Did u catch the half hr closing ceremony for Grand Old Dame - National Stadium, on Channel 5?
I personally felt it was a huge let down...
34 yrs as a national icon.
A witness to countless colourful, heart-thumping, goosebumps-raising NDPs where audience drenched the stands in red.
A venue to multiple, infamous national/international soccer matches where old darlings Fandi, Malek, Nasri, Sundram reigned and the Kallang waves soared.
A place where hardworking atheletes burned the tracks with their formidable speed & stamina to represent Spore on the highest rostrum.
Tonight, a time to bid farewell... At least till 2011 when the new sports hub will rise from the very same soil.
Yet, tonight, that ceremony... looked hastily put together. No heart. No tears. No warmth. With the entire stadium plunged in unnecessary darkness for most part of the ceremony, and only 1 or 2 spotlights blinking on in desperate disharmony, trying to focus where and when they were needed, the whole event felt like a no-show. 4 supposedly iconic sportspeople picked to recapture their special moments and 3 out of the 4 were soccer players and 2 out of these 3 were post-65ers.. I wonder if the organizing comm is facing a huge budget constraint, and if they truly respected the Grand Old Dame. If the annual NDP can be staged with such meticulous and memorable fanfare, why is the closing ceremony such a big letdown??
If the National Stadium can speak, I am sure it would weep. Its dying moments were indeed dead. Even that perennial crowd favorite - fireworks were but a whimsy few bangs.
How very sad. I feel ashamed.
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