there are only a few weeks in the European Champions League final on 25 May, and although it will take place so far in London, England, and not involve players from Southeast Asia, let alone Indonesia, the drumbeat for the match will be clearly visible here.
As the date approaches, expect to see more and more of Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid or AC Milan jerseys in malls in Jakarta. Expect to see the outline in Futsal already crowded centers. In fact, in bars, cafes, street vendors behind, wherever you see a crowd of mostly (but not entirely) Indonesian men, they probably look a thing.
A football match on the other side of the world.
At first, it seems a paradox. How is European football become so popular in a country with its own traditions and rich sports, where to find a flat, open to play a game can be almost impossible?
Unsurprisingly, colonialism played a role. Javanese educated in Europe has brought football with them, and local competition began in the early 1900s Indonesia was in fact the first Asian team to have participated in the World Cup in 1938 under the Dutch colonial name East football team from India, his only appearance. After independence, the popularity of soccer among all Indonesians grows.
However, sports are a global connector, and no sport has a greater following global than football. In fact, at the beginning mounting World Cup, now Indonesia is the largest soccer-loving countries in the world, by default, as my country, the United States, is fixed on Football US, India is the land of hardcore cricket, and the biggest giant, China, embraced Basketball.
The fact that many Indonesians spend so much time watching football got me thinking - if things were reversed? What if the Europeans or the Americans followed something Indonesia fanatically
There might be a local sports - sepak takraw perhaps, play bamboo blow volleyball still draws rivalries in the Southeast Asian Games, every four years by - or badminton? Maybe something cultural?
Imagining the cafes of Paris showing the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, and American sports bars playing matches between Indonesian Futsal teams seem as absurd as the means Westerners knowing that Indonesia is the 4th largest country in the world, or, perhaps, that the great religions or ethnic groups are dominant. In other words, reality is not something to be proud of.
The knowledge gap between the developed world and the developing world is a huge obstacle, that globalization may have changed the character, but not the substance. This goes both ways. It is true that music and American films are popular worldwide, but anyone who has seen all the Hollywood movies knows that what is represented in pop culture is often linked to reality. Similarly, despite how an Indonesian can follow Manchester United, it is doubtful that he or she would be able to tell you a fact about the real city of Manchester, England.
Nonetheless, sport differs from most media. It is a hobby, a form of individual effort, and as old as human culture itself. However, league sports, such as UEFA, or the National Association of Basketball in the United States, are a new phenomenon, more focused on marketing, sales, and profit. That's why, unfortunately, league sports knowledge does not translate knowledge of the culture and society.
This was not how it was supposed to be. The dream of Pierre de Coubertin, when he founded the Olympic Games in the 1890s was that the sport would take the place of war, providing a friendly place for countries to compete in a way that would not cause death or bad feelings. He was a noble goal. Unfortunately, de Coubertin did not provide for that sport would also become a tool of nationalism. Hitler used to showcase Nazi Germany in the world at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, and we saw something similar in the extravagance in Beijing there are only five over-the-top. Adding to that is that modern sport is governed by another global trend that adopted gladly by young Indonesians - consumerism. Sport is a product, and explains why the majority of those who watch football, never actually play.
In an ideal world, the sport would come together and provide a platform to share the culture, identity and ideas. I saw it firsthand, whether on a futsal field in Kemang, or playing with children Takraw in Thailand, how sport allows us to communicate beyond the barriers of language, religion, and ideally sex.
There may be years before this jersey made his return to the World Cup, but the fans here will probably continue to follow their favorite teams the fanatically abroad. What this translates into a better world, or if we will ever take similar knowledge of Indonesia abroad, well, that may be asking too much.