isnt the same think always happen in soccer? the home supporters will never appreciate their opponent no matter how good they are. without INA and Malaysia supporters, badminton is just another stupid and boring sport.
i think having different crowd environments at each locale is a plus, this should cater a broader spectrum of fans. Best is to let the market dictate trends.
Another 2 cents-Hmm, Taufik saving up his body??.. ..those could be true, but: ..how many tourneys and Opens did Taufik participate in the last 2 yrs in comparison to LinDan??.. ..and/or how often did we see Taufik cites injuries or lack of training for his absence in those tourneys in comparison to LinDan??..The less tourneys & events Taufik participated in, the more he gets injured??.. ..maybe from now on, LinDan should follow Taufik's "path" and just concentrate on winning those specific tourneys that Taufik only targets??.. Btw, cooler, good analogy there of the mountain climber..I would say the mountain climber analogy can be somewhat similar to one of Lance Armstrong-as he only chose and trained specifically for the Tour de France and keep winning them yr after yr(not necessarily like Taufik though).. *CLELY, good recap of both players' career, for our reference..Looking @ those facts really reflect how different both players' careers are. It's quite amazing how LinDan achieved those accomplishments in less yrs/time than Taufik did. And i scratch my head looking @ Taufik's victories/titles in those yrs, as he had no more than 3 titles(max.) in any of those yrs..
I believe the Danes love to play in Indonesia, the only place on the planet where the spectators put everybody on high! No other place-although Malaysia comes second a long way behind-has this atmosphere of making the players feel like they are real gladiators. It is badminton with crowd passion at its frenzy best. If you have not watched badminton championship matches in Indonesia or Malaysia, you have not seen badminton as it should be appreciated!
AE crowd is perfect the way it is...cheer loudly during non-gameplay and shuts up usually during rallies. THat way...we can appreciate the *awesome* sound of shuttles being hit and the footwork sound. When watching tourneys in indonesia, i cant hear crap lol except for the very loud(thats an understatement) roars of the crowd
More to come Please blame Astro Malaysia about my collection and don't blame me. Also I don't want to be the casualty of this "friendly crossfire" Anyway, we all can't deny Taufik and Lin Dan have helped to promote this sports with all these controversies. Wait until the Malaysia Open kickoff, more drama is expected
Do you watch soccer in the same way??? cheer loudly during the break and shut up during the game play??? May be you should.
Wai Shing, its the same in Msia just tat when the crowd gets hyped up, its like the end of the world.. experience it urself.. u've seen it b4 in tv i supposed especially TC in Jakarta 04.. yes.. we too shut up when the rallies r goin on HEHEHE...
Well, I guess it's matter of personal taste in the end...I don't watch badminton the same way as I watch other sports...like basketball and soccer matches where the crowds are are a gazillion times larger anyways. For those sports, I agree it would be totally lame and ludicrous if the crowds werent loud. BUT,personally(my opinion so dont jump on me ), watching world class badminton, I wanna appreciate it to the fullest and not have to deal with some constant noise in the back of my head. I respect the devotion indonesian and malaysian(hell even chinese) fans show on their homeground but my preference is to the classier feel that you see at AE. On the other hand, Japan Open is way too quiet. ANYWAY, this is off topic, so sorry
To Roar Or Not To Roar In my view, there are seven types of spectators: the honcho, the veteran, the failure, the fan, the tourist, the crutch, and the connossieur. Every spectator is either one of these or a combination of these. At major tournaments, it's quite easy to make out who in the crowd belongs to which category or categories. The honcho is the tourney official. Look for the guy who is dressed in sponsored sportswear and looks permanently irritated (probably because no one gives a **** about him). Where they sit together, they will probably discuss a new scoring system to be introduced, say, at the 2007 Thomas Cup in which a drop wins 1.27 points, a smash wins 0.83 points and a 4-point lead wins another 1.61 points. The veteran is the player who, although now past his prime, is happy to be at a place where he is recognised and respected. He never comes alone. He never applauds or frowns. He smiles, nods or shakes his head. After a good rally, he will give someone in his party his opinion of what went wrong. It will be correct too. The failure is the player who, every night in his dreams, whips Lin Dan, Taufik Hidayat and every player he has ever lost to. He sits as far away as possible from the veteran and the stars of the moment. He too never comes alone. He never applauds, frowns, smiles or nods. All he does is shake his head. Everyone in his party will be treated to a word-and-gesture-based tutoring of 'how that shot should be played'. Lean close enough to him and you will hear these phrases repeated throught the match: 'no power', 'what is he doing', 'weak backhand', 'poor stamina', 'he will lose'. The fan is the screamer. He cannot see beyond one half of the court. He cares only for his player or team. With him are many others like him, enough eatables to feed a team, a can of his favourite player's drink, an autograph book, a permanent marker, every freebie available within a mile of the court, a digital camera, bangers and other high-decibel noise-makers, placards testifying to poor handwriting and wacky grammar, a piercing voice and a well-memorised non-English collection of taunts and putdowns designed to provoke even a deaf player. The tourist saw a picture of Simone Prutsch and Hwang Hye Yeon in today's newspaper. He has now come to see them. He has decided to stay because Pernille Harder, Carola Bott and Reiko Shiota just walked in. He is also asking around how he can immediately join a mixed doubles group. The crutch is either related to one of the sparring players or is the coach or is on the team. If family, he is severely dressed. If looks could kill, the rival player, his coach, his team, his family and all his fans are goners. If a team member, the crutch wears team colours and shows a job-like enthusiasm. More than often, he will be secretly rooting for his colleague's opponent. The connossieur sits behind the baseline, his ass perched on the edge of a seat just above the eye-level of the players, his feet balanced on the toes, his arms and fingers twitching with high-voltage nervous energy, his eyes narrowed in concentration as if he is the one playing every stroke out there, his breathing timed to the speed of the play and his ears collecting nothing except the sound of taut string against shuttle. And when the shuttle finally and irretrievably falls, his nostrils flare like the feathered-end of the shuttle and his lungs expand and contract suddenly, letting loose a mighty roar of appreciation. He doesn't care which player is winning. All that he sees, hears and experiences is the sheer beauty of the game... the speed, the finesse, the power, the grace and the cunning and suspense burnt into every move. He has many game sessions lined up immediately after this tourney and, you bet, he will try out every splendid move he saw here today. In essence, the true fan of the game doesn't make a sound during the rally.
It's not my intention to upset you or anyone. Please accept my apologies. I was just going thru' your list of DVDs for purchase and noticed that Taiwan Open is missing while majority of the others are there. You mean you get most of them thru' Astro Malaysia. Basically, I just hope that all the TH, LD, LCW, etc. fans will be more appreciative of all these players even tho' they are not your No. 1 idol and not be prejudiced.
Dear saugusli, are you saying that you have old video matches (or have the ability to get them) but have never told me?? I want old video matches! Talk to you this Sunday.
