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It had been more than a week since I arrived in the States. I had a fair share of ‘firsts’ for the pass week. First trans-pacific flight, first butt-cramp (I sat in the plane for so long that my butt cramped, go figure), first time driving on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road, and my first time watching a live American football game.

A colleague of mine, Steve was kind enough to invite me to a football game at his hometown in Arab (the town has the same name as the continent, but no relation). The match was between the high school football team of Arab, the Arab Knights, and the team from a nearby town of Selma, the Southside Panthers.

Arab Knights

V.S.

Southside Panthers

I wasn’t familiar with the rules of American Football but Steve was patient in explaining them to me while we were watching the game. As I was taking in this unique experience, I realize that to an average American, a football game is much more than just a sporting event. It is more of a social event with involvement from all walks of the community.

While the boys were busy battling it out on the field, the girls participated as cheerleaders, working the crowd to cheer for their team.

Steve’s daughter is a cheerleader for the Arab Knights

The high school band did their part by giving out an impressive half-time shows and providing the all-essential battle tunes during the game.

I was most impressed by the size of the crowd at the game. It was a full house! They had no qualms paying 5 bucks to watch the game. And this was only a high school football game of a small town. The level of support shown by the local community really amazed me.

The game ended with the home team winning. So for the folks in Arab, it was a great game. Far less so for the Southside Panthers of course.

I left the game wondering when will us Malaysians start to show the same level of enthusiasm and passion at our local sports scene. When will we stop importing our sporting heroes from foreign leagues or foreign nations and start creating our own?