in my two cents worth on this.
On abuse of Schooling's success:
Let's be frank here. In the world of business, any opportunity is to be pounced at. Especially when the economy has slowed down to this extent. So the fact that there is large scale promotions, etc, what is there really to complain about? Some are offering promotions, some are offering bundle package... what is the deal about it?
I actually see it the same as Christmas promotion or National Day sale. Nobody is complaining about the fact that we are abusing Santa's name in vain or that national day should be so much more about patriotism instead of sales. It really doesn't matter. A promotion, is just a reason to get consumers to spend more. Some of the retailers may truly be doing this in celebration and perhaps they are earning little or just recovering cost by offering the discounts. We don't know this. But a celebration is a celebration. If you like the product, buy it. If you don't, don't buy it. What's the point of getting upset over it?
However, there is a line that should be drawn when it comes to image rights, etc. It is the same for any celebrity, sporting or otherwise. the image rights, endorsement deals, these are what funds their careers. Singapore is already extremely lacking in this due to our small market. I would say, make sure there is no copyright or image infringements, for all the celebrations and really, I hope he makes it so big, he too gets the big deals from Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Speedo, whatever it is.
The best way to pay back your parents for their unwavering support is to continue being a success and to ensure that they no longer need to worry about anything financially and can fly to any sporting meet in comfort and style. At least, that's what I think.
On PAP capitalizing on Schooling's success:
Another case in point. PAP is responsible for many things, including the Singapore Sports Council. So yes, and also for MINDEF for finally agreeing to the deferment for Schooling's NS. Politicians are paid a lot. We get that. Are all of them in because they are deeply patriotic about Singapore? We will never be able to answer this question, only the members serving at the parliament will know.
Sometimes I think we are all a very confused lot. And I have to admit I grapple with this myself. How many of us, who work in the stat board, or private companies, doesn't matter, find ourselves being absolutely loyal to the organisation that we work for? I would say, there will always be this part of us that will always be loyal only to ourselves and our own needs. This is not a judgement (or maybe it is) but it is only human to be so.
MP or not, Ruling Party or not, emotions are always high when it comes to politics. But whoever it is that stepped up to serve, they can love our country and do our best, but the toughest job of being a leader, is not the ability to say yes, as it's always easy to say yes, but having the ability to say No. So there will be times when they make decisions that are not popular, the important thing is intention. LKY had made so many unpopular decisions that it could be said that it was a love-hate relationship at times. But look at how far we have progressed. The intention to grow the country in the best way we know how, that is what makes the difference. So are there selfish decisions? Of course there are.
The people up there are human beings too. In this whole ecosystem that we call earth, one can never predict what will happen. The smarter and wiser you are, the more you can see past the mist and to the goal or outcome at the end.
But I digress. So... there have been FB posts, some in really poor taste, and some selfies taken. All well and good. Let's just put it this way, I have other commoner friends who have also taken selfies and group shots with Schooling. Everyone likes to hang around a winner and champion. When you have the opporunity to and it (suppposedly) makes for good publicity, woudl you or would you not take the photo, share in the success, congratulate this young man, and post the photo, hoping for more "likes" in FB?
Nobody has a magic ball where they can gaze into the future. If they could, they would be able to invest in the talents that count and maybe we can even win two gold medals one day (in different spotrs too!)
Can they make the difference in improving the sporting support that Singapore has given our young talents? Of course they can! And I am hopeful that now that they have seen the success that one individual can bring us, and seen the real tangile benefits of grooming long term, exposure and financial support that one can give a talent and to have him/her excel at world stage, that they would finally get their act together.
We all want success and are fearful of failure. Before Schooling, there may have been years where money was pumped into a high potential athelete only to have the poor person not succeed due to injury or a lack of mental strength. There had been no previous success that they can reference back to even look at the years of support required just to get one winner. Well, now they do and that will make all the difference.
