You're Our Star Man

To actually hear Steve McMahon say those very words sent shivers down my spine. I never knew how much television could actually make me know people I never met before until I saw them in person. It was like meeting someone you’ve known for years yet it is their first time meeting you.

Million Dollar Feet was a tournament for boys and girls between the ages of eleven to fourteen, creating a chance for the young generation of football enthusiasts to make it ‘Big Time’. Where did I fit in all this? Well, usually before a ‘final showdown’ there is an opening ceremony of some sort, in this case it was a ‘Celebrity Football Match’ that allowed two lucky students from BAC and IACT College to be a part of, through an online slogan competition. Not expecting to win, I casually took part in the competition and the rest as they as is history.

October 23^rd, 2016 was to be the day I would see faces I had only known through television. Excited, I was told to be at Royal Selangor Club by 1.30pm, but I arrived an hour early. As I walked through the place with time to spare, I recognized several faces and to my disbelief, they appeared exactly the same apart from Steve and Patrick looking rather pinkish under the sun. Kicking things off with his usual swagger as a host, Patrick welcomed the guests of honour to give their speech one by one. Saving the best for last, Steve McMahon came up and said something I will never forget, “I wasn’t the best of players, I made myself a player”.

With the sun shining brighter, everyone gathered around the pitch to catch the celebrities in action and I was one of them. Of course I wasn’t a celebrity or anyone notable for that matter, but by the end of the game I felt like one. With only thirty minutes to do what I do best, I knew I had to make my presence felt and with that in mind I seized every opportunity that came my way firing five shots with two of them hitting the back of the net.

By the end of the first half itself, Steve McMahon gathered us in a huddle and singled me out as his team’s star man. I could hardly believe what I heard but as I look back at all the years I spent sitting in front of the television watching him and the rest of the football pundits on show, I know I’ve realized a dream

Wags'ed

What started out as a spontaneous attempt to record a funny incident, turned into a full blown YouTube channel. College students, five of my friends and I loved acting and making jokes. One day we just decided to hit the record button and see what we could do. Little did we know that there was so much we could learn from the whole process of ‘before, during and after’ recording a video. Through trial and error we started to make short videos that varied at length ranging from 2-4 minutes each, based on our shared comical experiences. 

Now in its 2^nd season, two of our close friends have also joined in our little ‘Wags’ed family’, making the eight of us stronger than ever. The question still remains though, why Wags’ed? Well, eight years ago my dog Wags went missing. Wags was such a big part of my life that when he disappeared it changed me. From then on, I decided that in everything that I do, I would put his name in it as a way of acknowledging his impact on my life. Therefore, Wags’ed was named after my dog, and every form of creative expression I produce is a reflection of the person Wags helped me become.