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How Did It All Begin?
How did the Shooter phenomena begin? Well it really started in late 1997, when John Jofre left the Lions, as he could no longer bare to play with McCloskey, Aziz, Gil and co. So, in shear desperation, he joined the Germans. In May 1998, Steven Brierley had had enough of the Lions also, so we both agreed to start our own team. Sean Hutchings, Michael O'Neil, Peter Armitage, Rob Formon and Andrew Miles all left the Lions to join the ranks. As did Andre Arndt from the Germans and Daniel Craig from Oranje. We had our first meeting in the Longbar in June 1998. The fact that we were in the Longbar had a significant meaning also, as it meant that we stole the Longbar sponsorship off of the Lions!! Our first duty was to come up with a name. It came down to 2, Shooters or Cherrypickers(After Bill Shankley's Glenbuck!!) With a vote of 5 to 3, from that moment on, the Shanghai Shooters were formed. We celebrated by "shooting" Kamikaze's into the small hours. It was the beginning of alcoholism, divorce proceedings, weight gain, and the occasional football flung in!! At this meeting, we also decided that Red & Black would become the infamous colours of the Shooters.
Then on a rainy, September Saturday morning, the Shooters played in their first competitve tournament. In this annual Opening Tournament, we remarkably reached the final, where we narrowly lost 1-0 to the Lions after an own goal from Andre. It was a taste of what was to come. In our first League campaign, 1998/1999, we finished 4th in the SIFL League. However, in the SIFL Cup, we defeated the Lions in the Semi Final to go onto play Oranje in the final. Martijn De Bot flew in from Hong Kong to play in this match, and his cross, and Jofre's finish, was enough to give the Shooters our first ever winners trophy!!
In season 1999/2000, we managed to win the Opening Tournament with a 1-0 victory over Shanghai United in the final. We eventually finished 3rd in the League. We also got to the final of the SIFL Cup again. This time we played the Lions, which will go down as the greatest final in SIFL history. The Lions took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first 20 minutes. We had reduced that lead to 4-2 at half time. We then got it back to 4-4, only for the Lions to go up the field and score. Then with 3 minutes remaining, Etoundi equalised. We went into extra time. Unfortunatley 2 goals from Gil sealed a 7-5 victory for the Lions, but it was a great game to play in.
Then the SIFL format changed to real 11-a-side football in 2000/2001. Well, what can I say?? Our dream season. Although it started off badly, by not even reaching the final of the Opening Tournament!! We went on to win the SIFL League Championship, for the first time, with a record of 16 wins, 2 draws, and NO losses! We then went on to claim the SIFL Cup, by beating the Lions 4-0 in the final. With the introduction of a SIFL Hebiguchi Cup, it gave us a chance to win an unprecedented treble. We duly obliged by beating the whinging Azzurri on penalties in the final. Treble Winners!! It also made us the first team in SIFL history to go a full season undefeated in all competitions.
In between the domestic campaign's, we have competed at tournaments in Manila, Phuket, Hong Kong and Bangkok. At these tournaments, we have done very well on the field (Winning Manila 6's 3 times, Phuket 7's once, Bangkok 11's once, as well as the Shanghai International 7's on 2 occasions), and superbly off the field. Legend's have been born on these tours and everyone has their own favourite moments. Then of course, there was Mongolia, to play against the National Team. TV interviews, newspaper articles etc. etc. It was a trip of a lifetime.
I would just like to thank everyone down the years who have all been a part of the Shooter family, and no matter where you are in the world just now, I know you will never forget those Shooter days, nights and tours.
What will the future bring??...well look below as it has only got better and better and long may it continue!!
*Update* Well can you believe that it has been 10 years already. 10 years of endless nights on the piss, 19 tours, 32 winners trophies, 9 runners-up trophies, and most importantly millions of laughs along the way. What a great 10 year celebration we had in our favourite tour haunt of Manila. To have 49 guys traveling from as far as Canada, USA, England, Scotland, Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and of course China...was a fantastic effort and really showed what the Shooters means to people who have been part of this great family. So to the lads still in Shanghai, keep winning the trophies and we look forward to the 15th Anniversary tour in Phuket 2013.
Cheers Theme
Season 1998/99
Season 1999/00
Season 2000/01 (The Season SIFL switched to 11-a-side)
Season 2001/02
Season 2002/03
Season 2003/04
Season 2004/05
Season 2005/06
Season 2006/07
| Premier League - 2006/2007 SIFL League Table |
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Sunday, June 1
Season 2007/08
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Premier League - 2007/2008 SIFL League Table |
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Season 2008/09
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Premier League - 2008/2009 SIFL League Table |
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