Dedicated, demented, compulsive, obsessive and? sad. A common question among Sembawang fans is, "You can?t just stop supporting Sembawang Rangers, can you?" And Stable News has unearthed the reason why we just have to keep going even when good times have seemed distant.

"Oh, Sembawang? Oh, Sembawang? Oh, Sembawang?" The chap standing next to me was staring at the ground and slowly shaking his head when Jurong?s Rafi Ali planted the winning goal in the net last week. The Stallions had lost again. And worse, some boys put up a half-hearted display that hurt more, and he vowed not to watch Sembawang again?

This person is recognised as one the club?s most faithful and loyal supporters. Beneath his jacket, he sported a Sembawang Rangers Loyalty t-shirt. Sembawang Rangers was his life. So that could be the reason why nobody actually took his words seriously. Sembawang had lost. "It?s the end my friend, I?m done with Sembawang," said that chap as he trooped out of Jurong East stadium dejectedly.

But I remember him making such statements no less than 50 times in the past eight years! I do not for sure whether this time it?s for real, but I would dare to bet my last dollar that he would be first in the ticket queue when it comes to the next Sembawang game.

Many Sembawang fans can relate to this tale. What Sembawang Rangers is all about to most of us is simply inspiration, loyalty and belief.

Back in 1996, the year when Sembawang Rangers was formed, people like us, from all walks of life, came together to support the Stallions. But the question that lingers on is "why Sembawang Rangers?"

Why can?t we be like fans of the Warriors and Protectors, who are blessed with all the hype, glitz and gloss, rather than have to go through the tension, the struggle just to enjoy the occasional success?

But the unique spirit and bond at the Stable has kept us going. And if we were told that the ?hype, glitz and gloss? will never come, I strongly believe that we?ll still be there, week after week.

This is the famous Sembawang Spirit. Nothing can stop us from supporting Sembawang!

It is just like being a fan of Coventry, for example. While they are quietly praying to avoid the drop to a lower division, in another part of England (and various parts of the world) millions of Manchester United fans celebrate yet another championship.

This is football. You have to live with the decision to support a club. There is no turning back? and I believe Coventry fans would fully agree with us.

Do players think the same way as the fans? Do they believe in "Till Death Do Us Part"? Yes.

Rangers captain Tawan Sripan has been at the Stable for five good years, and many believe that he is a key factor that has kept the Sembawang Spirit going. Besides Tawan, homegrown heroes, such as Ibrahim Noh, Razif Mahamud and Yazid Yasin, have amazingly been "kicking balls" at the Yishun turf for more than 10 years.

We know that we can?t just expect that type of loyalty from these players. Football is a short career, they have served the club well, and we will understand if they choose to move on. However, this fact, all the more, shows their loyalty to the club.

Players like Thawatchai Ongtrakul, Yeo Boon Cheng, Akihiro Nakamura and Joselito da Silva are always regarded as our very own. Even though they are no longer wearing the black and white, we will always have the soft spot to see them do well.

And Satria Mad was one of those popular ones whom the fans still regard as a true Sembawang boy. He might only have been a Stallion for one season, but the fans liked his positive attitude and commitment. Many were sad to see him leave the club? and some of us were actually happy to Tampines lift the Singapore Cup last season, because that meant seeing Satria win.

Supporting a club like Sembawang, we are pleased to see the coaches working hard to groom young talents, to train the raw talents into capable footballers.

But the injustice of doing all that hard work of grooming talents seems to go down the drain as some clubs just love to come and take our players away! It makes some of us wonder what these clubs do with their own youth development programs.

We just hope that those clubs will leave us alone for good. But if they want to continue shopping at Sembawang, we know that we can?t stop them. But we feel that winning with own boys makes success sweeter.

We believe in our own homegrown boys. We may not have the financial resources of some other clubs, but we take pride in every game the boys play? even in defeat, as long as they try.

Yes, those defeats are unbearable at times. But Sembawang fans have experienced so much heartache already, and we intend to stick with the team through thick and thin ? till death.

We just want to stay loyal to the club, coaches and players. We are not asking for anything in return. But if we continue to have loyal players like Tawan and Ibrahim, it just makes our effort of supporting the club more worthwhile.

Families, friends, colleagues may see us as perverse. But supporting Sembawang is something we can?t explain. Like I said, we?re a strange breed? us Sembawang fans. We really are. KP

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