Singapore journalism is not known for its heroes...until Jeff Low, like a cowboy, rode in with his lean frame and a heck-care attitude to shake up things.
The celebrated football writer, who died last week at age 79, ignited a national passion in a country that was beginning to get frustrated with its national sport.
The outpouring of gratitude, love and respect that greeted his passing showed an unbridled support not seen in our hero-starved nation for years.
My Facebook page was packed with posts from friends, former colleagues and those whose only connection with Jeff was his football commentaries. Former sports reporter Shirley Tan wrote about how Jeff didn’t want to give her a job in New Nation because she wanted to cover rugby, not football.
This is Jeff Low for you. Football was his calling, his world; all other sports were an addendum.
He started his journalism career in Malay Mail in 1969, one year before I did. We worked together in Malay Mail, New Nation, The Straits Times and The New Paper. It was a journey that was more than 40 years long.
I was a quiet admirer of his brash style, prose and his wild, footloose lifestyle. I could never be like him, even if I wanted to. There are enough stories about his days as a member of the Stray Dogs band, his night escapades and his steadfast support of his staff, even if they were in the wrong.
I must relate the story of how he drove his car into a drain outside his home after another late-night outing and realised it only the next day. He is a mad one, one of his loyal supporters said. This is Jeff for you, a man who lived for today.
His heroes were like him. Argentinian player Maradona was his idol. Jeff was in awe of the footballer who used his hand to score a goal against England during a World Cup match in 1986. And Jeff couldn’t stop praising him to his friends, sports officials and friends. Flawed characters were good for the sport, he felt.
He respected Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari for the player’s tenacity and scoring ability. Mudlarker Mokhtar, he described the player when he thrived in a rain-soaked pitch to bamboozle the Singapore national team.
Such stories of Singaporeans should be dusted off our memories and immortalised in history. I wish a Singapore publisher would get an author to put together a book on this man before the memories fade.
