I lived in Thailand for 2.5 years. At that time, the Thai national team won the ASEAN Championship, better known as the Tiger Cup/Suzuki AFF Cup. Thailand responded as normally as possible. They were happy, but it was not the same happiness as when ‘Timnas Indonesia’ won it. I can’t prove it, since Indonesia never won the ASEAN Championship, though they reached the final many times. Nonetheless, what happened after they won the FIFA ASEAN Cup illustrates what would happen if Timnas Indonesia won the AFF Cup.
The Irony of Timnas Indonesia
Timnas Indonesia has never had any remarkable achievements. They have never been counted as a world powerhouse in terms of football ( or soccer?). Yet Indonesians love them, and the matches, especially the decisive matches, always invite millions of people to come and see. People wonder why.
I think the answer is simple. Football is a simple game. Everybody in Indonesia knows the rules. They can play it anywhere. On the road, in your backyard, there are numerous places to play football. They can buy a ball as cheap as 10,000 IDR. When I was a kid, there were many places that sold those plastic balls. Of course, a ball that even cost more than one dollar would not last for long. But it was enough.
People do not know about other team sports such as baseball or cricket. The rules are too complex for a country that is clearly less educated than its neighbouring countries. Besides, those sports are expensive too. Football is easy. Everybody can play; everybody can enjoy it when ‘Timnas Indonesia’ wins.
The Simplicity of Football that Makes Indonesia Lost
However, the irony is that because of how simple football is, the decisive factors in winning the game are tactics that require strong intellectual capacity and attention to detail. In a country where tuition fees per month can be zero to only 5 dollars, learning and implementing tactics in football is hard. Not alone time to learn the tactics. Therefore, Timnas Indonesia never really outgrow from physical and gung-ho mentality.
In the end, the love for ‘Timnas Indonesia’ never really manifested into an achievement. People watch and go home disappointed. The disappointment is almost depressing. Because Indonesians are mostly poor, they are actually losers in real life. Winning in football is a projection that they can taste the win, though it is artificial.
This is the real irony: they love football because they are poor; they cannot grow in football because they are poor; and finally, they get depressed because football is the only way they feel they can win in real life, though it is as artificial as possible. It is almost like getting addicted to drugs or cigarettes. You know it is toxic, almost bad for you, yet you need that to escape the harsh reality.
After Timnas Indonesia Wins…
I am afraid that after we win, we forget that tomorrow we still face the same problems in life, yet we feel better because of the artificial win. However, I can choose to believe that winning the FIFA ASEAN Cup is actually inspiring; people now have extra motivation to survive and achieve something real in life.
Yet the truth may be demotivating. The inspiration faces the reality that the government fails to provide fair competition. Lack of education and support for small industries has triggered an almost traumatic feeling that we will lose again in life. The job market itself is equally problematic. The depression is real. People are not in a good condition.
They finally tend to go back to watch ‘Timnas Indonesia’, hoping that seeing Timnas Indonesia win works like a painkiller or drugs to heal them temporarily.
