KUALA LUMPUR: Win or lose, Harimau Malaya superfan Derrick Gan urged Malaysians to be steadfast in their support of all national teams representing the country.
Derek, in a heartfelt post on Facebook yesterday, highlighted the important role fans play in sports.
"I hope to take this opportunity to call (on) everybody to come and show their support, not just for the Malaysian football team, but all the (other) sports (as well)," said Derrick.
"As they say, football without fans is nothing and it is the same for other sports as well.
"As Malaysians we have to do our job in supporting them, not just when they win but also when they lose. We won't be winning forever.
"I hope to have at least inspired some, if not all of you, in one way or another."
Derrick's story went viral last week after he sold his motorcycle to raise funds to support Harimau Malaya at the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
The 30-year-old was lauded for his patriotism and was offered as many as five motorcycles from various parties as a reward.
He has already received two of them from Modenas as well as national player Faisal Halim and the latter's sponsor Blast Active.
Derrick, who made the trip to Qatar with his cousins, said he never expected his story to receive such attention.
"Who would have though that a simple journey to support your country playing in the most prestigious tournament in Asia would lead to a viral posting that has kind of turned my life upside down, albeit in a positive way," said Derrick.
"Thank you to everyone who sent me messages to show support, to show love or (even) show hate, I appreciate all of you be it positive or negative."
Malaysia made a slow start to the Asian Cup, losing to Jordan (4-0) and Bahrain (1-0) before delivering a spirited display against tournament favourites South Korea (3-3) in their final Group E match.