Of the Sporting Support in Singapore
Sporting support in Singapore is one of the worst. Maybe not as bad as some other countries, but it is definitely down there. It is a fact that for fear of failure, they would rather invest in foreign talent as they have a higher potential for success. This is what happens when wining the medals become the end point. And yet, the real end point is, how a sporting success can hep unite the country. Why do we want to win on the world stage? Is it to show that we can do it? Or to show that we can afford it?
If it is the former, a lot more questions now need to be asked. Is the current structure good enough? Are we too partial towards selected sports and neglecting others?
I have friends in the sporting scene (yah yah, you think, I say, who confirm type of information) and politics and old uncles who want to hold onto power, without looking at the progress of the sports are all in place. Budgets that don't allow for our sporting talents to be exposed to the world stage, so they can see their gaps and areas for improvement.
Frankly, if the foreign talent is already here, I would say, support. No matter what, they are flying the Singapore flag and regardless, they have made the tough decision to become Singaporeans, even if it may have been for their own selfish reasons, we shouldn't judge. Singapore had made the decisions to invite them over as foreign talents, they did not seek and ask to come over. Even if it is the wrong decision, it is us Singaporeans and the committee who decided on it, who has to bear the brunt of this wrong decision.
Importing of foreign talent is one that is common to many countries, not just Singapore. Does it bring with it the same issues, of course it does. In the great US, with her many sporting talent, having one or two foreign talent doesn't spark much of debate. In small Singapore, with our very limited sporting talent, having one or two foreign talent becomes another reason why we should not vote for PAP (at least according to the FB posts I have been reading). Same same, but different.
It is a rather sore point and a decision that needs to be reconsidered considering we are already in the 2nd generation of TT players who have been imported. (yah yah, have to name the sport la, all of us 心知肚明，no point hiding it).
Many of those who don't really follow olypimcs, their first question is, who? We won gold medal? Real Singaporean or imported one? When the answer is real Singaporean... beams of smiles all round. "Wah, very good ah! We also can win ah..." And I wonder, what the response would have been if the answer was "imported" one... maybe a dismissive smile and the response, "oh, good la, we didn't waste money."
Review review review. What's this about crowd funding so the athelete can go Olympics? Anyone who can qualify ought to be sent and exposure provided... we are a REALLY RICH country. We don't take it for granted of course, but really, just to provide a bit more support to our sporting community, local sporting talents can't be one that makes that big a dent in the national budget. AND... with the success of Schooling, makes it much easier to justify.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT... to all who want to succeed in anything, and the path towards becoming one of world's best, are not characters who would be that easily deterred. The will to win, the path to success, is one that only he/she can take. If there is support, the path is easier. If there is no support, I am sure they will not give up that easily. There are many atheletes who have given up a lot before they achieved sporting success. If one does not get the support, then find another way to move up. I realise it is not easy, but if the Schoolings had spent their time whining and complaining about the lack of support for their son, and decided that since no support when all we want is to win glory for Singapore, then sorry son, let's give up. Then he would not have won the gold medal. 路是要自己走出来的。 Sometimes, you have to get started on the path yourself, it is a lonely journey, but a necessary one.
Of Irresponsible Press Coverage
Finally, for the other swimmer, Quah Zheng Wen, I think the media reporter from TODAY ought to be shot (not literally of course). The manner in which the article was written, you have just crushed a sporting talent and in the dumbest, most immature way possible. Always think and rethink, and the editor who let that through, how do you sleep at night? There is this quote, "The pen is mightier than a sword".
A young man, who is absolutely crushed after training years and years, morning and night, giving up so much in the process, performed badly at that one chance he had for glory, Not the last chance, but a very potential and good chance, to not have performed well and delivered (there's a lot to be said for sporting psychology). And you are upset that he didn't want to talk.
Dude, the guy is there to perform, and he is understandably upset to the point where he needed some time to himself to recover. And you decide to lay it on thick.
You go and train day and night, and then fail to live up to your own expectations, at this young age, and you tell me you can handle it for sure and immediately recover.
