"All we are saaaying...give us more goooals...". This chant will keep ringing in your ears from every corner of National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos State as a player even when the team is two goals up. Lagos football fans are insatiable. Their clamour for football excellence is second to none. They will push the players until they have given their very best on the field. They respect nobody. The average Lagos football fan will hustle through the week and raise cash to watch a team play, but you must be ready to leave your sweat on the grass.
"Ogbeni no fall my hand o! If you do anyhow you go
see anyhow". This is another mild warning you will likely hear from the stands playing in Lagos. In the current state of the National Stadium Lagos, if you have come across the many deposits of sun baked shit in and around the main bowl, as a footballer you will respect yourself and give your best. The stone used by David to kill Goliath is mere child's play compared to the sun crafted faeces available to the fans to hurl at you. This brings me to the issue of the state of the National Stadium, Lagos. For whatever reasons, the stadium grounds is more for commerce than sporting activities. The number of beer parlours in the stadium grounds can compare to what you have in Sabon Gari. The Ministry of Sports should be raking in enormous revenues from there. By extension, the Lagos State government too. I don't know what can be done to clear the stadium and restore an appreciable level of sports sanity in there but it is doable. Stakeholders can decide to come together to achieve this.
Abuja fans pamper Super Eagles players. The females among them go to Eagles matches with teddy bears on their backs while the men go with cups of tea. No. That's not what we need. Calabar fans are liberal. That too, is not what we need. Take every Super Eagles qualifying game to Lagos. Fans there won't take any excuse from the players for any careless display. How can you explain a loss to a fan who came all the way from Badagry or Okokomaiko and paid gate fees from his weekly wages? Don't bother. He won't understand. "Owo ni mo so wa bi" (na money i pay come here!) is equally a gentle reminder of the fact that he paid his way to the venue. Just give your all on the field and he will be happy. Even when the Eagles loose and it's obvious they gave their best, he will go home with stories of the game. Loose carelessly (in his opinion) and you will have no peace until security forces take him away from around you. Everything will be used as a missile against you ranging from different colours,shapes and sizes of human waste and bottled urine. Pinnick and Oliseh should consider this. Lagos brings out the best from our players. Only the naive ones will play with fear. The real gamers will leave their sweat on the field. Dedication. That is what football fans in Lagos want.
Photo credit- Not mine.
Follow Ikenna on Twitter: @ikenna005
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