By Les Tan/Red Sports. Video by Ian Chew/Red Sports.

You know how when you go to someone’s house, you put on your best behaviour? But if it’s your own place, you do what you like. You put your feet up, dig your nose. Whatever.

When the Singapore Slingers were introduced last Wednesday night, the booing started in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. When the Ginebra Kings were introduced, most of the crowd went crazy.

And this is supposed to be our house.

But, hey, you can’t blame the Filipinos. They support the team they love and they have every right to. They know who they, and they know where they come from.

Do we?

If we don’t support our own boys – and there are seven Singaporeans on the 12-man Slingers roster – nobody else will. And whether or not you like Pathman, Wei Long, Wei Jian, Michael Wong, Steven Khoo, Wai Sian or Desmond Oh is besides the point. Because one day, that player could be YOU.

For all the complaints we Singaporeans make about foreign talents (both in sports and outside sports), when it comes down to it, we don’t collectively step up in enough fan numbers to support Singaporean athletes at actual games. Oh, the bitter irony.

The national netball team played to fairly empty stands at Toa Payoh Sports Hall last year in the 2008 Nations Cup. When the 2009 Netball Super League was on at Jurong West Sports Complex, the stands were filled mostly with friends and parents.

The last near-full house for the Singapore national football team at the National Stadium was in December 2008 while the S.League attendances are poor.

The support at the Asian Youth Games for our local athletes at some of the venues? Embarrassing. You shudder to think about the Youth Olympic Games.

Everyone wants to be supported, but no one wants to do the supporting. It doesn’t work that way.

If we are going to ever have a sports industry in which more Singaporeans can take pride of place as elite athletes, coaches, trainers, physiotherapists, administrators, writers and photographers, then we have to come out and be counted.

The lifeblood of a thriving sports industry is not simply government money. If it is, you and I should ask serious questions because there are other important priorities in health, education and defence. Our government can only build infrastructure and put administrative systems in place but they cannot afford to and should not subsidise sports from cradle to grave.

The lifeblood of a thriving sports industry is commercial sponsors.

Gaping, empty stands suggest to commercial sponsors one simple thing – most Singaporeans don’t care. And if you don’t care, they don’t care. And if they don’t care, they don’t spend.

And what do sports sponsors spend on? They spend big money on the properties like English Premier League and the Formula One grand prix because they assume we care more for foreign talents.

And whatever we say about foreign talents, it’s what we actually do that is more telling.

For example, do you know how much money people on this island are willing to blow on the English Premier League just in subscription fees alone to line the pockets of foreign talents?

$75 million to $105 million.

Every year.

For the last three years.

An estimated 250,000 to 350,000 people subscribe to the Sports Group Package on StarHub cable at $25 per month.

So last Wednesday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the Filipino fans made it THEIR house because there just weren’t enough of us Singaporeans there.

We were outnumbered.

In our own house.

No surprise then when Mark Caguioa of the Ginebra Kings duly obliged and decided he could get away with his punch on Kyle Jeffers of the Slingers. Just check out how he struts around after his punch on Jeffers in the video while the crowd cheered him on. I doubt a Slinger would be able to get away with that in Philippines. The Filipinos would be insulted, and so they should.

This is our house, people.

Claim it.

Or lose it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZavNb8d1aM

You can also see pictures of the hit here: Caguioa of Ginebra Kings punches Slinger Jeffers