"You can change your partner, your religion, your politics, but never never can you change your football team." Eric Cantona
With this in mind, I asked a group of Thai football fans who they would choose should they ever consider the unthinkable. In our latest article, Grant Aitken explains why he would desert Muang Thong Utd for Buriram Utd.
If Muangthong win it’s because we bribed the referee, if we lose then it’s karma because we bribe referees. After a few seasons of having your team’s accomplishments boiled down to nothing more than a cheap swindle you develop somewhat of a siege mentality, and there’s only one other club where that can be replicated…I just hope Kuruna can manage to put that megaphone down long enough to welcome me with open arms.
Buriram United, a fellow (temporary) fallen giant, but things have much changed between these two fierce rivals. These days we share head coaches and our Isaan brethren have even let us win our fair share of encounters between the sides in recent seasons (hospitality ranks high on my list of qualities for perspective clubs). They have more than enough stars above their badge to command respect and there’s a couple of young siblings within the camp that would be more than worth the admission fee to watch play each week.
Although I’d be loathsome to make the commute from Nonthuburi to Buriram, I’m reliably informed that fans at the Thunder Castle have all expenses paid. Away trips include travel, accommodation and food, all generously paid for by the tax payers of the province. Plus, at home games, free match day tickets are thrown around like confetti to boost attendances. This is provided you wear the team’s colours, which I currently don’t yet own. However, the club owner literally owns no other items of clothing than the sportswear produced by the club, so I’m sure he’ll be happy to lend me a shirt. Although he is a little larger than me, so I’ll have to grow into it. Maybe one too many cases of the midnight munchies…
Speaking of green, the pitch at their stadium is an absolute beauty and would not look out of place in any of Europe’s major leagues. A little known fact about the Chang Arena is that LEGO generously denoted over 3,000 novelty sized bricks for the completion of the exterior. LEGO was ingeniously chosen because it is a portable product, so when the local government realized the stadium and training facilities had actually been built on community owned land, relocation could be easily achieved if required.
The timing is actually impeccable. If I switch allegiances now I can reserve my place for the New Year’s party. Grown men (and Supanat) paraded around in G-Strings for comical relief is not exactly my cup of tea, but it gets people out of the house, right? It’s always nice interacting with humble and down to earth players. Being based Buriram will probably ensure I’d cross paths with them on several occasions given the plethora of activities there is to do in the area. We may bump into each other at the Moto GP, the dirt bike track, a trash burning event or even the motorcycle racing.
The local fans are of course warm and welcoming, and families make up the majority of the fan base, so I would appreciate the familiarity of that aspect. It’s taken me several years to learn just a handful of Muangthong chants in my non-native language, so it’s handy that Buriram have just the one song…now, is it slowly groan “Buuuurrreeeraaaaam” on the ever 2nd drum beat or the 3rd?
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