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.