Kindergarten-standard reporting by the Straits Times’ ROYSTON SIM:
Front Page Headline: “YOG football competition kicks off to a rousing start’
Inside Page Headline: “Fans lap up girls’ football”
Sub-headline: “About 3,000 of them are treated to exciting action on opening day”
Ok. “Rousing start”. “Lap up ..”. “Exciting action.” Got it.
The report begins:
“It did not matter that the Jalan Besar stadium was half full.”
Ok. The stadium was half-full.
Meaning: Interest was lacking.
“What mattered more was what the spectators did.”
Really? And what did they do?
“The noise that they generated made it seem as though the venue was totally full.”
For all of 90 minutes? “Seem.. totally full”?
And what “noise” did they “generate”?
“They loudly cheered on the players throughout the match.”
Good thing they didn’t quietly cheer on the players. Who made up most of the spectators? Apparently students because….
“The crowd dwindled after the first match, as many students headed home.”
What about the second match?
“Those who stayed were treated to an enjoyable match…”
The rest of the report offers a generous sprinkling of superlatives:
“Cheering fans”, “both sides won the hearts of fans”, “a memorable event”, “a dramatic match”, “it’ s an honour”, “impressed by what he saw”, “memorable” (again).
Really, the Straits Times should not try so hard to make it seem like the YOG games are more exciting than they really are.
Notice how closely cropped the pictures are and notice the empty seats in the background:
