By Chia Han Keong

SPORTS fandom is an inspirational phenomenon. It is, unfortunately, very fickle too. When circumstances are ideal, it created majestic occasions.

In the 1970s, Singapore had a new National Stadium, a talented bunch of national footballers and a predominantly blue-collar working class.

Voila! The Kallang Roar was concocted, perfected and rejoiced upon by football fans thrilled to be with 50,000 others at the stadium.

Fast forward to last Saturday, when Singapore took on Thailand for a vital Asian Cup qualifier.

The national football team are still capable of winning, though not as convincingly as before.

The National Stadium, however, is old and musky, and Singapore has transformed into a cosmopolitan nation with a myriad of lifestyle options.

And, so, the stadium was half full when the teams took to the pitch.

Singapore fans, so vociferous in the past, struggled to drown out the incessant, spontaneous cheers from the outnumbered rival Thai fans.

So much for the fabled Kallang Roar.

Older fans must have wondered where it went.

Let me venture an opinion: It's gone - for good.

So, who is to blame?

The fans, for being too fixated on supporting only a team that win regularly?

The football team, for blowing hot and cold for the past decade? Or society, for providing far too many lifestyle choices on which to spend two hours of a weekend? The easy answer? All are to blame.

But I would argue that none of them is to blame - this is the very nature of sports fandom.

While there are professional athletes and sports teams, there are no "professional" fans. It is no one's "job" to support sportsmen.

Winning consistently will attract the fans. Ditto stylish performances.

Losing frequently, coupled with cynical displays that bring sports into disrepute and inconsiderate fan treatment, erodes this base.

And that is for people whose primary passion outside of their regular jobs is sports. Clearly, many have other interests to pursue.

It is pointless for sports officials to insist that it is the "duty" of fans to recreate phenomenons like the Kallang Roar.

They have no obligation to offer support, and it may even turn them off if they are compelled to do so.

Yet, it is also pointless to lament the loss of something that was a product of yesteryears.

The one thing that we should remember is that, when the next fan phenomenon arrives on our shores - brought about by a stylish sports athlete or team that win regularly - we should not take it for granted.

The Kallang Roar died because Singaporeans expected it to be ingrained in everyone here, and never understood its fickle nature.

Let's stop trying to "lure" it back. By shedding our past, we can in fact move on and find new local sporting heroes in other sporting arenas.

Let's start a new fan phenomenon.

hankeong@sph.com.sg

For more my paper stories click here.