Sweet success (The Malay Mail)

PAHANG had to wait nine years to taste sweet success but it was certainly
worth it as the celebrations went on into the wee hours of the morning,
moving into the State districts and expected to go on for a while.
It was a night of celebration for the Sultan and Sultanah of Pahang, the
Tengku Mahkota and the fans, men and women, aged and young, and even the
disabled.
Adults weeped freely in joy while the young had a merry time. Women and
girls screamed, while children who were too young to know what was
happening seemed to be wallowing in all the celebrations.
Even the Sultan and Tengku Mahkota could not hide their joy as they went
down to the Merdeka Stadium tracks to meet the fans and thank them
personally.
As the 40,000-odd fans watched at the stadium, millions saw the match
`live' on TV, which was the climax of Malaysian soccer for 1992.
Thousands of fans failed to get tickets while the adventurous decided to
watch it on the big screen at the Dataran Merdeka.
Fans from both Kedah and Pahang had begun streaming in during the wee
hours of Saturday morning in buses, vans, cars, trains and even on
bicycles.
The stadium was a sea of colour and was packed to the brim in shortly
after the gates were opened at 5pm.
The Kedah fans packed the left side of the stadium to give it hues of
green and yellow while the right side was painted in white and black or
the Pahang's team colours of yellow and black.
Fans had their faces painted too.
For the Pahang fans, it was something they had not experienced for the
past eight years - Pahang last qualified for the Malaysia Cup final in
1984 where they lost to Selangor. The year before, Pahang had won the
title.
As for Kedah, coming to the Merdeka Stadium seemed like an annual
pilgrimage.
After all, they were in their fifth final in six years. And it might
have been even sweeter to return home on Sunday morning with the Cup,
after having faced the humiliation of being demoted to the Second Division
last year following their Malaysia Cup, on their fourth attempt, in 1990.
But everyone was there to have a good time and due credit must be given
to the fans for making it an incident-free affair with true sportsmanship
shown.
The Pahang fans, of course, were partying all night long. Even after the
final whistle had gone, the fans were still in the stadium savouring the
moments.
The Pahang team arrived at their hotel, The Regent, a little past
midnight to the resident bands tune of Congratulations.
The next morning, the Pahang players left by bus for Bentong - their
first stop to show off the Malaysia Cup.
Then it was to Mentakab before proceeding to Jerantut for a tea
reception at the Jerantut District Council Padang, which had earlier been
scheduled to celebrate the Sultan of Pahang's 62nd birthday a fortnight
ago.
The celebrations are not expected to stop and will culminate with the
Malam Juara (Champions' Night) on Nov 22 at the Istana Hotel in Kuala
Lumpur.
It is here that the rewards are expected to be officially announced.
The Champions' Night, besides honouring Pahangs almost clean sweep this
season (Charity Shield, League Cup, Fairplay Trophy, Golden Boot Award,
Malaysia Cup Final Man-of-the-Match award and the Malaysia Cup), is also
to raise funds to settle Pahang FAs oustanding balance for their building.
It is learnt that $1 million has been pledged and more are expected to
reward the Pahang teams Malaysia Cup victory.
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