Congratulations to Mirza!

On behalf of everybody in MiB, I would like to wish Mirza and his wife a hearty Congratulations on the birth of their lovely daughter Misha (hope I got the spelling right!). We're all uncles now! And guys, let's go down and visit the happy parents and new addition to the family!

Good Fun, New Names..

Soccer on Friday was good! Last one before the uni boys break for the exams. Sat is "very busy" too. We wish him all the best. Next birthday present we have in mind for him is a calculator to keep count.

Those who came: Maran, Riz, Vana, Sat, Prak, Harvey, Kevin, PP and KK. Yes you read right! PP and KK. As of 11th April 2008, Navin from NUS will be known as KK and Navin from SIM will be known as PP. KK stands for Kool Kid and PP for Power Player (PG Versions.) For actual meaning, please contact Maran for more details. Also, since Maran came up with their names, I suggest that in the MiB family tree, PP and KK will be known as Maran's twin sons. We all know Maran is very err "agricultural" so he will have two sons at one time, named Navin PP and Navin KK. Anyone with any objections please raise them here..

Notable Absentees: SK and Rooban (exams), Philbert (reservist), Zal (work), Harish (MIA and exams)..

Shot of the day: Ball breaks to Maran on the right side who hits it sweetly on the half volley! BANG what a shot! Unfortunately it does not hit the back of the net. Instead it rams a netballer training on the opposite side right in the face. Couldn't have caught her more sweetly. Her reaction: Eh Funny ah?! To which MRJ responds by giving his diablo face and challenging her to a fight. But all's well that ends well and normal service was resumed..

Dinner was at Adam Rd where poor Maran got battered with jokes. But he came back well and crowned PP and KK with their names. Satheeish was in the heart of everything orchestrating the barrage with his well timed one liners and great display of enthusiasm. Everyone left to go back by 11 plus. Some of us went back exhausted, others went back to MSN n SMS.

Line of the Day: Anan's family is very simple. His parents kept trying until they got a boy. - Satheeish

New Names for Navin and Navin

As it is starting to get confusing, For our next poll, we will vote on what to call Navin (NUS) and Navin (SIM). But for the time being, I will need you guys to give me some suggestions before we vote. So keep the ideas coming!

eg:

Navin (NUS): Mark, squashie, toontoon, ....

Navin (SIM): yunnam, jack, johnnie, jim, ....

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A Band of Brothers
25th August 2006

The New Paper

By: Al R Dizon

IT happens at the NUS Recreation Centre each Friday afternoon, when the sun is hot enough to bake your skin.

There, you won't fail to notice a group of undergrads kicking a football around with bewildering pace, panache and passion.

They are the Men In Black - MIB - a super-enthusiastic weekend football outfit that could perhaps give some of the stronger amateur sides in the country a run for their money.

Well, at least in terms of being on the ball, as they were among the very first to inform The New Paper about their existence.

That's what we are - on the ball. Quick, fast, frenetic,' says Harpreet Singh, 23, who acts as a spokesman for the group.

In fact, people around the soccer fraternity already know about MIB and what they can do. While they don't want to talk too much about it, The New Paper managed to find out that they have done well in several amateur tournaments around the island, with frequent seconds and occasional firsts.

Not bad for a collection of mainly undergrads from NUS, NTU, SMU and SIM.

They are all about 23 years old.

Some of them have just started working, but without fail, the group gathers on Friday at NUS for an extensive, no holds-barred kickabout.

They also play one friendly match every weekend, normally on Sunday afternoons, at various locations.

'We come from all walks of life but the one thing that united us was our passion and special gift to play this beautiful game,' says Harpreet.

Members are mostly fans of Manchester United and Liverpool, while there are some vestiges of Chelski and Arsenal 'contamination' in the team.

The team (without the MIB moniker) was founded in 1996 in the hallowed portals of St Joseph's Institution (SJI), and grew from strength to strength through their college years, attracting friends from other schools, and during the rigours of national service.

How does one become a member of the team?

'Click with us first,' says Rizvi Jafir, 23.'Be our friend. Share our fears, dreams and fancies. Go watch movies with us, go for barbecues, chitchat about the leading EPL teams.'Talk about girlfriends and family. Be comfortable chatting with us on the MSN. Then you can perhaps be good enough at football to join MIB.

'Not exactly Jose Mourinho's way of managing Chelsea, nor Sir Alex's hairdryer thing, but it works.

Harpreet, an NUS engineering undergrad, explains: 'Some people become great friends after they play in a great team. But we became a great team because we were great friends to start with.'

A group of friends from SJI, where football wasn't a CCA, formed the core of the team.

'It wasn't a formal thing. It was more of an activity outside school for us soccer hard-ups.'

As they moved to junior college, national service and university, the group didn't split up.

'Good friends don't split up, they simply play,' says Rizvi.

They somehow managed to find opportunities to play together.

And along the way the Josephians managed to attract two to three players who have been able to connect with them off the field.

