June Travelogue: The Beautiful Game, Malaysian-Styled

Exterior view of Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Living in the Bay Area, I don't think I got a true appreciation for the truly highest level of college football fanaticism until I moved to the Buckeye state. Ironically, it was a trip back to California, where I saw hordes of Buckeye football fans temporarily turn the University of California's Memorial Stadium into the west coast pop-up location of The Shoe during a pre-conference game between the Bucks and the Golden Bears where I got the first full taste of this phenomenon.

My appreciation of what most other countries outside of the United States know as football was essentially nil for the first three decades or so of my life. However, my attention level to this sports received two energetic jolts around the turn of the millennium with two World Cup performances by the U.S. national teams. In 1999, U.S. Women's World Cup team capped off a championship run with the iconic penalty kick goal by Brandi Chastain in 1999, followed a few years later in 2002 when the United States Men's team put in its best performance in a World Cup since 1930 by making a quarterfinals appearance, only to lose 1-0 to eventual finalist Germany.

Since then, I've paid attention to all the World Cup tournaments (including the current Women's World Cup in Canada) and every now and again would find myself watching a Major League Soccer (MLS) game on TV when nothing else tickled my fancy. Columbus itself has a fairly fanatical following with its own MLS soccer team the Columbus Crew; my spouse and I hope to get our first taste of the experience this year by attending a game or two.

My taste of the true fanaticism this particular football can inspire came roughly six years ago, when my work duties took me to the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Some of the charms of KLCC Park, located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur

KLCC Park, in the shadow of the iconic Petronas Towers, proved to be one of my favorite "getaways" in the urban jungle that was Kuala Lumpur, or KL for short. People watching was a favorite activity: the park featured a family pool to combat the consistent heat and humidity (lying at just 3 degrees north of the equator, KL's climate is purely tropical) along with other ornamental water features to compliment the greenery within the park's borders. Often, I did this watching while knocking off several laps on the park's rubberized jogging path, a popular feature with many city residents. This area is rarely without people during the daytime regardless, with the convention center, Aquaria KLCC (a fairly substantial aquarium exhibit) and Suria KLCC (one of the nicer shopping malls in an area chock full of them) surrounding the area.

During my time there, I found the Malaysian populace in general had a widespread interest in all manner of sports. Local news coverage varied widely, with locally popular endeavors like badminton, handball (something of a combination of hockey and basketball), and squash covered alongside more familiar sports to the U.S. public such as auto racing, golf and soccer/football. Football interest was especially strong with the English Premier League teams, especially Chelsea and Manchester United.

The grounds around the Traders Hotel at KLCC Park was all
abuzz with activity during one of my walks through the area

Manchester United was a team I had at least gained some familiarity with, mainly in relation to the controversial ownership situation with American businessman Malcolm Glazer (also then owner of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers). I had heard that the team was in town for a friendly against the Malaysia XI, essentially a team consisting of the country's better football players but not the official World Cup-competition team. I had figured home loyalties would lie with the national team, but it seemed like you couldn't walk anywhere in the city without seeing an AIG-emblazoned team jersey being sported by the locals.

My impression that the locals were more enamored with the visitors than their own football players was cemented when I came upon the team's departure from their hotel, also located on the perimeter of KLCC Park. Hundreds of star-struck fans surrounded the hotel's entrance, cheering wildly with cameras snapping away as team members filtered out into the bus that would take them to their friendly against the Malaysia XI side at Bukit Jalil National Stadium

The local fanfare that met the Manchester United team as they
left for their friendly against the Malaysia XI side.

The game, which was not an option for me due to price and logistics, turned out to be a closer-than-expected 3-2 victory for Manchester United. It was meant to as the start of four friendlies for the team throughout Asia; however, the bombing of the team's hotel in Jakarta just days before their friendly with the Indonesian national team caused team officials to cancel that leg of the tour. This led to a huge gap in time before the next game in Korea, and a quickly-arranged second game with the Malaysia XI side a couple days later was arranged. With ticket prices (available for under 20 dollars U.S.), the crowds most likely less daunting (Bukit Jalil National Stadium holds close to 90,000 people) and a willing co-worker in tow, I decided to check out my first live football match.

Some of the sights from the unexpected second friendly between
Manchester United and the Malaysia XI side

The game itself showed why Manchester United took the Premier League in the 2008-2009 season. After what had been reported as a lackluster effort in the previous game, the visiting team played crisply, getting out to a quick 2-0 lead after the first 15 minutes and missing good opportunities throughout the rest of the game. The Malaysian team had a few counter-attacking chances but were otherwise on their heels most of the game.

Absorbing the atmosphere proved to be just to be as fun as the game itself. Happening on a weekday, the crowd was a lot smaller than the originally-scheduled game on the weekend, and the 30,000 or so in attendance were swallowed by the vast expanse of the stadium. A young Malaysian child, not at all too interested in the game itself, kept my co-worker and I entertained for most of the game. 

There was also some uncertainty in the getting back. Getting to the stadium would be easy; we were taking the train down to the stadium. However, the stadium, roughly 45 minutes south of where we were staying in KL, was truly unfamiliar territory for us; there was just that certain hint of uncertainty in terms of the return trip, as we would have to flag down and grab a teksi to take us back home. 

This turned out to be where we had a chance encounter with another person traveling through Malaysia had to offer. A British-based family vacationing in the country and staying close to our hotel invited us to share the ride in their rather luxurious van-sized teksi. The resultant conversation and the cost, which we figured would have been doubled had we flagged our own ride back, made for a relaxing and relatively stress-free end to this first taste of the sport dubbed "The Beautiful Game."

Ice Cream Chronicles (Pt. 9): The Little Shoppe That Could

One thing I started noticing recently during my current summer ice cream crawl is that all the places I've visited were all fairly well established. Whit's Frozen Custard, covered in my last ice cream blogpost, is the youngest of the lot with just over a decade in existence. On the other end of the timescale, Graeter's Ice Cream has roots back to the late 1800s.

This made me think to myself: were there any newcomers around this area trying to make a dent in an area some have called the Capital of Ice Cream?

Enter in The Little Ice Cream Shoppe of Hilliard, a family-owned ice cream purveyor in the vein of the previously visited Mardi Gras which officially opened up for business at the doorstep of winter in December 2012.

This place is somewhat easy to miss upon first drive by: the store's sign doesn't really stand out against the somewhat non-descript exterior brick inlay which their resident Tinapple Mall sports. However, this bland exterior gives way to a neatly manicured but not uber-fancy interior that still hints at this business's still relatively new arrival onto the scene. This interior seems to have enough space to host a fairly decently sized birthday get-together or similar event.

Ice cream flavors (the Shoppe sports 24 at any one time) are written freehand right on the glass display cases, which works in concert with similarly-styled artwork on the front windows. Sundaes are the main focus of the menu, with  floats and shakes also available as options. A freezer with pre-packaged pints is also available who need their ice cream on the go.

Flavors seem mainly oriented to kid-oriented palates with a few flavors geared to more "adult" palates (i.e. Dark Chocolate and Espresso Chip.) Some flavors have already become standards such as The Cat's Meow (I missed this one in my initial viewing) and Superman (a melange of various berry flavors and related colors that I'm thinking is a kid favorite.)

After a sampling of the latter and the Pistachio Almond, and not seeing my standard Butter Pecan available, I went on a whim and went with one scoop each of the Coconut Almond Chip and Dulce de Leche ($3.99.) The former was my favorite of the two, sporting a similar texture to the ice creams I had at Bexley's Johnson's Real Ice Cream. The Dulce de Leche might be a little sweet for some tastes, but did sport a lighter and creamier mouth feel with nice swirls of caramel within the base.

For me, The Little Ice Cream Shoppe is geared toward the kids and those families with kids. This has been a tried-and-true strategy for almost all ice cream places past and present, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. What may make the Shoppe become a long-term member of the ice cream society in the Columbus metro area lie as much with the product (solidly good, but not spectacular and/or gourmet based on my first tastings) as it does with another equally important aspect: the people associated with the product.

My visit took place during a lull in the foot traffic, and shortly after I had settled down at my seat to eat my scoops, the only person left in there was my server. Frankly, I would've been just fine with finishing my ice cream by my lonesome for my time there, but my server was intent on putting a friendly foot forward. For the next fifteen minutes or so, I engaged in a completely (and pleasantly) unexpected conversation with this young man while I ate my sweet treat.

I noticed a recent Facebook post from the business thanking their workers who were returning back to school (this young man would be included in this group.) If this server is typical of the friendliness of people associated with The Little Ice Cream Shoppe, I would say this aspect, combined with that initial passion to start from scratch and the production of solid quality ice cream, tilts their odds of reaching that previously mentioned decade mark in their favor.

The Little Ice Cream Shoppe
3229 Hilliard-Rome Rd (Google Maps)
Hilliard, OH 43026
(614) 563-3485
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Tried and True: Columbus Running Company

CRC's Short North Location

Running is one of those topics where there seems to be very little middle ground. Those who have found running to be their cup of tea are pretty staunch advocates of its various benefits. Those who don't care for it generally can't comprehend what makes this activity pleasurable in the least.

I fell into running as part of what was my final serious (and thankfully successful) attempt to gain control of my slowly but surely ballooning weight issue. Running wasn't even my first choice in cardio-based exercise, but eventually I found running not only beneficial in cutting my weight (through running and diet, I figuratively became half the man I used to be weight-wise) but also a release for the day's tension. On my runs, things that were worrisome faded away and my brain was allowed to roam carefree from one thought to another. As a bonus, running provided the catalyst that allowed me to meet Mrs. 614orty-Niner - she followed a similar path in terms of using running to help her arrive at a more healthy weight, and our involvement with a running forum allowed us to meet for the first time at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati seven years ago.

Coming from an area of the country with a fairly prominent running culture, I was pleasantly surprised to see how strong the scene is here. I found quite a few cars with those ubiquitous mileage stickers (the 13.1 half-marathon distance seems to be popular) on their back windows, and it's not too hard to find a running event around the metro area on any given weekend. Even during the bone-chilling winter days (weather that would send most Californians to their treadmills indoors,) I still always seem to spot a couple or three runners plowing along the roads during my everyday travels.

All the accessories a runner could ever need

Overall, runners are very encouraging and supportive of other runners, whether it be someone who is trying to run in their first 5-kilometer race, or accomplish  one of the crown jewel achievements a recreational runner can ever hope to obtain such as qualify for the Boston Marathon. While there are many fine groups and organizations around the Columbus metro that support and foster area runners, I wanted to highlight one that both my spouse and I have grown well-acquainted with over the years..

The Columbus Running Company (CRC) got its start in 2004 in Dublin, and has expanded over the years with locations in Pickerington, Westerville and their newest location in the Short North this year. The company has made it a priority to engage and support endeavors in their local communities via their running activities, whether it be through charity events, support of local high school track and field programs, and the hosting of and/or assistance with local race events.

In terms of the running customer, purchasing running apparel and related gear from their stores allows one to earn loyalty program points, which translate to cash discounts on future purchases. In addition, they have a running club, host regularly scheduled run groups for different levels of runners from their various locations, and offer training programs catered to your abilities and goals (my spouse consistently used their programs to successfully train for her half-marathons.)

My results for the "Run a Mile in Our Shoes" test run

Finally, special other events and clinics catered to the running public are offered throughout the year; two recent instances I found truly helpful was the "Run A Mile in Our Shoes" program, where you got to test run a variety of shoes from numerous manufacturers, and a free run clinic that offered film analysis of your stride and a good overall perspective on what runners should be looking at to make their running experience a better one.

Most importantly, my spouse and I have always found CRC to be a very inviting and friendly place, which in many ways is a reflection of the company's owners Eric, Matt and Jim. They are all very down-to-earth people who are easy to chat with about all manner of topics. Moreover, they are truly interested in making all people who come visit their stores, from the rank beginner to the experienced veteran, feel welcome. This welcoming attitude is also reflected with the store staff people we have encountered, and in our minds has provided the main impetus that has allowed Columbus Running Company to celebrate its milestone tenth anniversary this year. It seems to be a safe bet that CRC will be reaching and bypassing many more such milestones as time passes by.

Columbus Running Company
6465 Perimeter Dr (Google Maps)
Dublin, OH 43016
(614) 764-0855

1250 Hill Road N. (Google Maps)
Pickerington, OH 43147
(614) 863-4073

50 N. State Street (Google Maps)
Westerville, OH 43081
(614) 523-2377

765 N. High Street, Suite B (Short North - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 947-7717
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