The Cheer 2008 Experience

By De Ming

This was the first time taking the train with my friends, it was the first time I had to run around from station to station chasing after one train after another, it was the first time being in Stadium Bukit Jalil since 1998, but most importantly, it was my first time witnessing the Cheer 2008!

That morning I arrived in a very un-Malaysian fashion (early by 10 minutes) at 7.50 in the morning. I walked around aimlessly in the road between Carrefour and Subang Parade and after some time, a black MPV drove up on the opposite road, it was Synna who was early in Malaysian sense (10 minutes later than promised time) and the rest were typical Malaysians in every aspect possible (20 minutes late).

Just a few minutes after Xia Shuen, Ee Suen and Xiau Fong has graced us with their presence, the train was found to be waiting on the other side of the station. So once again, feeling decidedly Malaysian, we grabbed the tickets, choked it into the machine and ran across the overhead bridge. There was an army guy there and his bottle practically flew when we ran past him! Fortunately we were lucky enough to make it on time and seeing as there weren’t five-people-in-a-row seats, I ended up sitting with Synna in the front and the rest sat behind.

The journey from Subang Jaya station to KL Central was really enjoyable, except the part where Synna would turn to me and say, “De Ming arh, my hair very fun-nie larh!” Then of course, seeing as I did not think that way, I had to keep insisting that it was alright. But I guess in some sense, it made the journey more interesting. We arrived in KL Central in around 15 minutes and we then found another train towards Masjid Jamek. At Masjid Jamek, we crossed the road and ate breakfast at McDonald. Sausage McMuffin! From Masjid Jamek, we took a long 10 stops ride to Bukit Jalil Stadium.

When at last we arrived at the stadium, it was already ten and we practically ran there. When Xia Shuen said that one of my step equaled to 2 of Xiau Fong’s, Ee Suen, Xiau Fong and I had a walkathon there and funnily Xiau Fong really did get left behind!

Anyways, upon our arrival inside the stadium, we found that it was crammed to the bursting point. We searched for our school friends and found them at a glance, thanks to the Vulcanz shirt. We ended up sitting on the stairs and every 10 minutes our butts would hurt as we shifted ourselves to the side so that people were able to cross. Ouch!

The competition itself was really quite an eye opener for me as my have not really witness a cheer competition, but after a while we were soon sounding like some veteran as we commented on their technical skills, spirits, dresses, props and the bang! factor.

At last, it was finally Vulcanz all girls team from SMK Seafield to perform! The crowd from our side went ballistic and started cheering, “VLC!” As expected my left ear was half deaf after that, though I’m not complaining, VLC! Our school performance was brilliant, but the others were just as good. Though I dare to say that they were at least the top 10 and if the guy’s flyers did not fall, I believe that they would be the top 5. But oh well, as the cliché goes, there is always next year.

After a couple of other performances, we went for lunch at 12.30. Eugene replaced Synna for our lunch trip and seeing as he as ripped his pants while climbing the seats, we had to occasionally stop and allow him to fix the shirt he used to cover his vanity. He ended up buying a fake Nike pants for RM20 though and after that we were finally be able to search for lunch!

The journey to lunch was a classic as we decided out of pure inspiration to take the train to Sri Petaling to eat and when we finally arrived there, we found ourselves in some desolated area where there were only roads and apartments. Thus the five sesated souls decided to try their luck in the food court near Bukit Jalil, so we went back to Bukit Jalil and we found a taxi, which brought us to SRI PETALING to eat! The food there was definitely worth it though.

We arrived at the stadium late again and we sat on the stairs again, life really is a ritual. We stayed on till 5.15 which, after the results was announced. This were the results:

Champion
Shirtliff - SMK Seri Bintang Utara

1st Runner Up
Dynamitez - SMK Damansara Jaya

2nd Runner Up
Stunners All Boys Team - Sri KDU

3rd Runner Up
Titans - AMC Ipoh

4th Runner Up
Xavier - Convent Bukit Nanas

Best Showmanship
SMK Seri Bintang Utara

Best Cheer
SMK Puteri Titiwangsa

Best Supporter
SMK Convent Bukit Nanas

Best Newcomer
SMK Cochrane (All Boys Team)

Silkygirl Merit Award
SMK Seri Bintang Utara

The trip back to Subang was tiring in a way and as all typical Lick Hung students would end their essay: although we were tired, but we left with a heavy heart. I really enjoyed myself there, the performances was good, the food was good, but I enjoyed the most was being with my friends, running around on trains, eating McDonald, joking around, cheering for our teams and more importantly just enjoying each other’s company, Experience wise, one word can describe it.

Brilliant.