English league a winner with local soccer fans

English league a winner with local soccer fans

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Whenever English League soccer games are shown on TV here,
many Indonesians seem to come down with a perplexing malady, the
symptoms of which generally take the form of lots of cheering,
jumping up and down, and punching of the air, or, alternatively,
plaintive cries of "Aduuuuh!!!.

For these poor unfortunates, the English Premiere League is a
drug to which they are totally addicted. They memorize by heart
the match schedules, the players' names, and, in some
particularly chronic cases, even their birthdays and waist
measurements.

The names of clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United,
Liverpool and Newcastle are as familiar as tempeh to the local
fans.

Although England is more than 10,000 kilometers removed from
Indonesia, it does not reduce the passion with which locals
follow the games.

Twenty-five-year-old Rahmia, who lives in Cipinang, East
Jakarta, said that she loved the English Premiere League because
of the players.

"I like watching the English league better than any other
league because it as boring as the others," Rahmia admitted.

Although she often missed seeing her favorite club Chelsea
play due to her tight schedule, she always kept in tough with the
latest news by reading the sports press and newspapers.

"I used to go to sports bars to watch the matches as it's more
fun that way than just watching the games alone at home. But now
I barely have the time to do that," Rahmia said.

Although it's a well-known fact that most girls like watching
soccer matches for ogling purposes, Rahmia said that she would
support Chelsea anyway even if the players were not all that
good-looking.

"They would still be my favorite club no matter who the
players were." she said.

Another fan, Triwi, who is also twenty-five, said that
Manchester United (MU) had been her favorite club since she was
twelve.

However, she also said that she could not keep up with the
league as she often worked until late at night and was normally
too tired to watch the games.

Another MU fan, Dani, said that he loved the club as it was
one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world, as well as one
of the richest.

"I love the club so much I even hated David Beckham when he
left the club for Real Madrid," he said.

He told The Jakarta Post that he was an avid collector of MU
memorabilia, and even went to England to buy some stuff that was
not available in Singapore or Jakarta.

"I also went to England to watch some of Manchester United's
matches live. It was really exciting. If I had not been there I
would have been just as pleased to watch the games on TV or in a
sports bar with the crowd. It's more lively like that," Dani
said.

Now, MU fans can watch their favorite team playing anytime at
the Manchester United sports bar, which just opened in July on
Jl. MH Thamrin, Jakarta. It is the third MU outlet in Asia.

Michael Supit, the Manchester United sports bar's marketing
officer, said, "We hope we can give Manchester United fans what
they need in the form of a comfortable place to watch the games
and good food."

He added that his establishment always aired live matches from
England whenever Manchester United was playing.

"Our place is usually really crowded when we have live matches
on. Up to 200 people can crowd in here at such times," Michael
said.