The subdued Arsenal fans fete

Jul 25, 2005

ALL ye Arsenal fans Uganda chapter, where is the love? For a club touted as having the most passionate supporters, the Arsenal festival 2005 at Kyaddondo grounds on Saturday was a mockery of its fans.

ALL ye Arsenal fans Uganda chapter, where is the love? For a club touted as having the most passionate supporters, the Arsenal festival 2005 at Kyaddondo grounds on Saturday was a mockery of its fans.

As if the absence of patrons like ministers Mike Mukula, Oryem Okello and Nile Bank’s Richard Byarugaba was not bad enough, those in attendance were too inhibited you would imagine they were rival fans draped in Arsenal club colours, or fans, who never imagined the FA Cup triumph over Manchester United last season was anything worth celebrating!

The few fans, who had life did so when cheering the football competition that pitted local fans of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Bayern Munchen in a round robin tournament. That Bayern nipped Arsenal in the semi finals dampened the mood further. Liverpool fans carried the day.

Time for performances by ‘Arsenal artistes’ Bebe Cool, Emperor Orlando, Red Banton, Kid Fox, and Mega Dee and the VIPs were complaining.

From the VIP tent, one needed binoculars to catch action on the miniature stage. The one-hour black-out and poor lighting system exacerbated matters. Only Bebe Cool brought flickers of life in the crowd.

You couldn’t blame other artistes though. What do you do for a crowd that never moves even a muscle? The disconsolate drove off in jest, while the rest laid back and watched the 2004/5 premiership highlights.

Thus, highly billed festival slated to end at dawn, wound at 10:00pm and no one complained.

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