This would probably be the most important episode.
I tell myself I should be absolute objective and I keep on telling myself the same during the production of this episode. Forgive me if I am not. After all, you can never be objective while you are telling a story that you were involved in.
Before I finally published this episode, I asked myself many times whether I should really publish this. I made the decision and feel confidence in doing so with the following statements in my mind:-
To tell the story of DUFC, we cannot skip this episode. And what had happened in this episode is extremely important to DUFC. This also explains things that happened thereafter.
This episode is not written to criticize anyone. Rather, we should learn and all look forward.
Still, it is extremely difficult to tell this story. In order to make sense of it, I have to make it as clear as I can. That's also the reason why this episode is very lengthy.
Anyway, we better start.
As what Master Plato told us at the end of last episode, "Nothing would last forever." It is easy to understand, but to accept it is another issue. We always hope that good things would last as long as they could, if not forever. The fact is: you will never, yes never, find them lasting long enough. The only difference would be whether they leave you suddenly (by giving you a big shock) or they go away gently (by killing you softly).
I remember one of the favourite quotes from my Chinese language teacher in secondary school, "人生不如意事十常八九". When I heard it I thought it was just another bullshit he had said. I had no idea what it meant until I left the Shatin shelter.
It is my great pleasure to introduce to you herewith an unknown man of DUFC. His name is Mr. Volunteer and below is a day in his life:-
Before the match
There is no official organization and/or administration in DUFC but Mr. Volunteer. He would get latest info of matches from Wilson & Friends and then would arrange Dogs to attend. Back then, there is no such thing as Dogs Forum which allows Dogs to log-in and do their registrations (whether they will do it or not is another story). Also, e-mail is not as popular as nowadays. As a result, he has to call every single Dog to ask. Weeks after weeks. It is an exhausting job.
As Mr. Volunteer is very much an old-fashion guy who always calls other Dogs well in advance (say on Monday for the Sunday match). You will not be surprised if Dogs would reply, "Not sure yet. I'll get back to you later." Or, "Put me in substitution first ... I will come if nobody comes." Or, "Who will come? How many players do you have now? Who are you going to call?" These are the last answer that he wants to get. And they are indeed quite annoying.
Worst, when finally Dogs make up their minds, they normally would not care to call him back. On and off, he needs to call each of them several times. Behind telephone calls, to ensure DUFC get a match to play, he usually promises Wilson & Friends that he can field enough Dogs before he contact any one of them. 9 times out of 10, he needs to beg a few of them to come in order to get enough Dogs to play and keep his promise to the opponent. It really frustrates him.
During the match
Both DUFC and Wilson & Friends play peaceful football. They don't like violent and they never intend to hurt anyone. The problem is: football, unlike badminton, is a sport of body contacts. Different players accept different level of body contacts and that's where the problem comes in. In Wilson & Friends, there are several players who don't like body contacts at all. In contrast, there are several players in DUFC who don't consider body contacts a bad thing. Sooner or later, there may have some conflicts, big one or small one. There is no right or wrong in this content. At the end of the day, it is only opinion and feeling. It all depends on where you stand. It happen that Mr. Volunteer stand in between. Thus, he feels sad and helpless.
By time, Wilson & Friends would complain to him and request if it is possible to ban some Dogs. The only thing he can do is to try his very best to comfort the opponent. On the other hand, Dogs would complain to him and ask if the opponent can be more reasonable. The only thing he can do is to try his best to comfort them. Before long, he got pressure from both sides.
When he plays, he prays. He prays for there would be no "heavy" body contacts. He prays for no one gets injured. He prays for matches to end in friendly way. He prays that there will be another match to play next weekend. These shift his attention away from enjoying the football itself. He has concerns. And it is not a funny matter.
After the match
When he gets back to work on Monday, he has to start calling the 10 plus Dogs again. And this similar cycle (i.e. exhaustion, annoyance, frustration, sadness, helplessness, pressure and no fun) keeps going on and on, like forever.
On many occasions, he asks himself the same question, "Why do I have to do these? Why can't I just sit back and wait for someone to call me to play? Where is the joy and fun of playing it?" Right, they were gone. Actually, time after time, he did tell himself not to think too much. Do what he should do and everything would be alright. It works, but only in the very first beginning.
Sooner or later, the breaking point would come. Below is an extraction of an e-mail conversion between Mr. Volunteer and Mr. Old Dog on 30 March 2004:-
Mr. Volunteer: I decided to quit the team since our last match. (Remarks: 04 January 2004)
Mr. Old Dog: Why? You don't love playing football anymore?
Mr. Volunteer: I DO think I love playing football more than most of the team. But I just don't feel any fun on playing it. Anyway, no big deal la.
Mr. Old Dog: If you think teammates' comments are bad, think about Bowyer or Fowler. Nothing special wor. Maybe I'm totally bullshit and not fit your inner-voice but no fun in playing football is very strange indeed.
Mr. Volunteer: Appreciate your example, though not very much suitable here. They are professional players and they get pays, I just go for fun. Why I would go if I find it no more fun?
Mr. Old Dog: ... ...
Mr. Old Dog, you are right, your bullshit did not catch even 1/100 of his inner-voice. He is exhausted. He feels annoying. He is frustrated. He can't find a way to solve the problem. He is under pressure. He is not understood by his fellow Dogs. And worst of all, he cannot really enjoy playing football anymore. He doesn't have any choice but to stop playing it.
From there on, no more football matches were arranged by him. Time just passes and DUFC played only 2 matches in between January 2004 and June 2005. A period of 18 months ...
Looking back, it is hard to tell who should be responsible for that. Also, it is unfair just to blame one or two players. I just wonder, if the administration of DUFC was better established, if things were handled in a more mature manner and if the period of 18 months had been more treasured by all parties concerned, 55 - 60 more matches would have been played by DUFC.
Of course, you might say: even if it did turn out this way, it might not be good to the Team. Well, yes, you might be correct. But we could never turn back and we would never know ...
This is only one side of the story. It is full of personnel emotion and feeling. I am sure other Dogs would have a different understanding and comments. Just send them to me so that I can put them here for the record. After all, it is not My History but Our History.
"If there is no sure a Dark Age, there would be no DUFC in 2007!" Master Plato