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The neatly-trimmed grass gleams green right now. The freshly painted lines are talcum white.
Opening day of any football league competition always generates a buzz.
Optimism fills the air even though the level of beauty of Pele's game differs wildly all over the world.
The fans bristle impatiently to roar their heroes on.
Every team starts at zero, the players are fit, there are shiny new jerseys to pull on, confidence is high, the giants target trophies, the smaller clubs eye modest gains, no one even contemplates the wooden spoon.
The strikers' dream of scoring dream goals, the defenders vow to play with the cool panache of Bobby Moore, England's 1966 World Cup winning captain, excited rookies offer up prayers of thanks.
The players and coaches of four S-League teams will wake up today with an extra bounce in their step.
The 2012 Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League season kicks off tonight, I hope it is the start of its climb back up.
After introducing a slew of changes over the last few months, the 17th season of the competition has been christened Version 2.0 by Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin.
The biggest goal is to increase fan turnout at matches.
Tonight, Gombak United take on Malaysia's Harimau Muda in the "live" match at Jalan Besar Stadium, and a much-changed Hougang United entertain Tanjong Pagar United.
New S-League CEO Lim Chin has targeted an average of between 2,000 to 2,500 fans and all eyes will be on the numbers at both stadiums.
It will also be crucial that all four teams - and the nine others in the competition - serve up football with enough promise to suggest the S-League is on the right path.
The LionsXII have stirred excitement among the fans here with their ongoing adventure in the Malaysian Super League.
While many criticised the move because they felt it would sound the death knell of the S-League, I felt it could spark renewed interest in local football and it will be interesting to see if there is a positive spinoff here.
A successful S-League is crucial because it is the bread and butter of Singapore football. It has been the main production line of talent for the national team and the Lions will continue to lean heavily on it.
Over the last few seasons, the average turnout for an S-League match has dipped, even going below the 1,000 mark. The stars disappeared, the quality of play stagnated and so many fans grew disillusioned.
Potential sponsors stayed away, and local clubs eventually took the unprecedented step of joining forces to ask the FAS for more seed money.
Zainudin and his team deserve credit for listening.
Clubs now have more seed money. It is easier for a club to sign a marquee foreign footballer and the weekly schedule has been trimmed to three match days.
Yesterday, the S-League announced a new TV deal and the "live" game every week will now be seen in Singapore, across the Causeway and in Brunei.
The 2012 S-League season will be showcased on a grander stage, the clubs and their players and coaches, along with the sponsors, have never had it so good.
As the season unfolds, I would urge Lim Chin and his team to continue to make tweaks where they see fit.
Over the past few seasons the FAS have flown in a batch of footballers during pre-season to help clubs in their bid to sign foreign players, perhaps they can do so during the mid-season transfer window.
The effort must continue to marry potential sponsors with smaller clubs. Pump more money in to help the smaller clubs if need be. And clubs also need to do their part and tap exciting foreigners, insist on player fitness and discipline.
Much of the news in the build-up to the 2012 season left the FAS and the S-League beleaguered.
Many questions marks remain over the entire episode involving French club Etoile FC. I am puzzled how the FAS could have provided a club already in debt a S$90,000 advance of their annual subsidy. The 2010 champions have pulled out this year and the FAS have yet to get the money back.
I am also mystified how former Etoile chairman Johan Gouttefangeas could have been named S-League deputy CEO when he left the club in debt.
The FAS and the new S-League team led by Lim Chin need to be more forthcoming over their decision-making process.
Right now, though, it is time to talk football. The sweet smell of freshly-cut grass hangs heavy in the air.
I hope fans of Singapore's No 1 sport catch the whiff and Version 2.0 of the S-League does enough to begin to capture their imagination.
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