Give Quah some space. He needs to grow up, become more mature, so that he can continue to compete on the world stage. I am hoping he can get past all these and continue to work at it. But that is another story... I am sure he will get past this. Winners will show these losers how things are done. Maybe it will even spur him on...
Final Side Note - Sports Commentators
And... finally a thought on the importance of sports commentators. Having played badminton most of my schooling life, and the occassional game still nowadays, it was a given that I would watch Olympics badminton.
I almost feel like telling the broadcasters... the commentary provided can make or break a game. There are a couple of seasoned ones, I have no idea what their names are, but I can recognise their voices. Now, what you can talk about in any match of badminton -
1) Pace of the game
2) Mixing and control of the tempo of the game
3) Deftness of certain strokes
4) Agility
5) Speed
6) Power
7) Setting of certain scenarios (e.g. doing cross court lob, then you drop, so that you set the stage for a smash, etc)
8) History of the players, their past win-lose history...
9) Mental strength and willpower to overcome the deficit?
There is so much to talk about and all these are just ramblings off the top of my head (heck, I can be a commentator, with a Singlish accent!)
BUT.... BUT ... BUT!!!!
There is just this one female commentator, who made me mute the game (only to realise I cannot hear the sound of the game, which makes for very weird watching)... and so I lowered the volume, cuz her commentary consisted of
1) Nothing much of the game - focus was on the player's history, etc.
2) Comments on the score. HULLO! There is a big score board behind the players, not to mention that the TV typically has the scores on the screen already (it may be tough since she can't see it, but babe, it's there)
3) Comments on the number of shuttlecocks used... WAH LAU EH... you think we care? Do the viewers care? Do the players care? Does the umpire care? WHO CARES!!! - this really pissed me off (And nope, I have no idea why I am getting so agitated too)... but seriously, every time the player requests for a change, she would say, "this is the only the 3rd point and they have used up 4 shuttlecocks... and then "This is the 21st shuttlecock they are using, they are using a lot of them",
What about the game?
What about what's happening on the court?
What about the players?
Why do I care about you repeating the score, or the number of shuttlecocks used?
Some bio about the players is fine, especially during moments when the play is very standard or run of the mill, but ignoring the play to share bio is just nuts.
What is your job?
I mean, you can even say "look at that smash, that angle, XX had no hope of getting it" or "look at how he set this up... absolutely beautiful, or excellent reading of the game, he was there before the shuttlecock even left the opponent's racquet"- I would have been fine.
And then... this other commentator - male this time - hey, gotta be fair right?
This one.. there was this one very exciting match between china and korea, men's doubles. And in the first game, China experienced a crushing defeat considering that both teams are fairly highly ranked. And the commentator started talking about the fact that the older of the Chinese pair is 32/34 and should retire... etc etc... he is not what he was in his hey days... say until like that guy should hang his head in shame...
And then.. in the 2nd and 3rd game, this same guy, with his resilience, his refuasal to bow down to the younger players from Korea, led his team mate (who was not performing as well, although not as well is really a statement that can't be used, cuz these guys are all top notch) in a resurgence and they won the 2nd and 3rd game in a extremely closely fought match to move on to the next stage.
Now, in all honesty, there wasn't anything wrong with his commentary and I enjoyed watching the match totally. However, there was this one thing I noticed... he didn't say a thing, or acknowledge a thing about the fact that he was making a very wrong assessment about the player. I mean, seriously, the guy led the charge to overturn the game... and you can't even say anything about how his experience mattered? And that maybe his comment that he should retire was said too early or something along that line? This is just a minor peeve though.. just feeling wronged for the Chinese player.
Ah well... ok ok... this rant is over. I know, it's not easy, the female commentator though.. needs a lot more training before being allowed to provide commentary on matches that are shown on the world stage. Maybe practice on the smaller stage first... hear more how the seasoned pros do it... learn more about the game... listen to the translations by the Chinese Commentators (it is a very popular sport there and the Chinese commentary is up there in terms of standards too)...
Over and out...
P.S Team Singapore TT... I is very sad you didn't get the bronze!
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