Harpreet, formerly of Victoria School (VS), was one of them.

His path crossed that of MIB at Catholic Junior College, where he met Rizvi, now his bosom pal.

A former hockey player from VS, the guys converted him from playing with the stick to become their goalkeeper.

'At that time, we were looking for someone to man our goal,' Rizvi, an NUS engineering undergraduate, said.'Nobody among us could manage it regularly. Besides we'd rather dribble and shoot.

But Harpreet came along.

'Harpreet laughs as he says: 'They have literally weaned me off hockey to become a weekend football player.'

And he has no regrets.

Harpreet now keeps goal for NUS' varsity squad.

Watch out for him when the season starts again in January next year.

'MIB developed me as a goalkeeper,' he says.'I am really lucky to have MIB as my band of brothers first, then football mates second.'

They're celebrating their 10th year as a team this year. What better way to celebrate than to be the first group of weekend warriors to be featured in TNP?

What about the future of the team?

Surely they won't remain 23 forever?

And they'll soon graduate, find work and raise families.

Harpreet says: 'We grew together both on and off the pitch and it is a real testimony to us that we remain the greatest of friends today. We will remain the greatest of friends tomorrow.'How did they get the name?'It was an accident,' says Harpreet.'We had no name in the past when we were in college. One day, we all decided to watch the movie, Men In Black.'The main characters and the actors were cool. The name stuck in our heads and after that, we decided to call ourselves MIB.

'We're glad we did.'

So, do you think your team has the guts to square off MIB with the field? Just send an email to harveymib1@hotmail.com, and see how things go...

Friday Soccer At NUS 4pm 11/4/2008

Hey you guys! I know everyone is busy with soccer and fyp and exams and work, but let's try to make it down for soccer at 4pm at NUS this Friday k? Thats the 11th of April 2008, 1600Hrs GMT +8Hrs. Come on guys let's have one last good kickabout before exams.

Just in case you guys forgot how much fun friday soccer used to be I have uploaded some photos above!

And please remember to pay our treasurer SK the funds for the month and what not. I think he is doing a fantastic job so head's up for Senthil! Help him help us!=) Photo of our amazing treasurer:

After Friday soccer Vana has recommended us to go Bali Thai for dinner. Here is a review of the restaurant I found on the net:

Bali Thai Restaurant -

The West Mall1 Bukit Batok Central#03-03 The West MallSingapore 658713
Tel: 68989188Fax: 68989214

Feel the ethnic ambiance with tasteful artifacts that reflects the unique fusion of Indonesian and Thai culture at Bali-Thai Restaurant. This halal-certified restaurant offers a unique marriage of Balinese and Thai cuisines.

Lovers of Thai Mango Papaya Salad, Tom Yam Soup and Crispy Whole Fish with Thai Chili will be more than satisfied with this restaurant’s top notch offering in these favorite Thai dishes. Diners looking for Indonesian cuisine should sample the Tahu Telur (Fried Bean Curd with Eggs) and Ikan Bakar Bali (Charcoal Grilled Fish with Sweet Sauce). For a delicious treat, the Crayfish with Butter Sauce will be the highlight of your perfect dining experience.

Recommended:Nasi Goreng Ikan BilisThai Mango Papaya Salad

Opening Hours:Mon-Fri: 11am-3pm, 6pm-10pmSat-Sun: 11am-10pm

Branches/Outlets:Bali Thai Restaurant - IMM BuildingJurong East Street 21#01-21 IMM Building 2Singapore 609601Tel: 65605660Fax: 65631862

Bali Thai Restaurant - Shaw House100 Beach Rd#15-07 Shaw HouseSingapore 189702Tel: 62924748Fax: 62924238

Bali Thai - Tampines Mall4 Tampines Central 5#04-01 Tampines MallSingapore 529510Tel: 62924748

So see you guys on Friday!

Beckham on Leno

Worth a watch.. Dont adjust your speakers his voice is really like that..

Let's Get this Show on the Road..

Now that the blog is up and running, it is time to make it something memorable and special. Thank you to all the guys who have responded, namely riz, sat, harry,anan, mirza, chan and kevin. To the rest of you, I hope you guys don't find this too uncool or anything. Let your voices be heard on the forums, take part in the polls and think of ways to get this blog going.. Philbert and prak, where are you guys we need a fire.=)

So whats next? I need your help guys. Give me suggestions to improve the blog. What do YOU wanna see on this website? Send me your ideas.. More polls? Photos? Slideshows? Chronicles? Match reports? Past highlights? If you don't share, then this blog will go down the path of all the previous web things we have done so the choice is entirely ours. I will try to keep my enthusiasm going for as long as I can, but we need to do this together.

On a side note, can you get guys like Anthony, David, Previn etc to log on too. So we can stay in touch with them and not lose contact.

In the words of my dear friend Rooban: "Billa Billa MIB laaaaaaa......"