glory has come

Yes! Manchester United has won the English Premier League and now the Champions League 2008. Fantastic achievement. Would have been better if it were not settled with penalties, but this is football.

What is admirable is that Paul Scholes did not celebrate immediately after victory was clinched. He went to the Chelsea players and comforted each of them. This is true sportsmanship at its highest level as displayed and demonstrated as an example to the many young players of the team. To be able to empathise with the opponent is a great gesture and will, most of the time, be appreciated. How do i know?

i got 2nd place in a canoeing event (K1-500m) in the 2003 National Schools Canoeing Championships. 1st place went deservedly to my training partner Melvin Heng who helped me a lot to achieve what i probably could not without his help. There were 6 of us in the final and when we pedalled back to the shore after the event, i went to one of the other college’s opponent and pat his back. He was sitting in canoe, looking down and dejected. And i didn’t think much of this gesture, but it came back to me on my Friendster as a testimonial one day.

After the nationals schools canoeing championship k1-500m finals, i broke down as i rowed back to shore. Not because i came in 4th, but because it was all over. Jeffrey came up and offered warm words of encouragement, a friendly hug and a pat on the back. He is a true worthy competitor and i enjoyed every moment racing with him..

I’m sure the Chelsea dudes will feel the same way about Scholes for what he did. They will feel they had a worthy competitor in him and respect him for that.