CALL TO ARMS

“You may either win your peace or buy it: win it, by resistance to evil; buy it, by compromise with evil.”

- John Ruskin

 

Pride and passion. Nomads and their fans. One without the other.

The passion that both team and devotee bring to the game is unmistakably palpable in tournaments everywhere; and pride in being part of a historic sporting institution is like a badge that they wear on their chest pockets all day.

Intense. Immense. Inextricable.

The bond grows even stronger as Nomad Sports Club nears its centenary, and it warms the cockles of our hearts in no small way. The sense of oneness – the spirit of solidarity – is so strong and so real that it manages to find its way beyond the club’s playing field and on to the real world, as it were.

In Nomads, we receive an abundance of lifelines to get us by in times of crisis. We are given anchors on which to survive the vagaries of our existence – from picking up kids at tournaments to blood-letting for a stricken member – the whole gamut of moments when True Nomads will spare no effort to do something as a sense of duty rather than as a favor that must be granted.

We are thick as thieves, that much can be said of our relationship as Nomads. Our spirit of community and belonging is robust – we pool resources together, both tangible and non-tangible, to help friends with legitimate needs. We support and promote each other’s businesses the best we could; we celebrate in Nomads fashion each other’s personal triumphs; we commiserate with each other’s grief; we bolster each other’s morale during hard times; and we drink and laugh together. All these we do, not for a dog and pony show, but out of genuine concern for fellow Nomads.

There is a common thread shared by True Nomads that is quite hard to describe but easy to see. In the UFL games alone, the comradeship in and off the pitch among players is quite evident, and the enormous support coming from Nomads fans coupled with their effortless ability towards self-effacing humor is truly gratifying.

Some of our players wear our carabao jerseys because the psychic income of being part of Nomads far outweighs other motivations. That is signature Nomads – we have the most dogged and steadfast players who will play for the love of our club because our ethos is not hinged on the tangible returns. You can almost romanticize it.

Supporters, particularly Junior Nomads, appreciate that allegiance. No less than a blog named NOMADS the best fans in the UFL, describing us as the most intense. And that kind of intensity continues to be noticed now, with the latest Yahoo Sports article crediting Nomads fans for the color and fun during UFL matches.

 

Baptism of fire

Consequently, that collective devotion had a baptism of fire last year when the attacks against the club reached ridiculous but perilous levels.

Let’s not dwell on the motives of the actions but on how True Nomads responded. Our acute love for the club that is akin to a cadre’s devotion to a cause – came to full play.

Former and present Nomads, young and old, got together to rally behind the club in true Nomads fashion. Individuals took the time to put pen on paper and condemn the actions of a few even just hours after the bell tolled.

Young kids wrote down their sentiments, scared of the prospect that Nomads would close, and expressed their bewilderment at why some people would even think of harming something that has given them nothing but enjoyment.

Former members now long gone and based in various parts of the world, condemned in no uncertain terms the actions made against the club on various social media vehicles.

Members took time off from their respective work for what they believe is their duty to keep the club intact; they dropped by the premises before an international flight to ensure that they had done everything they could; they reconnected a circle for those that came apart, buried the hatchet, so to speak, if only to save Nomads.

We will band together, shoulder to shoulder, at any minute sign of trouble for the beloved club with nothing in return: no guilt involved, no hidden agenda and no monetary rewards to think of.

 

True Nomads

This is the biggest enigma that its enemies will never understand – that True Nomads will move heaven and earth to rescue the club from its marauders without the need to fuel them with money. That what drives them to action comes from the now-oft spoken  sense of duty and what Alasdair Thomson calls “the torch passed on to us by many generations of previous Nomads”.

This is the club’s most perilous passage given the extent its enemies are prepared to take.

But let me articulate a message to the club’s adversaries from the members themselves. Yes, you can injure it and hurt it – but you will find it difficult to kill it. Nearly 100 years of accumulated grit and unbreakable team spirit are things you will have to contend with.

True Nomads will not roll over and play dead while various machinations are being employed to banish this club to kingdom come.

True Nomads do not go on a tactical alliance with its tormentors in the hope that things will pan out through some indeterminate, ambiguous agreement.

True Nomads do not dwell on personalities – it is the ticker that beats for the club that they put weight on - and there will be a string of those who will serve for Nomads despite the terror that you continue to hang over its existence. There will be many who will leave no stone unturned to do things for the club without compensation.

True Nomads, when that proverbial call to arms is raised, will descend on the club – again shoulder to shoulder – using legitimate means to save it.

That this can happen all out of pure devotion to Nomads probably does your head in.

Perhaps this is the agony that someone carries and will continue to carry: that despite the untold wealth one can amass, some things just cannot be bought. And there lies the rub – True Nomads are priceless.