Feelings at Uncle Ho's temple

(Baonghean.vn) - Up to now, to answer the question: Why are so many people from Nghe An so passionate about football?, each person of different ages and positions will have different explanations. But there is one thing in common, the love for the football field comes from the love for the homeland, the place where one was born and raised. There are many children from Nghe An, who are too busy with national affairs and do not have the opportunity to go to the field, but they still follow the news about the football team..

In Hanoi, every year on the 21st day of the 7th lunar month, the Nam Dan Association gathers at Uncle Ho Temple (Ba Vi National Park) to respectfully offer incense to Uncle Ho.

In 2011, Uncle Ho's death anniversary fell on a Saturday, so there were quite a few people attending. We left the National Cinema Center very early to join in. When our group arrived, we saw the group of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung (now retired) walking ahead.

Anyone who has ever offered incense here knows that the rocky slope is high, requiring hundreds of steps to climb, but the Chairman of the National Assembly still walked briskly from the foot of the mountain to the top. A short while later, we saw the Nghe An delegation led by Comrade Phan Dinh Trac, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Comrade Ho Duc Phoc, Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, preparing to offer incense.

SLNA players lift the 2011 V League Championship Cup. Illustrative photo.

In addition to the elders representing the communes of Nam Dan district, our group also included a number of young businessmen from Nghe An who are doing business in Hanoi. Nguyen Xuan Cuong, General Director of VTC, and I put on raincoats and explored each step. The strange thing is that every year at this time, the sky is gloomy and drizzling. That morning, the group started at the National Cinema Center (Lang Ha, Hanoi) and the weather was very nice, but when we reached Ba Vi, it was pouring rain.

According to tradition, Ba Vi Forest Protection Department will organize a meal for the delegations attending the Uncle Ho's death anniversary, of course the delegation of Nam Dan Association with Uncle Nguyen Sinh Tuan participating will be given priority to sit with National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. During the meal right at the Uncle Ho Temple, the National Assembly Chairman cordially asked the leaders about the situation in the province. Colonel Tran Thanh, Head of the Nam Dan Association Liaison Committee, introduced:

- Dear National Assembly Chairman, this guy is Catcosan Vinh, Chairman of SLNA Fan Club in Hanoi, currently has about 3,000 - 4,000 fans, very active.

Uncle Nguyen Sinh Hung smiled happily:

- Oh, that's good. Nghe An football is a "specialty", wherever you go people talk about SLNA, now if business is as good as football, that's perfect. The other day, I watched a SLNA match in Thanh Hoa... that's good, I think tomorrow afternoon SLNA will compete for the championship with HN.T&T, right, Mr. Trac, Mr. Phuc?

Hearing that, everyone present at the intimate meal suddenly burst into laughter. I caught a glimpse of the faces of the two comrades, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, slightly red with emotion. No one expected that, despite being so busy with a thousand things, the Chairman of the National Assembly would still take the time to care about the football of his home province. Looking at Mr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong, General Director of VTC and the group of Nghe An businessmen, the Chairman of the National Assembly happily said quickly:

- But you fans, don't learn from these Choa businessmen, when they succeed in business they say it's their fault, but when they fail they keep blaming it on natural disasters and the climate.

Everyone laughed loudly, the atmosphere of the meal on the mountain top suddenly became warm and intimate. I boldly spoke:

- Sir, our hometown is still poor, so for a long time, SLNA players have told each other to go out on the field and play for honor, because salaries and bonuses are very low.

Hearing that, the National Assembly Chairman gently waved me over, and the guard officer tactfully gave up his seat. Holding a bottle of country wine from Nam Dan himself, the National Assembly Chairman happily asked everyone to raise their glasses and instructed:

- SLNA players and fans, on and off the field, just play fair and give your all. Don't brag that winning is due to ability, losing is due to "this match, I'll give it to you", if you do that, the other team won't be convinced... Just play as hard as you can, tomorrow afternoon with a little more luck, God's grace, you can win the championship, when you have money, we'll think differently.

That day, the meeting took place at Ba Vi National Park and lasted less than 2 hours, but everyone felt the warm affection of their homeland. As for me, after the meeting with National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, I discussed with my brothers the orientation for the SLNA fan forum to be humble in the direction of knowing ourselves and others better.

And as a coincidence, as the National Assembly Chairman advised, play with all your might and be “blessed by heaven”, so the very next afternoon, August 21, 2011, after ten years of waiting, SLNA confidently stepped up to the V-League 2011 championship. The Nghe An team’s strong fan base in the following years was present at all the stadiums across the country, cheering enthusiastically but with humility, so they were always respected by local audiences.

Phan Hao