FIFA 2010

I am not sure who, I am actually not sure when, but somewhere in history I am positive that some famous person once said something about the significance of sport on the world stage – it connects people through friendly competition or something. Just look at the Olympics – bringing the world closer than white on rice. But even better than the Olympics and a bit more timely was the FIFA World Cup. The tournament that started many a conversation in Australia continued to amaze me in how it brought people together here in Indonesia.

Actually, my first experience, arriving in the airport and while waiting for the other students, was with the two Indonesian men who picked me up. You can imagine that everything was a bit awkward – I spoke no Indonesian and they spoke little English. Yet, with one simple word a broken conversation began: “FIFA”? It makes miracles happen. The names of countries and players are accompanied by smiles and nods of yes or no. Same thing in the office. Talking about last night’s game or asking people which team they want to win –it builds bridges when there seems as though there is nothing else to link you to the people around you.

Besides being a marvelous conversation starter I am actually a huge fan of international soccer. Unfortunate though, the time difference did not play to my advantage here. The games began at 9:00pm or so but the games I always wanted to watch (USA!) started after midnight. Nonetheless, I was able to catch two of the games, downstairs, at the lovely cantina. The World Cup was only aired on one station here so we had to watch the game on this old-school TV with a flimsy antennae taped to the top left corner. Whatever, I could see what was happening. Picture this. Ghana v. the USA, me sitting in a restaurant, long closed for the night, along with six or seven Indonesians, some in chairs, most lying on the floor: it’s 3:30am. For some reason everyone is cheering for the US (well, I think my reason is rather legit). The game winds into extra time. We lose. The experience though, the instinctual screams we all shared when a goal was narrowly stopped or when we all jumped to our feet simultaneously when there was a breakaway; the sadness we felt when that last goal was scored and our team lost. Those things aren’t unique to any one country, they aren’t cultural. They are human and it is through sport, both playing and watching, that I have felt more connected to my surroundings, both in Australia and Indonesia, and to the rest of the world than I ever have before.