Why This Blog?

I've always been a Liverpool fan since I was a teenager but these recent years I have started questioning my soccer faith for a football club almost half way round the world.

I have no idea what England is like or what Liverpool as a city is. No clue about the lives of the English fans other than the 11 players who grace my TV screen every weekend. Although I was proud of a club with long history, I have no connection or relation to that place. I have no club identity, no club to call my own.

We have no football club to call our own.

We were just chasing someone else's glory.

Frankie from the KallangRoar forum sums up the same sentiments saying:

"To me, the so-called fans who just watch European football are not real football fans, but people who eat in front their sofa, watching TV. Just that the content is football. Watching football in the stands is just different, because you shout from where you are in the stadium and the referee, linesmen, players, coaches all can hear you."

This blog is about passion and love for Hougang United Football Club, about connecting with the players of Hougang United. It's also about the people who run the S-league week-in week-out. And most importantly, about creating a community amongst Hougang United fans and supporters.

Football is a business that thrives on the passion of football fans; and clubs need a healthy flow of funds in order to run as a functional and professional sports team.

The climate in which Singapore football operates is a market & sentiment driven one. Crowds come to watch football games base on reviews they have read or have watched on tv. And we all know that the media can also be the most unkind at times.

Fans who want to see improvement in the S-League have to be the change themselves and adopt an S-League team to support - It's time to stand united for our own. Supporters and fans can buy match tickets, club merchandise and help spread the word about their favourite football club, and cheer on the Cheetahs.

In recent years, Singaporeans have become a vocal lot and a changing mindset have led people to adopt the national identity with vigour and is rekindling that old flame they once had with local football. There are signs supporters of S-league are re-emerging; and it is for us to capitalise on that buzz. It is better to work towards a united front, rather than criticize from an armchair.

And it so happens that a group of football fans share and understand this nationalistic view; that a base of loyal & vocal supporters is important to Hougang United's growth; and we have come together in spite of our busy schedules to contribute to her and also to S-League. And that is how HOUGANG HOOLs came about.

And hopefully with this initiative, we may one day see Singapore move away from EPL colonialism and stand proudly for our own S-league.

That's why I've created this Hougang United fan blog to keep track of the Cheetah's progress whenever I go watch the live matches; and then share the experience with anyone and everyone.

Local support has been long overdue, thanks to our misplaced love and loyalty for other clubs elsewhere. It's time to shed those years and years of shyness and embarassment. Peel those layers off and reveal the true Singaporean in you. It's time to be a real football fan... NOW!