The other side of the World Cup<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Go go go, Alez alez alez. Like fingernails on a
\nblackboard, those lyrics stop me in my tracks every time.<\/p>\n
The soccer epidemic is, thankfully, almost over. All we have
\nto get through is the semifinals, third-place playoffs and the
\nfinals. Like a fever that peaks before the infection is fought,
\nso we have get through this week.<\/p>\n
Of course, after the finals there will be the painstaking,
\ntime-consuming analysis of why this team lost, or that team
\nmanaged to get goals or why the final elite 11 beat the odds to
\nclasp the cup in their hot little hands. But at least we won't
\nhave that song played again and again, over and over, seven days
\na week.<\/p>\n
I can actually feel sorry for Ricky Martin. Having a song so
\npopular it makes people cringe can't be good for the ego. But
\nthen maybe that's what ego is all about. Unfortunately, there is
\nalways that threat that if you make a song so popular people are
\neither going to go into raptures over it or feel like throwing
\nthe radio\/television out the window. When I commented to a friend
\nthat I couldn't wait for the finals to be over, she said: \"But
\nhave you seen the film clip? Have you watched him sing it? When
\nthe camera swings around to get a back view of him?\" No buts
\nabout it, she likes the clip.<\/p>\n
It's for this reason that I have never seen Bodyguard. First
\nwe had the song. Whitney Houston bellowing soulfully away day
\nafter day after day about how she'll always love him. By the time
\nthe movie was released here, I couldn't imagine anything worse
\nthan sitting through Bodyguard anticipating when I Will Always
\nLove You is performed. Give me Dolly Parton's version anytime.<\/p>\n
Then, of course, there is Celine Dion, femme fatale of love
\nsongs. Just as with Bodyguard, I have not been able to bring
\nmyself to watch Titanic. Sacrilegious as this may strike some,
\nLeonardo DiCaprio just doesn't fit the majestics of the what the
\ntheme song seems to mean; and, near and far, of course it also
\nhas been played to death.<\/p>\n
It makes me wonder about the mechanics of PR companies. Is
\nthere such a thing as getting too much of a good thing for them?
\nObviously not, if you look at soccer fans. All the television
\nstations here, state and private, regaled us with the opening of
\nthe World Cup. Did it really need to be on all channels? Couldn't
\nthey decide that, \"OK, you lot telecast the opening and you lot
\nput good movies on for people who don't like soccer.\" You might
\nthink that sounds petty seeing that the opening was more of a
\nfiesta than a soccer match, but surely not everyone wanted to see
\nit.<\/p>\n
Then, of course, we get the matches telecast live every
\nevening. Just when I'm ready to sit down and watch my favorite
\nshow (which I must admit there are not many of) its spot has been
\ntaken over by a soccer match. It's the same when the local
\ntelevision awards are on. This exacts its own pain, from
\nembarrassment as the artists try in vain to emulate their
\nAmerican cousins.<\/p>\n
I guess with the soccer matches it is unavoidable that they
\nare shared among the various stations; there are so many of them.
\nUnfortunately for people who don't like soccer, these matches
\nhave been in abundance while the teams cull the herd to prepare
\nfor the final week of semifinals\/playoffs\/final.<\/p>\n
And let's not forget the telequizzes. Telecom must be making a
\nfortune. After my last phone bill I know I've banned the kids
\nfrom calling the quizzes. Indonesia is in a crisis, where is all
\nthis prize money coming from? Surely the money could be used for
\nworthier causes than soccer quizzes.<\/p>\n
But I guess what it all boils down to is your personal soccer
\nthreshold. Love it or hate it, it's going to be in our face for
\nthe next week, with extra time for the soul-searching and earnest
\npostmortems. Which begs the question: Do you really want it?<\/p>\n
-- Martina Haller<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-other-side-of-the-world-cup-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }