Why we are “better than them”

When Pei Hoon said “we are better than them” after being selected to represent Singapore against the likes of Korea and Japan, deep inside everyone knew it was an incredibly gutsy statement to make but we still yelled out our support and approval.

Personally, I did this not because I believed he would win the three-way exhibition match, or that a Singaporean will definitely take K.O. (although I do believe these could happen), but because I truly believe that gamers in Singapore have reasons to utter those words.

We, Singapore, such a small country, are hosting an inter-nation 6-week-long major tournament for Street Fighter 4. Considering the size of the country, the number of tournament regulars and the time we had for preparations, pulling off five qualifiers – one of which had nearly 64 competitors – was an incredible achievement.

We, Singapore, are hosting a Japan vs Korea vs Singapore exhibition match. A three-way showdown pulled off with minimal funding – just the power of the community and the “common language” of people who share a similar passion.

We, Singapore, have been holding tournaments and keeping the passion burning for as long as competitive fighting games have existed and we have been doing this over and over again for various games, not just Street Fighter 4, where competition is bred by the games and the people, not just by hype.

We, Singapore, have put aside our worries about money, time, energy and, in some cases, our social lives to make this all happen. And we did it all fueled on passion.

If you sit down and think about it, in these six short weeks we have achieved a lot that most gamers – screw that – most people with a PASSION for something they love can only dream about.

So to everyone reading this now I say to you: On Friday and Saturday, you’ll get one shot to take everything that’s been done to make this happen and make it all worth it.

A stage and its actors are nothing without an audience. You’ve shown us the passion before. Now show it to us again, on a stage that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. Shout, laugh, scream, maybe even cry. Make your passion heard at TGX ’09.

This is our passion, these are our games. And even if we’re not the best in the world (yet), in our hearts and our memories:

“We are better than them.”

This article was originally posted on Round1.sg and reproduced with the permission of the author. Round1.sg is Singapore’s premiere fighting games community. Check them out.